Maribank's SME loan. See what we found and what you need to watch out for.

Instead of reviewing Maribank's SME loan, we are going to tell you how these reviews work instead and if they can be trusted on, for you to make a financial decision that can be tens of thousands or spanning years. 

Not all comparison platforms are what they claim to be—many are nothing more than paid advertising platforms, serving the advertisers that pay them. So you are looking at ads, not comparison. 

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.

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?

The UK sets a bar: at least 51% of customers must actually qualify for an advertised rate. Singapore does not. And beyond the rate, what about the loan’s size or duration? A shiny 1% offer but only on $500 isn’t helpful if you’re after $5,000, right? The bigger issue arises when borrowers simply accept the loan promoted on a so-called “comparison” site. Without comparing across banks, this could mean paying thousands extra—because another lender might have offered a significantly lower rate. We go into more detail on this in the article above.

If you think SG should have tighter loan advertisement laws or on clickbaits, 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.

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.

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