Personal loans

Fifty can help you to apply for a personal loan from major banks operating in Singapore, banks like OCBC, Citibank, HSBC and Standard Chartered. There’s a variety of repayment periods (typically between one and five years, but possibly longer), loan amounts (possibly up to eight times your monthly income) and interest rates. Many loans feature fast approval, and other benefits may include cashback or bonus air miles.

Depending on the lender and your credit history, you may be able to borrow up to four, five, six, seven or even eight times your monthly income.

Some loans may specify a fixed repayment period (e.g. five years) but in other cases you will be able to choose the repayment period (loan tenure or loan tenor), with options from one year to five years or possibly longer.

You can usually repayments via the bank’s online banking system or mobile banking app, funds transfer, or a deposit over the counter or at an ATM. Some banks may accept deposits via AXS and GIRO.

You can view your loan balance and transaction details via the bank’s online banking system and mobile banking app.

You will be required to make monthly repayments.

Some loans have no application fee, while others have a fee (e.g. $200) payable only if the application is successful and the loan is approved. In the latter case, the fee is usually deducted from the loan amount before the cash is deposited into your nominated bank account. You can find out if there is a fee by checking the Terms and Conditions for the loan you are interested in.

In addition to interest charges and possibly an application fee, you also need to be aware of the following possible fees:

• Late payment fee
• Additional interest on late payments
• Fee for paying out the loan earlier than the agreed time
• Loan restructuring fee (if you need to change any of the agreed terms of your loan).

To find out what fees are applicable, check the Terms and Conditions for the loan you are interested in.

Eligibility requirements may vary depending on the bank, the type of loan and the amount to be borrowed, but the typical basic requirements are:

• Be at least 21 years old
• If a Singaporean, earn an annual income of at least $20,000 or $30,000, depending on the lender
• If a foreigner, earn a higher annual income (e.g.$45,000 or $60,000)

Typically, you will need:

• Identification documents — NRIC for Singaporeans and permanent residents, passport plus Employment Pass or Student Pass for foreigners
• Income documents — latest electronic payslips OR CPF contribution history for last six or 12 months (possibly longer for self-employed or commission-based earners) OR latest income tax statement (possibly last two years for self-employed or commission-based earners)
• At least one other official document showing your residential address — e.g. utility bill, bank credit card statement, rental agreement, government document such as from IRAS, CPF, ICA

Some lenders offer instant approval to SingPass holders applying with MyInfo. Other banks say they will give conditional approval in up to one hour, and deposit your cash the next day when all required documents have been submitted.

Yes. From time to time both Finty and individual lenders may offer special benefits to successful loan applicants, such as an upfront cash rebate into your bank account, or bonus air miles deposited into your air miles account. Check individual loan offers for details.

Yes. Most lenders accept applications from permanent residents and foreigners. Foreigners may have to meet stricter eligibility requirements, such as more forms of identification and a higher annual income.

Usually, yes. Most lenders will accept applications from self-employed people, or from people whose income is based on commissions, but may require extra supporting documentation.

A cash-on-instalments personal or fixed repayments loan provides you with your loan amount upfront in cash, deposited to your nominated bank account. You then repay the loan amount plus interest in equal fixed monthly instalments over the agreed repayment period (the loan tenure or loan tenor). In some cases the loan balance may be recorded as a balance owing on a credit card, so that when you make loan instalment repayments you free up some of the card’s credit limit so that it is available for making purchases.