Best Banks for Personal Loan in Singapore

There will be times in our lives where we find ourselves in need of some extra cash. It might be a medical emergency where you’re left with hospital bills to face, a car breakdown leaving you with a long bill from your garage, or even your trusty old refrigerator finally breaking down on you. While you should have savings to cover such costs, it isn’t always feasible to break into your savings to meet such expenses.

At times, many may not have the required funds in their savings and moreover, breaking into your savings will leave you ill-equipped to meet bigger emergencies that may crop up. During such times, a personal loan can be your best bet to get that additional influx of cash that can help tide things over. A personal loan can be quite beneficial especially when you don’t have much to fall back on except a credit card. The main benefit of taking up a personal loan is the flexibility you get when it comes to its intended use.

While there are loans out there that can help you meet certain purposes such as a home loan or car loan or renovation loan, these loans can only be used for their specific intended purposes. A personal loan can be used in any way the borrower deems fit. This could be to meet pressing expenses, consolidate credit card dues, or even be used for investments. Moreover, these loans require no collateral which makes it is easier to acquire.

Most personal loans offered in Singapore also give you the added benefit of being time sensitive. That means processing time involved is low and loan amounts are usually disbursed in a short span of time. Below, we present to you our pick of the best personal loans in Singapore, based on the benefits they provide. Read on to find the right personal loan for you.

Best Personal Loans by Top 5 Banks in Singapore

Here are some of the top personal loans that we think give you the best perks for the loan amount borrowed:

Citibank Personal Loan

The Citibank Personal Loan allows you to get the additional funds you require to meet your expenses. Be it an emergency expense or to meet your goals such as financing your wedding costs, the Citibank Personal Loan is here to fulfill your needs.

Advantages

You will get the following benefits on the Citibank Personal Loan:

• Flexible tenures: The loan comes with a range of flexible tenures. You can choose from repayment tenures ranging from 12 months to 60 months.
• High loan amount: The Citibank personal loan offers you high loan amounts with the maximum loan amount going up to S$100,000. The minimum loan amount is S$1,000.
• Eligibility criteria: The loan has easy-to-meet eligibility criteria where the borrower must have attained the age of 21 years. The minimum income required to apply for the loan is S$30,000 annually for Singaporeans and Permanent Residents and S$42,000 annually for foreigners.
• Fast approval times: Citibank offers you a 1-hour loan approval program and provided you meet all the bank’s eligibility criteria, funds can be disbursed as quickly as the next working day.
• Interest rates: The loan offers low interest rates starting at 4.83% p.a.

Disadvantages

Here are some components where the loan doesn’t do too well:

• Cancellation fee: Citibank charges a high cancellation fee which is the higher of S$100 or 3% of the unbilled principal amount.

DBS Personal Loan

The DBS Personal Loan gives you access to cash when you need it the most. With quick processing and disbursement times, it is your answer when in need of emergency cash. The loan also comes with flexible tenures allowing for easy repayment.

Advantages

You will get the following benefits on the DBS Personal Loan:

• High loan amounts: The DBS Personal Loan allows you to get loan amounts of up to 4 times your monthly salary. If your annual income exceeds S$120,000, then you can even get loan amounts of up to 10 times your monthly salary. The minimum loan amount is S$500.
• Quick turnaround time: The loan offers you a quick processing time allowing you to get access to extra cash in case of an emergency. DBS will inform you of your application status immediately and even disburses the loan amount immediately upon successful approval of your application.
• Promotional offer: Applying for the DBS personal Loan online can fetch you a cashback of S$388.
• Flexible tenures: The loan comes with a range of flexible tenures. You can choose repayment tenures starting from 12 months to 60 months.
• Eligibility criteria: The loan has easy-to-meet eligibility criteria. The borrower must have attained the age of 21 years. The minimum income required to apply for the loan is S$20,000. The loan can be applied by salaried employees, commission based/variable income earners and self-employed applicants.
• Interest rates: The loan offers competitive interest rates starting at 6.99% p.a.

For borrowers earning between S$20,000 to S$30,000:

Disadvantages

Here are some components where the loan doesn’t do too well:

• High eligibility requirements for maximum loan amount: The highest possible loan amount is 10 times your monthly salary and to be eligible for this amount, you need to earn an annual income of S$120,000.
• Higher interest: Although applicants earning upwards of S$20,000 per year can apply for this loan, it comes with higher rates of interest as compared to the Citibank Personal Loan.

HSBC Personal Loan

Be it for an emergency or fulfilling your short term goals, the HSBC personal loans offer you that much-needed cash at competitive rates. The loan offers a quick processing time and gives preferential rates for HSBC Premier and HSBC Advance banking customers.

