DBS / POSB Working capital loan. Not your usual product review.

Many borrowers want clarity on how DBS or POSB loans work, how these banks charge, or how fast they respond before they apply. And you were trying to find it online when you found this article. Unfortunately, as detailed here, that clarity only comes after applying. Although MAS introduced the Guidelines on Standards of Conduct for Digital Advertising Activities in September, we still find them lacking in coverage.

In the UK, any advertised rate like “1%” or “1-hour” must apply to 51% of borrowers — not yet true here. More worrying are non-bank intermediaries producing leads for banks. And this is why you need to read this article. So, you will know how it works and stop relying on 3rd parties for such information.

Credit: Public review found on Seedly and Google

Not all review sites are what they claim to be—many are nothing more than advert-driven portals, serving the advertisers that pay them.

Across markets from the U.S. to Australia, authorities are uncovering that these platforms often promote results based on payment, not on what’s truly best for the applicant or consumer, and suing them. What you see isn’t always an unbiased comparison but often a ranked 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 applicant 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.

Credit: Head of Lendingpot. Strangely enough, Lendingpot appears to be exposing its own practices. Saying such rates are misleading while pushing for one? For more of their contradiction or to join the conversation, click here. After we exposed how brokers owned by lenders have a clear conflict of interest, they recycled the same argument months later. Yet they themselves are owned by IFS Capital & PhilipCapital! Perhaps their habit of copying our content explains these blunders? We don't know if that is the case, but it is too much of a coincidence, isn't it? That means our content is good, and you need to subscribe to it!

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 applicants 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? And here’s the more important catch: using a loan “comparison” website and going with their recommended loan could mean thousands in extra costs. Another bank might have actually been able to offer you a lower rate. We’ve broken this down 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. All it takes is a few minutes, so why go for clickbait rates?

If you think what they are doing 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. 

"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything",  Albert Einstein

What we’re seeing isn’t an exception — the same practices show up repeatedly among loan "comparison" websites such as Lendingpot, SingSaver, Roshi, and Lendela. We can’t stop lenders from collaborating with them, fueling their profits and boosting their visibility and making the cycle repeat for another consumer. What we can do is challenge misleading advertising and create a safer space for borrowers, SMEs, and consumers. 

Boasting 60 million Southeast Asian visitors, MoneySmart thrives thanks to lenders and investors who look the other way. What we can do is shine light on the contradiction — profit built on misleading marketing - by their own users' word.

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