Should You Borrow Money From The Bank Or Licensed Money Lenders?

Believe it or not, the bank often lends its money to people who are stable enough that they would not need to borrow the money anymore. This is why some Singaporeans turn to alternative ways of acquiring money including Licensed Money Lenders. Now, before you borrow money from any of these options, you must know their differences first.

BANKS

Loaning money from the bank guarantees that there would be future repayment of the principal amount and its interest. A loan can either be specific or open-ended credit up to a certain ceiling amount.

Characteristics:

1. Larger Loans – Banks are ideal for larger loans such as renovating your home, starting a business, or buying a car.

2. Credit Assessment – A good credit score with a low debt to credit ratio is a must to qualify for a loan. And, if you want to pay a low interest rate, you need to be vigilant about your credit score.

LICENSED MONEY LENDERS

Licensed Money Lenders are businesses that are regulated by the Singapore’s Law. Unlike the loan sharks that lend with high interest rates, licensed money lenders’ fees are controlled by the parameters of the Law, which means you can expect to have a fair deal. Some of the known money lenders in Singapore are Max Credit, CashMax Credit and Quickloan Pte Ltd.

Characteristics:

1. Smaller Loans – Licensed money lenders are the ideal option for smaller loans such as paying utility bills, getting your laptop fixed, or repairing your car (even amounting to S$1,500).

2. Credit Assessment – Unlike the banks, licensed money lenders give more leeway in the credit score. This is because they lend a significantly smaller amount. So, if you have a bad credit and you cannot get a personal loan, licensed money lenders are there for you.

3. Transaction Speed – Licensed money lenders approve the borrower’s application within the day itself!

4. Higher Interest Rate – Since they carry more risk for granting loan to people with poor credit rating, they usually charge a higher interest rate and late fees

Image Credits: Taber Andrew Bain via Flickr

Image Credits: Taber Andrew Bain via Flickr

Although the license money lenders give more freedom in the credit score, they will reject your application if you have a large sum credit card debt or if you have an outstanding loan from another money lender.

Sources: Investopedia and Sumo Credit Pte Ltd

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Best Credit Cards For Frequent Flyers

Visualize beautiful and serene sandy beaches of Boracay, Philippines or the bountiful shopping escapades in New York City, USA. Your everyday spending using your frequent flyer or air mileage credit card can turn your dreams into reality. Bringing the world closer to you, here are the best credit cards in Singapore that you shall consider:

4. DBS ALTITUDE AMERICAN EXPRESS CARD

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DBS Altitude American Express Card offers rewards for air mileage and dinner deals. Dinner deals include discounts at over 1, 000 places nationwide with the DBS Indulge program. For example, cardholders get 1-for-1 Buffet Dinner at Hotel Jen Singapore.

With a fee of S$180 every year (waived for 1 year), and a minimum annual income of S$80, 000 for Singaporean, PR, and Foreigners, you can earn 3 miles for every dollar spent on online flight and hotel transactions. Earn 2 miles for every dollar spent overseas and 1.2 miles for every dollar spent locally. The best thing about this is that your accumulated miles will never expire! Use it at your convenience.

3. ANZ TRAVEL VISA SIGNATURE CARD

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ANZ Travel Visa Signature Credit Card’s minimum annual income eligibility for Singaporeans/PR is S$60, 000 while its S$90, 000 for Foreigners. With ANZ Travel Visa Signature, you may indulge on the complimentary access to airport limousine at departure or to airport lounges around the world. Earn 2.8 miles per S$1 spent on direct flight booking with Qantas and Jetstar airlines and 1.4 miles per S$1 for local spending. Aside from giving you rewards on air mileage, this card lets you convert your Travel$ to Cash Credit. The annual fee of S$200 is waived for a year.

2. CITI PREMIERMILES CARD

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I cannot begin to enumerate the wide selection of rewards, Citi PremierMiles Card can gives to its faithful cardholders. You earn 2 Citi Miles for every dollar spent overseas and 1.2 Citi Miles for every dollar spent locally. These miles are redeemable in 70 airlines worldwide!

By signing on to S$193 fee a year (waived in the first year) and a minimum annual income of S$60, 000 for Singaporean, PR, and Foreigners, you are entitled to not just milage rewards but also dining and petrol deals. Enjoy up to 14% discount at Esso stations and 13.6% discount at Shell stations. Exclusive dining deals to Wooloomooloo Steakhouse, Yan Ting, LaBrezza, Tiffin Room, Long Bar Steakhouse, Bar & Billiard Room and more, are courtesy of Citi Gourmet Pleasures. What’s more? REceive 10, 000 Citi Miles upon annual membership renewal and round-trip ticket to Bali on Singapore Airlines with S$12, 500 (15, 000 miles) spending.

