Citibank Personal Loan - What You Need to Know Before Using It

As we have seen so many “comparison” websites or bloggers reviewing it, we thought we would chip in, but with a twist. Is Citibank Personal Loan the best loan for you? And are those loan comparison websites really comparing loans for you?

Not all "comparison websites" are what they claim to be—many are nothing more than paid advertising platforms, serving the advertisers that pay them.

Across markets from the U.S. to Australia, regulators are discovering that these platforms often highlight results based on payment, not on what’s truly best for the borrower or consumer. What you see isn’t always an unbiased comparison, but a curated list bought by those who pay the most.

While general information, such as miles or points per dollar spent, is easy to research, loan amounts and interest rates are highly personal. They change from one borrower to another based on each individual’s credit score & profile. That rate they “reviewed” or “compared” for you is actually a teaser rate. Here’s how it works in detail. They are rates that you may or may not get, and in many countries, regulators are either suing them for clickbaiting consumers or publishing warnings on them.

But if you are pressed for time, you don’t have to read the article above - here is an image that says it all. The image that exposed them all.

Credit: Head of Lendingpot. Strangely enough, Lendingpot appears to be exposing its own practices. For more of their contradiction or to join the conversation, click here. What’s more, when we pointed out the conflict of interest of brokers owned by lenders, they echoed it months later—despite being owned by IFS Capital & PhilipCapital!

Credit: Public review found on Seedly and Google

Every now and then, you’ll see them write comparisons like “this loan vs. that loan.” But think about it—if they claim to compare 10 loans, did they really take all 10 and pay interest on each one?

In the UK, at least 51% of borrowers must actually enjoy the quoted rate. Singapore, however, has no such law. And even if the rates are genuine, what about the loan amount or tenure? If you need $50,000 and they indeed offer you 1% - but only for $2,000, would that be helpful to you? But the bigger issue is if you went to a loan “comparison” website and took their recommended loan without checking others. That choice alone could have cost you thousands more, as another bank might have offered a lower rate. We explained this in the article above.

And thus we built FindTheLoan.com, Singapore’s 1st loan marketplace. Instead of teaser rates or applying with multiple lenders one by one, you can reach multiple lenders at once with your actual documents, and they will make a full credit assessment as if you had walked in to them individually, and they will revert with their actual offer.

If you think something doesn’t look right, we invite you to share your thoughts on this LinkedIn post or on our Reddit, TikTok, or Facebook post, if you prefer. However, we have tagged a number of MPs on LinkedIn who, during parliament, have asked about matters such as greater consumer protections. Weighing in there, and as more people share their thoughts there, could finally catch their attention to do something about the industry and better protect borrowers. Every comment, repost, or show of support matters — it increases the chances that policymakers take notice and act. 

Even if lenders keep enriching them and amplifying their influence and the issue just snowball, we can still call out false advertising and fight for a safer space for borrowers, SMEs, and consumers. If we can just forward this to a few friends, we can still break that loop.

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