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Bank Rakyat vs Bank Islam Fixed Deposit Malaysia 2026: Which Islamic FD Pays More?

By SmarterPik Editorial Team · Updated 2026-05-14

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2.40% versus 1%. That's the gulf between Bank Rakyat's headline 12-month Term Deposit-i profit rate and the Mudarabah profit share Bank Islam Al-Awfar actually credits a depositor under its current 99:1 ratio. The catch on Al-Awfar's side — and the only reason anyone with a calculator picks it — is the monthly draw for a Porsche Taycan. We checked whether the lottery upside makes the yield gap worth it.

Short answer: If you want predictable profit on idle cash, Bank Rakyat TDA-i wins — 2.40% p.a. at 12 months on a RM 500 minimum, paid at maturity. If you specifically want a halal, prize-linked savings product and you accept that the cash profit is a fraction of TDA-i, Bank Islam Al-Awfar earns its keep. They are NOT the same product class — TDA-i is a fixed deposit; Al-Awfar is a prize-draw Mudarabah savings account dressed up like one.

Ready to lock in 2.40% on idle cash? RinggitPlus checks rates from 15+ Islamic banks (TDA-i, TIA-i, Maybank Islamic FD-i and others) without affecting your CCRIS score for the comparison itself.

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The Headline: TDA-i 2.40% vs Al-Awfar's Lottery Profit

Bank Rakyat Term Deposit-i (TDA-i) is a straightforward Shariah-compliant fixed deposit structured under Commodity Murabahah. You commit a principal for a defined tenure, and the bank pays a flat profit rate at maturity. The tiered schedule rewards longer tenures: 2.10% for 1 month (with an RM 5,000 minimum), stepping up to 2.40% for any tenure between 12 and 60 months. Profit is credited once, at maturity. There is no monthly profit payout option.

Bank Islam Al-Awfar is structurally different. It is a Mudarabah investment account where you, the depositor, are the capital provider (rabbul mal) and Bank Islam is the entrepreneur (mudarib) deploying your funds in Shariah-compliant assets. The profit-sharing ratio is 99 (Bank) : 1 (Customer), effective 16 February 2025 — meaning the bank retains 99% of investment profit while you receive 1%. Profit is credited monthly. Crucially, every RM 100 in your Al-Awfar balance also generates entries into the bank's monthly and quarterly prize draws — that's where the real "yield" lives.

60-second comparison

Feature Bank Rakyat TDA-i Bank Islam Al-Awfar
Product type Term Deposit-i (Commodity Murabahah) Mudarabah investment account with prize draw
Headline rate (12mo) 2.40% p.a. profit (paid at maturity) ~0.04% p.a. cash profit (PSR 99:1) + prize draw entries
Minimum deposit RM 500 (RM 5,000 for 1-month tenure) RM 100
Tenure 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 12-60 months No tenure — open savings, withdraw anytime
Profit payment At maturity, lump sum Monthly cash profit + monthly/quarterly prize draws
Early withdrawal Forfeit ALL profit (not partial) Unrestricted — but lose draw entries below minimum
PIDM protection No — Malaysian Government guarantee via MoF (cooperative bank Act) Yes — RM 250,000 per depositor (full PIDM member)
Shariah principle Commodity Murabahah (fixed profit) Mudarabah (profit + loss sharing)
Best for Yield-maximising halal savers with idle cash Halal savers who want prize-draw upside

Sources: Bank Rakyat Term Deposit-i product page (bankrakyat.com.my); Bank Islam Al-Awfar product page (bankislam.com); RinggitPlus aggregator listing; PIDM member bank list (pidm.gov.my). Profit-sharing ratio updated effective 16 February 2025 per Bank Islam Al-Awfar customer notice. Rates as of May 2026 — verify on official bank pages before placing funds.

Already compared? RinggitPlus's Islamic FD comparison shows live rates from 15+ banks side-by-side, including the promotional CIMB TIA-i (up to 3.75% p.a.) and Maybank Islamic Premier campaigns that periodically beat TDA-i.

See live Islamic FD promo rates — no CCRIS impact

Al-Awfar Is Not a Fixed Deposit — Read This Before You Park Money There

This is the single most consequential thing aggregator articles don't say plainly. Al-Awfar is structured for prize-draw participation, not yield. The 99:1 profit-sharing ratio is the giveaway: under Mudarabah, the bank is allowed to set the PSR to favour either side, and at 99:1 the customer's cash profit share is intentionally minimal. The product is sold on the prize draw — RM 12 million in advertised annual prizes, headlined by an electric Porsche Taycan, BMW i4 eDrive35, and Mercedes-Benz EQA 250 AMG Line, supplemented with gold jewellery, luxury watches and tiered monthly cash prizes.

