HSBC Personal Loan Review 2024 — Is It Worth Taking A Loan?

Thinking about a home renovation to spruce up your HDB flat or maybe a short loan to tide you over until your next paycheck? A personal loan might be just what you need.

HSBC has a personal loan that has one of the longest loan tenures out there — 7 years compared to the usual 5 years by other banks. It’s a viable option for those who cannot afford a huge monthly repayment, as it offers them more time to repay their loan should they need it.

Let’s take a closer look at how it fares.

HSBC personal loan application criteria

To apply for the HSBC personal loan, you first need a Personal Line of Credit account to apply for the Installment Plan.

The HSBC PLOC personal loan application criteria are:

• Be between 21 and 65 years of age
• Have an annual income of S$30,000 for salaried or 40,000 SGD for self-employed or commission-based (applies to both Singapore Citizens and PRs)
• For foreigners, they must have an annual income of S$40,000 and their employment pass with a validity of at least 6 months

The minimum loan amount you can take is $1,000. The maximum loan amount you can take is 4X your monthly income. If you’re earning more than $120,000 a year, you can take a loan up to 8X your monthly income.

You can apply online on HSBC’s website with the following supporting documents:

• Completed and signed Letter of Instruction
• NRIC or Passport
• Notice of Assessment and CPF Statement (via Myinfo, Singpass login required)
• Last 3 months’ computerised pay slips (for salaried employees with monthly income of over $6,000)
• Employment Pass (foreigners only)

If you’re an existing HSBC customer, you don’t have to go through the above procedure. You can just apply through your online banking account. However, it takes up to 5 working days from your application for the loan to be approved and disbursed.

HSBC offers one of the longest loan tenures in the market—up to 7 years! Most other banks offer up to 5 years only.

You also have to pay an annual fee of $60 (waived for the first year and HSBC Premier customers).

HSBC personal loan interest rate (2024)

The personal loan interest rate at the time of writing is 3.6% p.a. (EIR 6.5% p.a.) with no processing fees.

If you’re an existing HSBC Premier customer, you enjoy a special interest rate of 3.0% p.a. (EIR 5.5% p.a.).

This rate is relatively higher compared to other banks’ loan interest rates which are below 3% like UOB Personal Loan and Standard Chartered Cash One. But what you pay ultimately will still depend on your loan amount and tenure.

To check how much you’ll be paying in interest and monthly instalments, you can use HSBC’s personal loan calculator on its website.

Here are the amounts to pay attention to:

• Monthly repayments. These are the monthly instalments you must pay every month.
• Total amount repayable. Subtract the amount you’re borrowing from this figure and you’ll get the total cost of the interest payments you’ll be making over the tenure of the loan.
• Applied or Effective Interest Rate (EIR). This is the “real” per annum interest rate you’ll be paying when all fees are taken into account.

When it comes to repaying, you can repay the loan by transferring money to your PLOC account via internet banking.

Simply log into your internet banking account (it doesn’t have to be an HSBC account) and transfer money to HSBC using the reference details in your monthly statement.

Make sure you pay instalments on time, otherwise, you’ll get slapped with a late charge of 2.5% + prevailing interest on the overdue amount.

If you somehow happen to come into a sum of money or win 4D, and want to repay your loan early, there’s also a repayment fee of 2.5% of the redemption amount.

To repay your loan early, you must give the bank 30 days’ notice. They will then send you a Repayment Letter indicating the full amount you must pay and the deadline.

HSBC personal loan promotions

HSBC is currently running a promotion where you can get up to $3,000 cashback.
To be eligible, you’ll need to take a minimum loan size of S$10,000 and a tenure of at least 3 years.

HSBC personal loan vs DBS, POSB, OCBC, UOB personal loan interest rates

Suppose you’re still not too sure about HSBC’s personal loan and want to check out what the other banks are offering. In that case, it’s best to use MoneySmart’s personal loan comparison tool to compare loan interest rates charged by the different banks for your desired loan amount and loan tenure to see which is the best option for you based on your ability to repay.

Most of the bank websites also have calculators that show how much you have to repay after you key in your desired loan amount and tenure.

HSCB personal loan vs HSBC personal line of credit balance transfer

Don’t confuse personal loans with credit card balance transfers though. HSBC also offers a balance transfer, which lets you consolidate existing credit card debt and other existing personal loan debts into a single account, usually with a lower interest rate. Think of it as streamlining your repayments and potentially saving on interest.

On the other hand, a personal loan, like the HSBC PLOC, is a fresh line of credit. This means the bank provides you with new funds, separate from any existing debts you might have with other creditors. So, while a balance transfer streamlines existing debts, a personal loan is like a blank slate, offering new funds to manage a specific need.

Compare all the best personal loans

Be cautious when it comes to personal loans. We won’t hesitate to reiterate that you should only take out personal loans for unexpected or unforeseen emergencies where you need to cough up a huge chunk of money which you do not have.

The purpose of the personal loan is to stop you from having to resort to credit card debt, which is even higher interest, when you really have no other options.

For everything else, it’s just not worth it. It’s best to save up, reduce your spending and find ways to earn extra money rather than rush into taking out a loan and getting into debt.

 

Urgently looking for a personal loan? We compared all the best personal loans in Singapore for you.