1. AMERICAN EXPRESS SINGAPORE AIRLINES KRISFLYER GOLD CREDIT CARD

With the lowest minimum annual income eligibility among these 4 cards…American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Gold Credit Card requires S$30, 000 annual income for Singaporean/PR and S$60, 000 for Foreigners. Enjoy 1 KrisFlyer mile for every S$1.60 spent. Earn 50% more KrisFlyer miles when you charge S$5, 000 or more to your card in a year and 50% additional KrisFlyer bonus miles for a minimum spend of S$12, 000 in a year. Not only is the first year waived but you also get a welcome bonus of KrisFlyer miles.

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Worry not about the accumulation process since miles are credited directly to your KrisFlyer account.

Read Also: Best Credit Cards for Travel

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Best Credit Cards For Online Shopping

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Modern technology optimized our shopping experiences by letting us purchase items online. Now it is our job to maximize our hard earned money by choosing the right credit cards to shop with. Here is a list of the best credit cards available in the Singapore market…

3. DBS WOMAN’S MASTERCARD® CARD

Minimum Annual Income (Singaporean/PR): S$30,000

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Take it from Beyonce as girls truly run the world – virtual shopping world to be exact!

With DBS Woman’s MasterCard®, you can earn rewards points 5x if you shop anywhere online. Also, you can get S$40 worth of Qoo10 discount coupons every month or complimentary access to selected True Yoga and True Fitness Centres! Go crazy with these privileges by using the DBS Woman Mobile App. The annual fee of S$161 is waived for a year.

2. OCBC FRANK CARD

Minimum Annual Income (Singaporean/PR): S$30,000

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With over 120 free card designs to choose from, OCBC Frank Card proves to be a stylish companion to your online shopping. It gives you 6% rebates on every online purchase you make up to a cap of S$60 a month. If you exceed that, you will enjoy unlimited rebates of 0.5% on all other purchases. You can easily track your spending and rebates by going to OCBC Online.

The good news is that you can get 10% off hotel bookings by booking online through Expedia.com.sg, 10% off regular-priced items on The Travel Store, 10 off purchases on GoBuyLah.sg, and 15% off purchases on Ruedusucre.com. Also, the annual fee of only S$32 is waived for 2 years!

1. CITIBANK REWARDS CARD

Minimum Annual Income (Singaporean/PR): S$40,000

How does Citibank welcome its new rewards cardholders? Well, with complimentary shopping vouchers worth up to S$100 of course. Enjoy shopping vouchers from Havaianas & CommonThread, Dockers®, Headline Seoul, New Look, Max&Co., Victor York, and more. The Citibank Rewards Card allows you to earn 10x reward points when you shop online. Aside from this, gives you discounts to several online shops.

Want to know more? Here is the concise list of their current online shopping offers…

Blue Nile: 10% off on all purchases of standard jewelry products storewide.

HipVan: 15% off on the site’s items

IN GOOD COMPANY: 10% off storewide

Klareti: 7% off on regular priced items storewide

Luxola: 25-40% off depending on spending

Menlook: 10% off with minimum spend of S$150

Modajar: 10% off storewide

Rakuten: 10% off on the site’s items

Reebonz: 7% off on all purchases

ShopBack: 20% rebate on the site’s items

Victor York: 20% off storewide

ZALORA: 25% off on the site’s items
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Fret not about the annual fee of S$193 because it is waived for a year.

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Best Credit Cards For Grocery Shopping

Grocery shopping can be costly at times especially because businesses are becoming more competitive in their prices. And if you were to use a credit card, be sure to indulge on all of its rewards by paying the bill in full each cycle. That said, here are the 5 Best Credit Cards For Your Grocery Shopping in Singapore…

5. OCBC 365 CREDIT CARD
Minimum Annual Income (Singaporean/PR/Foreigner): S$30,000

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Do you want a card that allows rebates on your daily spending – all year round? Well then, say hello to the OCBC 365. It has rebates from grocery shopping, telecom bills, petrol, and dining. Waived for 2 years, the annual fee is S$161. Get 3% off on supermarkets islandwide, on recurring telecom bills (e.g., SingTel, StarHub, and M1), dining on weekdays, and on all your online spending (e.g., travel, movie tickets, and fashion).