That structure is legitimate under Shariah (it's been audited by Bank Islam's Shariah Supervisory Council) and it's regulated under BNM's Islamic Banking Act. But it's a different game from a TDA-i. If you treat your RM 10,000 in Al-Awfar as if it were a fixed deposit and expect ~RM 240 of profit at year-end, you'll be disappointed. The cash profit on RM 10,000 at a 1% share of an underlying ~4% portfolio yield is closer to RM 4 a year — the value, if it materialises, comes from winning a draw.

The honest framing: Al-Awfar is closer to a UK Premium Bond than a Malaysian FD. You're trading certain yield for a Shariah-compliant lottery ticket on every RM 100 you keep parked.

PIDM Coverage: One Has It, One Doesn't

This is the second blind spot in most Malaysian Islamic-FD comparisons, and it matters more than the rate gap for risk-conscious savers.

Bank Islam is a PIDM member. Deposits — including Al-Awfar balances — are insured up to RM 250,000 per depositor automatically. If the bank were ever to fail (extremely unlikely; Bank Islam has BNM supervision and a 41-year operating history), PIDM steps in. Islamic and conventional deposits enjoy separate RM 250,000 limits, so a depositor with deposits at both an Islamic and a conventional member bank gets RM 500,000 of combined coverage.

Bank Rakyat is NOT a PIDM member. It operates under the Bank Kerjasama Rakyat (M) Berhad Act 1978 as a cooperative bank, which places it outside the Financial Services Act and outside PIDM's remit. Its deposits are guaranteed instead by the Malaysian Government through the Ministry of Finance. In practical effect, this has been a comparable safety net — Bank Rakyat has been operating since 1954 and is wholly owned by its Bumiputera cooperative members and the Government. But it is NOT the standard PIDM RM 250,000 coverage with the standard payout timeline, and that distinction is what conservative savers should understand before placing significant balances.

If you intend to place more than RM 250,000, that's the strongest single argument for splitting balances across both banks — or for choosing a PIDM member like Bank Islam for the marginal ringgit above the limit.

Worked Example: RM 10,000 / 12 Months in Each Account

Numbers cut through the marketing.

Scenario A — RM 10,000 in Bank Rakyat TDA-i, 12-month tenure

Scenario B — RM 10,000 in Bank Islam Al-Awfar, held for 12 months

The honest verdict on RM 10,000: TDA-i delivers RM 240 of certain profit. Al-Awfar delivers ~RM 4 of certain profit plus a small probability of a meaningful prize. For 95%+ of savers, that's a clear win for TDA-i on a 12-month horizon. Al-Awfar makes sense only if you're explicitly buying the lottery exposure with the cash you'd otherwise place in a TDA-i, which is a non-financial decision.

Where TDA-i Quietly Wins (Beyond the Rate)

Predictability for goal-based savers. Saving for a fixed milestone in 12 months — a wedding, a Hajj package, a down payment — needs a known endpoint. TDA-i delivers it. You know on day 1 exactly what you'll have on day 365. Al-Awfar can't promise that.

No fresh-fund or bundling conditions. Many of the higher promotional rates (CIMB TIA-i 3.75%, Maybank Islamic Premier campaigns) require either fresh funds, current account linkage, or salary crediting. TDA-i's 2.40% board rate has no such gymnastics — walk into any branch with RM 500, walk out with a 12-month placement.

Better-than-peer Islamic FD rates. Among Malaysia's full Islamic banks at standard board rates (not promo), TDA-i's 2.40% beats Bank Islam Term Deposit-i Tawarruq (~2.00%), Maybank Islamic FD-i (~1.95%) and CIMB Islamic FD-i (~1.95%) on 12-month tenures. The peer comparison is consistently in Bank Rakyat's favour.

Government guarantee is real — just not PIDM. The MoF guarantee on Bank Rakyat deposits is the same instrument that backs the bank's solvency more broadly. For balances under the equivalent PIDM threshold, the practical risk delta versus a PIDM bank is small for most savers.

Where Al-Awfar Genuinely Wins

The lottery exposure itself. If you would otherwise spend RM 50/month on lottery tickets (Sports Toto, Magnum) and want a Shariah-compliant alternative that doesn't burn the principal, Al-Awfar is a more elegant structure: your money is preserved (and PIDM-insured), you get a tiny base profit, and you participate in legal halal draws. The "cost" of the lottery exposure is the foregone TDA-i profit — RM 236 a year on RM 10,000.

