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Four easy steps to the best possible personal loan in Singapore for you:
1. Apply for an online loan in Singapore, in a few minutes
2. Receive offers from multiple lenders
3. Compare offers and select online
4. Sign the agreement and get the money
Our goal is to make your loan application process quicker, simpler and more transparent. As Singapore’s only true personal loan comparison service, we support you all the way from application to disbursement. Click below to read more about Lendela and how we empower thousands of loan-seeking Singaporeans compare options for debt consolidation, wedding loans, personal loans for car, renovation loans etc. every month.
So, how do you find the best loan in Singapore in the easiest possible way? Take a few minutes and read our guide below, and you will find all important information you need before applying for a personal loan with Lendela. If you still have questions, feel free to contact our Customer Relationship Team for help.
A personal loan is money that is taken up for personal use for such purposes as paying off a credit card debt, buying home gadgets, home or kitchen renovation, embarking on a special vacation, education, medical or wedding expenditure, or emergencies. Personal loans are also called consumer loans and are usually not backed by collateral. The lenders usually begin by determining your credit score to assess whether you are eligible for a personal loan in Singapore and what interest rate should be placed on the loan. Making repayments on the loan usually involves making principal and interest payments monthly. The interest rates that are fixed on personal loans in Singapore will be determined by your credit history. Personal loans can be a good solution for individuals with financial issues that they want to fix quickly. It's also enabling huge purchases and repayments at your own pace.
Banks, credit institutions, online lenders and other credit institutions or financial companies can lend you, for instance, funds ranging from S$5,000 to S$250,000 and when you sign the dotted lines, you are agreeing to pay that amount back plus, of course, interest. The repayments are made regular and over a fixed period of time. The optimal loan tenure for a personal loan in Singapore is usually 10 years. Loan repayments are set such that you can slowly pay back the amount you borrowed, i.e. the principal and the interest.
Options available to a borrower for obtaining personal loans in Singapore include:
Banks
A handful of banks and financial institutions provide personal loans in Singapore. These include HSBC, Standard Chartered, Citi, DBS and Bank of China and they require a decent credit score to qualify from any of their loan packages. If you are an existing customer, you may be eligible for benefits such as applying without the need to visit a branch or qualify for a heftier loan amount. In addition, some banks generate credit scores for free.
Virtual banks
New licenses for virtual banks have been issued in Hong Kong. Their scope will be equivalent to that of traditional banks, but without the need for a physical branch presence. Virtual banks like Livi VB, SC Digital Solutions and Zhong An Virtual Finance and WeLab have the capabilities to extend personal loans, and as their scope and breadth of their operations unfolds some or all of these are likely to offer attractive products for their customers.
Loan providers
These are credit institutions that supports its customers with personal loans, revolving credit, credit card and sometimes auto and tax loans. Loan providers have a strong track record of analysing consumer creditworthiness and provide competitive loan offers. In some instances loan providers can be more flexible on some of the metrics when assessing an individual’s creditworthiness and effectively step in where some banks may would have declined the same application.
Online-based loan providers
These lenders provide a very swift and convenient way to find and compare personal loans. Most online lenders give flat-rate quotations and approval delay is usually two working days. There is stiff competition in the personal loans’ market nowadays, meaning that web-based lenders work extra hard to set themselves apart from conventional lenders either by developing lending guidelines that transcend the traditional credit-determination methods or with added benefits like flexible disbursement, repayments, zero fees or methods of lowering interest rates.
Comparison platforms (like Lendela)
These are websites that allow individuals to compare and select loans by connecting borrowers to banks and lenders. Lendela is the market leader when it comes to this type of service and the only online comparison platform that finds you personalised offers, so that you can compare concrete loan alternatives and select the best personal loan in Singapore.
Peer-to-peer lending
Globally peer-to-peer (P2P) lending has grown a lot. P2P lending is a personal loan financing approach that allows individuals to lend and borrow funds via a web-based platform without an intermediate registered financial institution. Peer-to-peer lending is advantageous as it claims to cut out the middleman from the lending system. P2P lending is also known as crowd-lending or social lending. In Hong Kong, the regulatory framework surrounding P2P lending is still not settled
Before securing a personal loan in Singapore, an application form will be issued to you first. Most financial institutions search for a series of criteria when they’re considering you for a loan deal. To get the best loan package, there are few must-dos before filling out a personal loan application. Here are 6 important steps to follow in order to find the best personal loan in Singapore:
1. COMPARE YOUR OPTIONS
Weigh your options by determining the loan type that best caters for your needs. There are a variety of personal loans on the credit market today, and the one that you finally settle for is dependent on your financial situation and goals. Let’s examine some of the common loans that may be offered to you in Singapore.
• Secured loans
Secured loans require the presence of a guarantor or collateral. The guarantor will be responsible for paying back the loan should you default (i.e. fail to make repayments on the loan). If you present a house, car, land, a piece of machinery or any form of collateral, then the institution will take possession of the collateral until you fully service the loan deal.
