Six fintech companies that were awarded licenses for data-driven personal lending by Singapore’s Ministry of Law in December 2018 are beginning to roll out their services.
Specifically, they will be issuing unsecured personal loans. One company, Credit Culture, launched its service today, offering loans with a capped annual interest rate of 12% and no fees for early or late settlements. The company’s platform utilizes a proprietary credit scoring engine to scour for data from government sites like MyInfo, which is a credit bureau that stores the personal data of all nationals and permanent residents of the city-state, then generates an assessment of the creditworthiness of a user to determine the exact interest charges for their loan request.
Under the ministry’s regulations, an in-person verification with the lender is still required before funds are transferred.
The other firms that will roll out their lending services are Credit Twenty-One, Minterest Holdings, Quick Credit, Xingang Investment, and IFS Capital.
These six firms are part of a pilot program spearheaded by Singapore’s Ministry of Law, which is seeking methods to streamline personal lending in Singapore.
In 2018, data released by the Monetary Authority of Singapore suggested that consumers in Singapore may have been financially overextended, with bad credit card debt nearing a 10-year high.
Editor: Brady Ng