Full liquidity. Unlike TDA-i's all-or-nothing forfeiture, Al-Awfar is a savings account. Emergency fund money that needs to stay accessible — but you'd still like a lottery shot — fits the structure.

PIDM coverage on the main balance. For risk-conscious savers parking large balances, the standard RM 250,000 PIDM protection on Al-Awfar is a meaningful structural advantage over Bank Rakyat's MoF guarantee — especially if you're already using your single TDA-i PIDM allowance elsewhere.

Be U Awfar (digital version). If you'd rather avoid Bank Islam branch queues, the Be U by Bank Islam app offers Be U Awfar — same product family, RM 100 minimum, fully digital opening and topping-up. Useful for younger savers.

How These Two Stack vs Maybank Islamic and CIMB Islamic

For context against the big-bank Islamic alternatives at standard 12-month board rates (May 2026):

If you only have RM 500-50,000 and you want a clean, no-conditions, halal placement, TDA-i remains the most efficient choice. If you have RM 30,000+ in fresh funds and you can satisfy a bundle condition (current account opening, salary crediting), CIMB Islamic's TIA-i promo is worth checking on RinggitPlus. We covered Bank Islam's personal-banking ecosystem in more depth in our Bank Islam personal loan review — the same underwriting standards extend across their deposit products.

The Verdict

Our Pick for Yield: Bank Rakyat TDA-i (2.40% p.a., 12-month, RM 500 minimum). If your question is "where do I park RM 10,000 of idle halal cash for a year and walk away with predictable profit?", TDA-i is the answer. The rate beats every standard-board Islamic FD from a major Malaysian bank, the minimum is accessible, and the structural simplicity is its main feature — there are no bundle gymnastics. Accept the trade-off of no PIDM coverage (the MoF guarantee is the practical substitute) and no early-withdrawal partial credit, and you're set.

Our Pick for Prize-Linked Halal Savings: Bank Islam Al-Awfar (RM 100 minimum, PIDM-protected). If you want to participate in a halal monthly prize draw without burning your principal, Al-Awfar is the most established product in this category. Treat it as a savings account with lottery upside, not as an FD substitute. The Be U Awfar digital app makes opening straightforward.

Who should choose TDA-i: Goal-based savers (down payment, wedding, Hajj fund). Anyone who wants the highest standard-board Islamic FD rate from a major bank. Savers comfortable with the cooperative-bank structure and MoF guarantee.

Who should choose Al-Awfar: Savers who want a halal alternative to commercial lottery products. Anyone parking emergency-fund money who still wants prize-draw upside. PIDM-sensitive depositors carrying large balances.

Compare your live rate before committing. Bank promo rates rotate monthly — RinggitPlus aggregates Bank Rakyat, Bank Islam, Maybank Islamic, CIMB Islamic and 10+ others in one form. Soft comparison, no CCRIS hit.

Lock in the best Islamic FD rate — 2 minutes

Related reading

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better for guaranteed returns — Bank Rakyat TDA-i or Bank Islam Al-Awfar-i?

Bank Rakyat Term Deposit-i (TDA-i). At 12 months, TDA-i pays a flat 2.40% p.a. profit credited at maturity — RM 10,000 placed for a year returns RM 240 in cash with effectively zero downside risk (subject to the bank's Mudarabah PSR floor). Bank Islam Al-Awfar shares profit on a 99:1 ratio (bank : customer) effective February 2025, so the cash component is a fraction of TDA-i's yield. Al-Awfar's appeal isn't the profit — it's the monthly and quarterly prize draws (Porsche Taycan, BMW i4, gold, watches). If your goal is a predictable cash return on RM 10,000, TDA-i wins by a wide margin.

Is Bank Rakyat Term Deposit-i PIDM protected?

No — and this matters. Bank Rakyat is a cooperative bank governed by the Bank Kerjasama Rakyat (M) Berhad Act 1978, not the Financial Services Act, so it sits outside Perbadanan Insurans Deposit Malaysia's (PIDM) deposit insurance scheme. Bank Rakyat's deposits are guaranteed by the Malaysian Government through the Ministry of Finance instead, which in practice is a comparable safety net (the bank has been operating since 1954 and is wholly Bumiputera-cooperative-owned). But it is NOT the standard PIDM RM 250,000 coverage. Bank Islam, by contrast, is a fully licensed Islamic bank under PIDM — your deposits there are insured up to RM 250,000 per depositor automatically. For risk-sensitive savers, this distinction is non-trivial.

Why does Al-Awfar's profit-sharing ratio of 99:1 look so low?

