A loan can make your life so much easier. But one wrong step, and you could land in a financial mess.
However, when you want to know more about the type of loan options that you have and whether you should be going for an urgent cash loan today, there is so much information available that you end up getting confused. And it often leaves you wondering, in times of emergency due to a financial turmoil, do you touch your emergency fund or get a cash loan Singapore?
Are there any ways to verify which of these financial companies or individual lenders are authentic? Can you verify the information they provide on Singapore fast cash loan? Thankfully, yes. There are ways to identify the genuineness of financial institutions. And before going ahead with a lender, you must ensure to check these boxes to avoid getting trapped or cheated by a loan shark.
How to verify the authenticity of a moneylender before borrowing a cash loan Singapore?
The most important checkpoint is the Ministry of Law website listing. It is mandatory for moneylenders to register themselves on the MinLaw website. So, if you come across a moneylender who you would like to approach you for an urgent cash loan today, the first step would be to check them up on this website. If they are not listed, then it is likely that this is an illegal loan shark.
In very rare cases, the moneylender may not be registered on the MinLaw site because they could be new in business and waiting for their license. But in any case, it is best to approach someone with a license in place. Especially, when you are looking for a Singapore fast cash loan, it is all the more necessary to choose a moneylender with a license.
Apart from this main indicator of a legal moneylender, there are quite a few signs that mark the authenticity of a licensed moneylender. Singapore’s legal ministry has laid down some stringent rules for moneylenders to follow.
Take a look at these 5 signs of a legal money lender in Singapore:
The office space
Legal moneylenders will have a registered office because the Singapore government’s law ministry requires them to maintain an office on the address that they have used to register their business on the website.
An official contract
A legal moneylender will require you to sign a loan agreement. Since licensed moneylenders fall in a legal framework, they are expected to stick by the book. And that’s why they will make a contract with you so that everything is official.
Government-approved interest rates
Licensed moneylenders cannot charge high rates of interest. Instead, they are supposed to keep it within 4 per cent per annum. So, irrespective of your financial income and status, a moneylender cannot exceed this rate of interest.
Fees and charges
Legal moneylenders can charge you only a few types of charges. Even in this case, the Singapore government has given a guideline. Here’s what you must know:
- In case of default, late payment fees cannot exceed 60 dollars per month. Also, the late interest fee cannot be more than 4 per cent per annum on the outstanding principal amount. In addition to this, the late interest fee is not calculated as compound interest but on a monthly basis and only on the outstanding principal.
- A fee for the services provided cannot exceed 10 per cent of the total principal amount.
- Legal moneylenders are allowed to charge any legal fees that may be a part of a court case.
But other than these, moneylenders are not allowed to take any additional charges from the borrower.
Overall behavior and treatment
A licensed moneylender will always treat you with dignity, answer all your queries regarding the loan, maintain clarity and transparency, and never make any false promises.
So, if you wish to borrow a loan from a moneylender, make sure you are inquiring about the registration details and verify the above-mentioned points.
Loan sharks, on the other hand, might take advantage of your emergency situations and pressurize you into borrowing loans without giving you much time to consider all these verification points. In case of loan defaults, they may even resort to threats and foul language, without caring about your dignity and self-respect.
If you make efforts to ensure that you are borrowing from a licensed moneylender, then you don’t have to worry about all these issues.