4. ANZ OPTIMUM WORLD MASTERCARD CREDIT CARD

Minimum Annual Income (Singaporean/PR/Foreigner): S$80,000
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ANZ Optimum World is an all around card with a touch of personalization. It gives you the decision to select your preferred category for a calendar quarter wherein you can earn 5% cash back and 1% cash back on all other spending. You can choose to have grocery, dining & leisure, travel, and shopping as your category. The best things is that there is no minimum spend and no limit on your total accumulated rebate! The annual fee is S$180, waived for a year.

3. CITIBANK SMRT PLATINUM VISA CARD 

Minimum Annual Income (Singaporean/PR): S$30,000

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As the name implies, Citibank SMRT Platinum Visa will give you good savings for your public transportation. Surprisingly, it is also good for grocery shopping. Get up to 7% savings on Fairprice, Sheng Siong, and Giant. Just pay an annual fee of S$161, waived for 2 years.

2. NTUC PLUS! VISA CREDIT CARD

Minimum Annual Income (Singaporean/PR): S$30,000

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NTUC Plus! Visa will give you a whopping 10% off from all the items at FairPrice and FairPrice Online. What’s more? You can save up to 5% off at Unity, 3% off at Popular bookstore or Bata shoes, and 18% off at Esso fuel stations. All you have to do is pay an annual fee of only S$39 – waived for 2 years!

1. UOB DELIGHT CARD

Minimum Annual Income (Singaporean/PR): S$30,000

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Does 10% rebate at groceries and pharmacies sound tempting? Then, UOB Delight Card is perfect for you. Enjoy up to 10% off at Cold Storage, Jason’s, Giant, Market Place, and Guardian. To qualify for this, you must have a minimum spend of S$100 a month and pay an annual fee of S$87. Buying in bulk? Get a free home delivery at selected Giant Hyper with minimum S$150 in a single receipt.

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Best Credit Cards for Singapore’s Students

Being a “poor” undergraduate student with little income is not a problem anymore! With credit cards that have a credit limit of S$500 offering tons of rewards on shopping, dining, travel, and more…here are the four Best Credit Cards For Students in Singapore:

4. DBS LIVE FRESH VISA STUDENT CARD

S$500 Credit Limit

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Live Fresh Visa card is designed especially for tertiary students who want to manage their spending comfortably while still enjoying its rewards. The DBS reward points are accumulated for every S$5 charge on your card. It can be exchange with a wide range of shopping, dining, and travel deals. It has no minimum income requirement and the annual fee of S$64.20 is waived for 5 years!

3. MAYBANK EVIBES CARD

S$500 Credit Limit

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Maybank’s eVibes card is available for tertiary students or working adults aged 18 to 30. Its credit limit allows clients to spend within their means. With a S$0 annual fee and S$0 minimum annual income required, it is really an ideal credit card for every student. Although there is a quarterly service fee of S$5 but it is waived when you pay using your card once every 3 months.

Get 1% of cash rebates for everything you purchase! And, easily track your expenses online at any time.

2. STANDARD CHARTERED MANHATTAN CREDIT CARD

S$500 Credit Limit

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Are you a student wanting to indulge your bountiful appetite and thirst for films? Then, Manhattan is the right card for you. Enjoy 15% off your total bill at Harry’s Bar and Restaurant or S$1 off per movie ticket plus a free popcorn combo set at the Cathay Cineplexes. What’s more? You get .25% cash back for all retail spending, 20% off from items at Nature’s Farm, and 15% off from items at Oroton. Aside from these benefits, the annual fee of S$30 is waived for the first year and there is no minimum income required.

1. CITI CLEAR CARD

Dreaming of having free entry to Zouk and 1-for-1 drinks at wine bar one of these days? Or how about having exclusive deals at good restaurants such as db Bistro, Shin Kushiya, and The Chop House? Dream no more students! With Citi Clear card, you will be pleased with benefits in dining, clubbing, petrol, shopping, and more.

Dining

10% Citi Rebate at Starbucks

5% Citi Rebate at Burger King

Entertainment

Free entry and 1-for-1 drinks at Zouk

10% off total bill at Wala Wala Café Bar

15% off ala carte food menu at Beer Market

Petrol

10% discount at Esso stations

Shopping

6% cash rebate at Tangs

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Worry not about your qualifications because there is no minimum income required and besides the annual fee of S$29.96 is waived the first year. Best of all? Upon application, you get S$30 Havaianas or CommonThread voucher.

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