The majority of the individuals are afraid of the word loan as much as they are terrified of the word tax. Loans come with debts, and no one likes to be riddled with debt, but if you are in dire need of cash, you can always borrow money from a moneylender. Here are a few of the reasons why you should:
- You can verify their identity by visiting their office.
- Registered moneylenders are trustworthy, so it’s absolutely safe.
- Zero hidden charges.
- You can negotiate the repayment terms.
Few things to keep in mind when you are looking for credit options in Singapore
Inflation or not, the prices of goods are increasing day by day. When you are short of cash and need money immediately for an emergency, people tend to head to the bank to get a loan. But there are several other ways you can get quick cash in Singapore. Banks are not the only way to get some money in your hands. There are several moneylenders in Singapore that offer loans to individuals that are in need of money. But you should be aware that there are two types of moneylenders– licensed and unlicensed.
Licensed
As you can already tell, licensed moneylenders are the ones that are registered in the ROM’s list. So these moneylenders are recognized by the government. This a safer option to get your money from than these sources:
Online loans
Everything is possible online nowadays. You can get almost everything online, even loans! And these online loans guarantee you money for a very short time. If you are in need of some quick cash immediately, online loans may look like the best bet for you, but you should not opt for online loan options. This is because the majority of the online loan options are a scam; you cannot verify the identity of the lender in person by visiting their office. Plus, many online moneylenders do not even ask for any documents or verification before disbursing the loan.
Any legitimate place would have asked you to submit verification documents to prove your identity. While there is a high risk involved in online loans, there are several online loan options that do offer you loans for real but to make sure that these are legitimate or not, you need to do some research. But time-consuming research is better than losing your hard-earned money.
Scare tactics
This is the case for most illegal moneylenders. They use threats and scare tactics to make the borrowers apply for a loan and also repay the amount on time. Legal moneylenders will not force you to apply for a loan and ask you for repayments as soon as the transaction is done.
Legal moneylenders that are faking it
Many moneylenders will use legal names and legally licensed numbers that will make you believe them. These moneylenders have gotten creative to the extent that it may become hard for you to recognize the fake legal moneylenders to the legitimate ones. One way of confirming that they are not fake and rather genuine is by checking their website. Most legal moneylenders will have a well-designed website, whereas most fake ones will have a very basic website that will remind of the websites in the 1990s.
Another way to figure out if they are legal or not is by checking whether they have a padlock sign on the address bar of the website. No padlock sign means no security and no security means; whatever confidential information you enter into the website, it can be seen by everyone. Do not enter your confidential information like password and ids if the website does not have an SSL encryption.
Advanced payments
Legal money lenders do not ask you for any money or payments until all the transactions have taken place. There processing fees that you may have to pay, but they are always paid after the loan has been disbursed, never before that, and these payments are always deducted from the principal amount.
If you ever come across a moneylender that seems legal but asks you for advance payments claiming it to be processing fees, you should steer clear of them. These moneylenders will take your money and run away, breaking all contact with you. Until you get the money in your account, do not pay for anything.
Random emails and texts
Moneylenders who are looking for their next target will keep harassing people with their emails and texts giving offers and deals. Legal moneylenders will never try to reach their customers by sending them emails and texts out of the blue. Individuals who need money will automatically approach them; they do not need to send messages and annoy people. In this case, the best you can do is report the emails and texts, and tag it as spam or scan and help spread awareness, or completely ignore all those messages. Just do not bother taking it to the authorities or the police, they will not do anything because you did not exactly lose any money and became a victim of a crime, you averted the crime.
Loan sharks
Loan sharks are the worst. If you get embroiled with a loan shark, it can be hard for you to get out of that hell and pay off all the debt. They are unfair and use threats and may even use violent methods to extract money from their customers. They are as shady as one can get.
Individuals who fall victim to the loan sharks are often people that are in desperate need of cash but know that they will not get a loan from the bank due to their bank balance or their bad credit score. They have no choice but to go to these criminals and ask for money. How do the loan sharks get their customers? Advertisement is the key. Advertisements everywhere from online Platforms, small food joints to cafeterias!
You are advised not to opt for such credit options. There are several legal moneylenders offering loans in Singapore, and one of them is Crawfort. It is legitimate and is listed under the ROM list of moneylenders.