Trust Bank's Trust Instant Loan. We "reviewed" it for you!

Trust Bank's Trust Instant Loan. We "reviewed" it for you! As we have seen so many “comparison” websites or bloggers reviewing it, we thought we would chip in, but with a twist.

Because you were likely hoping to learn how some banks charge, how long they take to reply, or how loans really work. You were trying to find it online when you found this article. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way as explained here. While MAS rolled out the Guidelines on Standards of Conduct for Digital Advertising Activities, they remain far from comprehensive. In the UK, 1% or 1-hour loan claims must apply to most borrowers — not so here. Non-bank intermediaries still generate misleading leads for banks. And this is why you need to read this article.

Not all comparison websites are what they claim to be—many are nothing more than sponsored listing sites, serving the advertisers that pay them.

Across markets from the U.S. to Australia, regulators are finding that these platforms often prioritize results based on payment, not on what’s truly best for the customer or consumer. What you see isn’t always an unbiased comparison but a filtered 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 customer 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 short on time, you don’t have to read the article above - here is the image that sums it all up. Promoting such rates while condemning such practices in the same article, side by side? 🤣 Well, I think you would know who Trust Bank wouldn't trust after this, to serve as their advertiser.

Credit: Head of Lendingpot. Strangely enough, Lendingpot appears to be exposing its own practices?! A mistake that exposed so-called loan comparison websites once and for all? 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 customers 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? But here’s the real concern: if you used a loan “comparison” website and didn’t compare beyond their top pick, you might have paid thousands more. Another bank could have offered you a much cheaper loan. We explained this in the article above.

And thus we built FindTheLoan.com, to be loan comparison 2.0. Instead of teaser rates or applying with multiple lenders one by one, in one single application, you can reach multiple lenders at once with your actual documents, and they will make a full credit assessment, and they will revert with their actual offer as if you had walked in to them individually. From ex-COO of HSBC to business head of BNP, see what industry players are saying about us by visiting our home page.

If you think what comparison websites have been doing is something that doesn’t look right or have been clickbaiting consumers for years, we invite you to share your thoughts on this LinkedIn post or on our Reddit, TikTok, or Facebook post, if you prefer. Boasting 60 million Southeast Asian visitors, MoneySmart and such websites 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. Because these are not isolated practices, but similar patterns appear across the industry, as seen in our findings on platforms like SingSaver, Roshi, Lendela, and Lendingpot.

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 continue enriching them and amplifying their voice, which is not something we can stop, we can shine a light on misleading advertising and ensure better protection for borrowers, consumers, and SMEs. So share this to protect a friend or a colleague. Or just to let them have a laugh about the huge blunder that one loan comparison website actually made.

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

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