A licensed money lender is an entity that holds a moneylending license. All licensed lenders are regulated by the Ministry of Law (MinLaw). To operate a moneylending business in Singapore, a licensed money lender must abide by the Moneylenders Act and Rules. A licensed money lender in Singapore that flouts these rules knowingly risks getting its license suspended, a jail term, or both.

There are a wide variety of loans offered by licensed money lenders in Singapore. But all of them fall into two categories – secured and unsecured loans. Secured loans are backed by collateral such as a property or car. Unsecured loans do not require collateral.

Yes, we should be able to work something out with you. But please note that according to the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR), which regulates a Singaporean’s loan-to-income ratio, your monthly debt expenses should not exceed 55% of your income.  The TDSR is calculated by dividing your debt obligations by your gross monthly income and multiplying by 100.  We will also take the debt-to-income ratio when calculating the loan amount you can borrow. This compares your total monthly debts to your monthly pre-tax income.

It is mandatory for licensed money lenders to meet a borrower in an approved place of business for a face-to-face verification of the borrower’s identity. A lender that approves your loan over WhatsApp or gives you the money without meeting you first is most probably a loan shark or scammer.

A licensed money lender can be found on the Ministry of Law’s list of licensed money lenders. A lot of unlicensed lenders or loan scammers may replicate the websites of legitimate lenders, so check a lender’s details (address, phone number and URL) against MinLaw’s list.

A licensed money lender is taking more risk by making a borrower’s credit report a less important consideration than banks. This is why a licensed money lender’s credit checks are typically less rigorous than banks. As a result, licensed money lenders bear more risk than banks as there is a higher chance a borrower with a poor credit score may default. To compensate for this risk, the interest charged by licensed money lenders tends to be higher than that of banks. In general, banks have a low risk appetite compared to money lenders.

If you have all the requisite paperwork done, we can give you the money on the spot in 30 minutes or a day.

Under the Moneylenders Act, licensed money lenders should not:

• Charge more than 4% nominal interest rate per month for loans –calculated in a reducing balance method
• If repayment is late, late interest rate should not exceed 4% per month
• The late repayment fee cannot be more than $60 per month
• Administrative charges must not exceed 10% of your principal amount – and must be deducted from the loan principal when the loan is disbursed
• Total fees (interest rates, late payment, and administrative fees) charged to the borrower should not be more than the total principal loan approved