Because Al-Awfar isn't a profit-maximisation account — it's a Shariah-compliant prize-linked savings product. The 99 (Bank) : 1 (Customer) PSR effective from 16 February 2025 means the bank retains 99% of investment profit while the customer gets 1%. In exchange, every RM 100 in your Al-Awfar balance earns prize draw entries for monthly and quarterly cash + prize draws, with a combined prize pool advertised at over RM 12 million annually. It's structurally closer to a Premium Bond than a fixed deposit. If you want yield, this isn't it. If you want a halal way to participate in a prize draw with your savings, this is one of two real options in Malaysia (the other being Be U Awfar, the digital version).

What is the minimum deposit for Bank Rakyat TDA-i and Bank Islam Al-Awfar?

Bank Rakyat TDA-i has a tiered minimum: RM 5,000 for the 1-month tenure but only RM 500 for any tenure from 2 to 60 months — accessible for most retail savers. Bank Islam Al-Awfar's account opening minimum is RM 100 (RM 100 also for Be U Awfar, the digital app version). For TDA-i, you commit the principal for the chosen tenure; for Al-Awfar, your balance must stay above the minimum throughout the draw period to qualify for prize entries. Both are accessible — the structural difference is that TDA-i locks you in for a yield, while Al-Awfar stays liquid but gives almost zero base yield.

Can I withdraw Bank Rakyat TDA-i before maturity?

You can — but you forfeit all the profit, not just a portion. Bank Rakyat's policy is explicit: 'When you make a premature withdrawal of your fixed deposit, you will no longer receive profit payment, not even a partial amount.' This is stricter than many conventional FDs that pay reduced profit on the months held. For Al-Awfar, withdrawals are unrestricted (it's a savings account, not a term placement) — but any time your balance drops below the minimum, you lose your draw entries for that period. The trade-off is liquidity for yield: TDA-i is illiquid but pays; Al-Awfar is liquid but barely pays cash.

How does Bank Rakyat TDA-i compare to Maybank Islamic and CIMB Islamic 12-month FD?

On standard (non-promotional) board rates, Bank Rakyat TDA-i is competitive. Maybank Islamic Fixed Deposit-i and CIMB Islamic Fixed Deposit-i sit around 1.95% p.a. for 12 months on their standard board rates — meaningfully below TDA-i's 2.40%. CIMB Islamic's TIA-i (Term Investment Account-i) periodically runs promotional campaigns that push the 12-month rate to 3.50-3.75% p.a. with bundled conditions (typically a fresh-fund requirement or a current-account linkage). If you can hit those promo windows, CIMB's TIA-i beats TDA-i. On board rate alone, TDA-i is the better passive choice. See our full breakdown in our best Islamic fixed deposit Malaysia roundup.

Is Al-Awfar's prize draw worth giving up TDA-i's 2.40% profit?

For most savers, no — the expected value of an Al-Awfar prize is far less than the yield gap. Crudely: at 2.40% p.a., RM 10,000 in TDA-i earns RM 240. To match that, Al-Awfar's prize-draw expected value would need to be RM 240+ per RM 10,000 placed per year — which it almost certainly isn't given how thinly RM 12 million in annual prizes is spread across the entire depositor base. The case for Al-Awfar is non-monetary: the lottery-style upside (a real chance, however small, of winning a Porsche Taycan or BMW i4), Shariah compliance, and the psychological dopamine of monthly draw participation. As pure yield maximisation, TDA-i wins. As entertainment with savings, Al-Awfar has a niche.

How does TDA-i's 2.40% compare to Bank Rakyat's other accounts?

It's their highest-yield Islamic deposit for retail savers without a promotional bundle. Bank Rakyat's general savings accounts pay closer to 0.25-0.50% p.a. (similar to peers). The TDA-i 12-60 month bracket at 2.40% is roughly 5-10x the savings-account rate. The trade-off is the lock-in: TDA-i forfeits all profit on premature withdrawal. If you want a similar yield with liquidity, your nearest comparable options are GXBank's GX Account (currently around 2.00% p.a. on default balance) or Boost Bank's tiered Jars (up to 3.30%, with conditions). See best Islamic savings account Malaysia for the liquid alternatives.

Last updated: May 2026. Bank Rakyat TDA-i profit rates verified from bankrakyat.com.my and RinggitPlus product listing. Bank Islam Al-Awfar PSR (99:1) effective 16 February 2025 per bankislam.com customer notice. PIDM member bank status verified from pidm.gov.my. Rates are subject to change — verify on official bank pages before placing funds.