• Unsecured loans
Most personal loans in Singapore are of the unsecured loans designation. For these types of personal loans, you do not need to present collateral or a guarantor. However, since these loans are unsecured, you may be asked to present proofs that you are financially stable and can repay the loan in order for your loan application to be acknowledged and ratified. This is done to ensure that you can make timely repayments on the loan.
• Personal lines of credit
You can also have an account through which you can borrow funds in fixed amounts without the need to repeatedly apply for loans. This account is referred to as a personal line of credit. It can be likened to a credit card; however, a personal line of credit allows the borrower to obtain cash instead of credit. A line of credit is beneficial when making expenses such as hiring the services of a contractor for long-term ongoing tasks like home renovations. There is no set repayment period of a personal line of credit.
• Car loans
These are loans designed for the procurement of a vehicle. Depending on the financing rules deployed, there are typically two forms of car loans found in Singapore:
Conventional car loan:
This type of car loans provides funds for individuals for the purchase of a car with an interest rate calculated and set on the funds. The interest rate could be on a floating or fixed basis. The interest rates on the floating interest rate depend on the base rate which varies across credit providers.
Personal loan for a car:
An unsecured personal loan in Singapore can work as a good substitute for a conventional car loan. Since you can spend the money on what you want, this type of loan serves as a fast and easy way to your car.
2. ASSESS YOUR ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
Make sure you have met the requirements for a loan deal. This will save you a lot of time that could be wasted considering a consumer loan that you are not eligible for. Basic eligibility criteria that need to be satisfied vary from lender to lender, and there are common terminologies to consider when applying. These include:
Credit score:
Many lenders evaluate an individual’s credit score differently to traditional banks. In Singapore, you are generally expected to have a credit score that ranges from around 1825 to 2000 in order to qualify for a consumer loan.
Employment:
In general, lenders accept applicants who work or reside in Singapore and are gainfully and stably employed or self-employed. Some lenders may expect you to have alternative sources of income like retirement benefits or investments in addition to being employed.
Income:
To successfully apply for the best personal loan in Singapore via Lendela, you are required to earn minimum S$1,600 per month.
Residency:
Most of our banks and lenders grant loans to Singaporean citizens, permanent residents and EP holders.
Age:
You are expected to be between 21 and 61 years old to apply for the best personal loan in Singapore with Lendela.
3. FINISH THE APPLICATION PROCESS
The application procedure for a personal loan varies across finance providers. Many credit issuers provide online-based applications in addition to applying at their branch office. Usually, you’ll be required to tender a variety of documents and personal data to the lending institution, before or during the application process. The documents typically consist of:
Government-issued ID:
You need to provide a passport, driver’s license, or other form of government issued ID when the lender is processing your loan application or when you are collecting the loan disbursement.
Proof of income:
Some lenders may ask you to provide payslips from the last three to six months, or your bank account statements. If you are in the self-employed category, lenders may demand tax returns from the last two year of the most recent one-year statement for both current and savings accounts.
Proof of residence:
You need to prove your residential address and this can be done, for instance, by providing your latest local utility bills, local telecommunication bills, or local bank statement/credit card statement.
When you apply for the best personal loan in Singapore with Lendela, your application gets sent to several banks and lenders simultaneously. They will get back quickly with their best loan offers for you to compare. The online application takes only a couple of minutes to complete (to speed it up, have all your information ready) but you can also apply by calling our Customer Relationship Team where one of our experienced agents will help you through the whole process.
4. WAIT FOR A MESSAGE OF APPROVAL
Your online application will be acknowledged electronically and you’ll be notified as soon as a lender comes back with a pre-approved offer. This normally takes no longer than just a few minutes. No matter the approach of the lender, the pre-approval and full approval phases are the two stages you need to hurdle past to get your loan.
• The pre-approval phase
This is the provisional approval stage, which involves less time as the lender is assessing your credentials as a borrower. A pre-approved offer is also called an in-principle-approved offer. This designation is given while they await supplementary information from you which could range from additional pay slips to papers summarising your debts or assets. The credit provider still needs to fully acknowledge your application and evaluate your credit before granting you full approval.
• The final approval phase
Final approval on your loan application is usually given when you have supplied all required information to the lender and passed its eligibility criteria. The lender will then grant you a loan contract that details the amount you are borrowing, the interest rate, the final amount to be paid as well as other vital information attributed to your loan deal.
5. LOAN DISBURSEMENT
Lenders can fund your loan through a variety of means. For example, when you obtain a car loan, the lender may opt to pay the car dealer directly. This is usually the same case with loans taken for debt consolidation, where they send the money to your creditor directly. When you apply for an unsecured personal loan in Singapore, the lender forwards the funds to your local bank account. This process of disbursement usually takes not more than 1 day.
6. KNOW ALL THE REPAYMENT TERMS
Most lenders' repayment terms are set on a monthly basis. Repayments can be made online, via direct payments from your set bank account. It can also be done via third-party money transfer providers, to the account of a designated debt collector or check. Sometimes, it can be wise to ensure that the lender doesn’t restrict the amount of funds that you can pay per annum, if you wish to service your loan earlier than expected.