Advantages

You will get the following benefits on the HSBC Personal Loan:

• Multiple packages: The HSBC personal loan also offers separate packages for debt consolidation to consolidate your balances from other lines of credit. It also offers a personal line of credit where you can borrow up to 6 times your monthly salary and charges you interest only on the amount used.
• Longest tenure: The HSBC personal Loan offers one of the longest tenure options available in Singapore. Loan tenures range from 1 year to 7 years allowing for easy repayment.
• High loan amounts: The loan amount offered by the HSBC Personal Loan can go up to 8 times your monthly salary.
• Promotional offer: The HSBC Personal Loan gives you a promotional offer when you apply for the loan online. Online applications that are successfully approved receive a S$50 cashback and the processing fees of S$88 on the loan is waived.
• Quick turnaround time: The loan offers a 1-minute approval in principle when you apply for the loan online.
• Interest rates: The loan offers competitive interest rates starting at an effective interest rate of 9% p.a. The interest rates offered for HSBC Premier Customers is an effective interest rate of 7% p.a. for the entire range of tenure options. The interest rates offered for HSBC Advance Customers is an effective interest rate of 8% p.a. for the entire range of tenure options.

For HSBC Retail Banking Customers:

Disadvantages

Here are some components where the loan doesn’t do too well:

• High charges: The fees and charges associated with the loan are quite high. For early settlement of the loan, HSBC charges an early payment fee of 2.5% of the redemption amount. In case you missed a payment, the late payment fee charged is 2.5% plus the current interest rate on the overdue amount.

POSB Personal Loan

The POSB Personal Loan offers you quick processing and disbursement times, allowing you to get cash when you need it the most. The loan also comes with flexible tenures of up to 5 years and attractive promotional offers

Advantages

You will get the following benefits on the POSB Personal Loan:

• High loan amounts: The POSB Personal Loan allows you to get loan amounts of up to 4 times your monthly salary if you earn an annual income of S$30,000 or more. If your annual income exceeds S$120,000, then you can get a maximum loan amount of up to 10 times your monthly salary. The minimum loan amount that can be borrowed is S$500.
• Quick turnaround time: The loan offers you a quick processing time and informs you of your application status immediately. Upon successful approval of your application, the loan amount is disbursed immediately into your POSB Deposit account.
• Promotional offer: Applying for the POSB personal Loan online can fetch you a cashback of S$388.
• Flexible tenures: The loan comes with a range of flexible tenures. Borrowers can choose repayment tenures starting from 12 months to 60 months.
• Eligibility criteria: The loan has easy to meet eligibility criteria. The minimum income required to apply for the loan begins at S$20,000 annually.
• Interest rates:

For borrowers earning an annual income between S$20,000 to S$30,000:

For borrowers earning an annual income of S$30,000 or more:

Disadvantages

Here are some components where the loan doesn’t do too well:

• Strings attached: You need to earn a very high annual income of S$120,000 to be eligible to borrow 10 times your monthly salary
• Higher fees and interest rates: The processing fee of the loan is quite high at S$100 and the interest rates, especially for those earning between S$20,000 to S$30,000 is quite high when compared to other personal loans.

Standard Chartered Personal Loan

The Standard Chartered Personal Loan offers you a quick processing and disbursement time with cash being disbursed as early as the very next working day. The loan also comes with value added features such as a 5-year annual fee waiver on your Standard Chartered Platinum Visa Credit Card.

Advantages

You will get the following benefits on the Standard Chartered Personal Loan:

• High loan amounts: The loan comes with high loan amounts allowing you to borrow up to 4 times your monthly salary up to a maximum of S$150,000.
• Quick turnaround time: The loan offers quick disbursement times with the loan amount being disbursed as early as the next working day.
• Promotional offer: The loan has a promotional offer wherein online applications for loan amounts of up to S$50,000 can get a cashback of 1% of the approved loan amount. For loan amounts exceeding S$50,000, the cashback offered is 1.5% of the approved loan amount subject to a cap of S$1088.
• Eligibility criteria: The loan can be easily applied for and requires a minimum annual income of S$20,000
• Interest rates: The table below highlights the interest rates of the loan.

Disadvantages

Here are some components where the loan doesn’t do too well:

• Higher interest rates: The interest rates of the loan is quite high when compared to other personal loans such as Citibank or HSBC.

Compare & Review Best Personals by Banks in Singapore

How to choose the best personal loan

Here are some tips on how to choose the best personal loan for you:

• The first thing you need to look at when going in for a personal loan is your capability in paying it back. This means that you need to settle on the right loan amount such that your monthly instalment is affordable.
• The next thing you need to pay attention to is the interest rate. The lower your interest rate is, the easier it is to repay. Many loans might advertise lower rates of interest but these are quite different from the effective rates of interest you’d actually have to pay. The key to choosing the right loan is thorough research and comparison.
• You should then take into consideration the various fees and charges associated with a loan. Many loans might advertise lower rates of interest but usually charge more in other areas such as processing fees, early payment fees, and late payment fees.
• The final consideration to take into account is your eligibility. This isn’t just your annual income but your credit score as well. A personal loan with bad credit score would lead to rejection or will result in you being offered a lower loan amount at higher rates of interest. Also, one should keep in mind that applying at multiple banks at the same time can negatively impact your credit scores.