1. There are no restrictions on how you use the funds
This is perhaps one of the biggest advantages of the best personal loan deal. The money can be utilised at your discretion. So whether it’s a wedding, the purchase of machinery, holidaying, medical treatment or tuition, you decide how you want to use your funds.
2. No collateral is demanded
For unsecured loans, the issuer does not require any security in the form of collateral, prior to the disbursement of the funds. In contrast to secured loans, the loan funds are disbursed irrespective of security concerns and you need not put up anything such as a house, vehicle, or land as collateral to the lender or financial institution.
3. Easy documentation
Completion of the paperwork for a personal loan is pretty easy. In Singapore, you’d tender only a proof of your identity, address, income, recent salary slips, current income tax returns, and statement of account from the past six months to a year, as well as other fundamentals. If you’re applying for a web-based loan, all you need to do is upload a soft copy of each document, and complete the application.
4. Monthly repayments reduce financial burden
Personal loans are designed so that you can make repayments in monthly instalments. This involves repaying a portion of the principal amount and the interest amount in simple chunks. The lender does not expect you to pay off a large chunk of the loan one-time. You can select various means of repayment in a manner that suits your financial situation.
5. It’s more cost effective than credit card loans
It is commonplace to find people using credit cards. Obtaining a credit card loan deal is quick and easy but one drawback to its expensiveness. Interest rates on credit card loans in Singapore can be very high, while a personal loan can go for as low as 5% per annum.
6. Fast processing
Most personal loans take less than two days to process. If the loan issuer has received your duly filled application and all the requisite paperwork, then a lending decision is taken almost instantaneously. Your credit score and history would be further evaluated during when your loan application is being reviewed. Besides receiving your application at a branch office, some lenders may avail you the opportunity of applying on their website.
7. Quick disbursement
A personal loan in Singapore comes with quick turnaround time. An approved loan fund can be disbursed in less than a day or two. Older customers of a lending institution stand a better chance of receiving the money faster. If your application falls during the weekend or public holiday; when they might not be in operation, the application can be processed as soon as the next working day. The disbursal of funds is dependent on full approval of the loan application as mentioned earlier.
8. Tenure flexibility
The borrower is often given a range of one to five years to repay the loan funds; 10 years according to some lenders. Tenure depends on the loan principal and interest rate. Make an effort to discuss tenure options with the lender so that a repayment plan that works for both parties is agreed.
9. Availability of top-up options
Some lenders allow you to for a top-up on an existing loan deal. Let’s say you have a loan of S$30,000 but need an additional S$5,000. In such a scenario, you can request for an extension fund on the running loan at the possibility of the same interest rate. With this, you aren’t required to apply for a fresh loan; ultimately evading the rigorous application process.
10. Availability of various loan types
A personal loan in Singapore is not merely a standardised scheme. In truth, there are a plethora of personal loan deals available. There are some plans that are designed for certain industry professionals such as lawyers, doctors, engineers, and investors. Women and farmers may also enjoy loan plans that charge very low-interest rates due to their social characteristics.
At Lendela, we believe in finding innovative ways to simplify your personal loan application process by leveraging digital technology. We are brimming with confidence on the back of over 15 years of experience in helping connect consumers with the best credit providers in the Scandinavian region, channeling more than one million customers to over 30 well-established banks and lenders in the region, such as Santander, SEB & Swedbank.
We have mediated over 600,000 loan applications in South America, thanks in no small part to our partnerships with more than 25 established credit partners including Banco Pan, BV, Safra, Banco Maxima, Banco CBSS and Banco Ibi. We are also market leaders in Brazil and have been lauded for enabling customers to enjoy the best personal loans to fulfil their dreams.
Through Lendela, we have taken the step to offer a service for online loans in Singapore as well. We are constantly looking to improve our user experience, lender panel and customer service, to become even better in finding you the best loan in Singapore.
It is time to get the hustles out of the personal loan application process, and Lendela is here to make it happen. Whether you want a personal loan for buying a new car or fund tertiary education, the process does not have to be stressful and painfully long. By applying for a personal loan through Lendela, the process that could have taken multiple hours, days, or weeks is completed in just a few minutes – you walk in, walk away in no time.
Comparing loan offers with Lendela makes it easy for you to march to success faster. Why struggle to make ten applications, and all of them get rejected when Lendela can get it done in no time? Submit the application, go on with your work, and let Lendela do the work for you. Other benefits of using Lendela include:
1. You only need to provide a few details.
2. Lendela partners with a long list of banks and licensed lenders to get the approval of the application as fast as possible.
3. By connecting with multiple banks and licensed lenders, Lendela makes it easy to compare and identify personal loans with low-interest rates.
4. You can find a personal loan even with a not so good credit score. Even if most conventional financial institutions might have declined your application, Lendela can help to revive your hope of getting the personal loan that you want.
