Standard Chartered Personal Loan Review 2024: Should You Take the SCB CashOne Personal Loan?

Need money for your flat or condo downpayment? Perhaps you have big renovation plans or you’ve had a bit of an emergency that requires a large amount of cash in a short time. A personal loan may be the solution. 

Before you do, we must caution you that personal loans can come with high interest rates and you’ll need to be financially secure to be able to pay back the loan, otherwise, you’ll face even more penalties. 

But if you genuinely need cash for a legitimate reason, check out the 8 best personal loans in Singapore for an overview. 

In this article, we’ll be taking a closer look at Standard Chartered’s CashOne Personal Loan so you can see if it’s something that may suit your needs. 

 

Standard Chartered CashOne Personal Loan: Interest rate (2024)

Let’s jump into the most important consideration: interest rates. The interest rate for the Standard Chartered CashOne Personal Loan currently stands at 2.88% per annum, with an Effective Interest Rate (EIR) of 5.43% p.a*.

The EIR is the actual rate you pay after factoring in charges incurred for taking out the personal loan, as well as your loan tenor. It’s better to look at the EIR to know how much you’ll have to pay back.

Standard Chartered also has a loan calculator on its website to easily calculate how much interest you’ll pay depending on the loan amount you take out and tenure. 

For instance, if you take a loan tenure of $20,000 for 2 years, the EIR is 5.44% p.a., with monthly repayment $881.33. 

If the loan tenure for the same amount is 4 years, the EIR is 5.45% p.a., with a monthly repayment of $464.67. 

Remember that the interest rate and EIR will vary depending on your loan amount and loan tenure. 

*Effective Interest Rate (EIR) calculation is not yet inclusive of the cashback that may be received (up to 2.5% cashback) and the first-year annual fee of S$199. Refer to T&Cs for more information.

 

Standard Chartered CashOne Personal Loan promotions

When you take up Standard Chartered’s CashOne Personal Loan, you get more than the cash you loaned out. From now to 30 Sep 2024, Standard Chartered is also giving you up to 2.5% cashback on your CashOne loan—that’s the highest cashback offer of all the personal loans available in Singapore right now.

You’ll only receive 2.5% cashback if you take a loan amount of $50,000 and above for a loan tenure of 3, 4, or 5 years. For smaller amounts, you’ll receive either 1% or 2%:

Your loan amount	Cashback you’ll get (%)	Cashback value ($)
$15,000 to <$40,000	1%	$150 – $399.99
$40,000 to <$50,000	2%	$800 – $999.98
$50,000 and above	2.5%	$1,250 – $6,250

There’s another goodie in store for you. The cashback offer above stacks with MoneySmart’s promotional gifts for new Standard Chartered customers. These include:

• Up to S$1,720 cash
• Apple iPhone 15, 256GB (worth S$1,472.50)
• Apple 11-inch iPad Air, 128GB (worth S$899)
• Sony PS5 (SLIM) Digital Edition (worth S$669)

What if you’re an existing Standard Chartered customer? Don’t worry—you don’t lose out. You can get up to $1,120 cash on top of an extra $500 cash bonus. T&Cs apply.

 

Standard Chartered CashOne Personal Loan: Eligibility criteria

To qualify for the Standard Chartered CashOne Personal Loan, you must satisfy the following criteria:

• Aged 21 and above 
• Singapore Citizens and PRs: Minimum annual income of $20,000
• Foreigners: Minimum annual income of $60,000, must hold a valid Singapore Employment Pass

 

Standard Chartered CashOne Personal Loan: Documents required for application

New customers

If you’re a new customer, the easiest way to apply is online with MyInfo—no documents required. That’s if you’re a SingPass holder.

Otherwise, the documents required for application are depend on your citizenship and employment status. Here’s a summary for Singaporean Citizens & PR:

Employment status	Documents required for Singaporean Citizens & PR
Salaried Employees/Partial Commission-based Earners	Copy of NRIC (front and back) Latest computerised payslip OR latest 6 months’ CPF Contribution History Statement (only for higher loan amounts) Income Tax Notice of Assessment (NOA)
100% Commission-based Earners	Copy of NRIC (front and back) Latest Income Tax Notice of Assessment (NOA) OR latest 3 months of Commission Statement from same employer
Self-employed	Copy of NRIC (front and back) Latest Income Tax Notice of Assessment (NOA)

If you are a foreigner, these are the documents you’ll need to apply for the Standard Chartered CashOne Personal Loan:

Employment status	Documents required for all foreigners	Additional documents required
Salaried Employees/Partial Commission-based Earners	Copy of Passport (with at least 6 months’ validity) Copy of your Employment Pass Any ONE of the following documents: – Latest utility bill, rates or tax bill – Latest bank / credit card statement (e-Statements are accepted) – Rental agreement showing your address – Latest mobile phone statement or pay-TV statement – Letter from employer stating current address – Government-issued document stating current address (e.g. IRAS, CPF, ICA)	Latest computerised payslip (only for higher loan amounts) Income Tax Notice of Assessment (NOA)
100% Commission-based Earners		Latest Income Tax Notice of Assessment (NOA) OR Latest 3 months of Commission Statement from same employer
Self-employed		Latest Income Tax Notice of Assessment (NOA)

Existing Standard Chartered credit cardholders

For existing Standard Chartered credit cardholders, there’s no need to submit any documents. But if there’s a change in your income, you need to submit the relevant documents during the application process.

 

Standard Chartered CashOne Personal Loan: Approval time

After you apply for a Standard Chartered CashOne Personal Loan, how long will you wait for them to process your application? In most cases, Standard Chartered offers instant approval of loan applications made online with MyInfo. Yup, the easiest application method is also the fastest!

However in other cases, if the bank requires more information from you, you may need to wait up to 1 working day for your application to be assessed.

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ALSO READ: 8 Best Personal Loans in Singapore with Lowest Interest Rates (2024)

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Things to consider before taking a personal loan

When considering a personal loan, remember that shorter repayment terms are generally to your benefit. While banks might promote longer loan terms (like 5 years) that offer lower monthly payments, this can be a trap. The shorter the loan tenure, the less total interest you’ll pay overall. So, it’s best to pay less and choose a repayment period that allows you to clear the loan quickly and save money in the long run.

Be prudent about deciding on a manageable loan tenure right from the onset—if you want to change your loan tenure subsequently, you’ll be charged a $50 fee.

For the Standard Chartered CashOne, there’s also an initial annual fee of $199 to pay, deducted from your approved loan amount. For subsequent years, the fee will be $50—but this will be waived if all payment is received by the due date for the past 12 months. 

Remember to pay your monthly instalments in full! If you don’t, it’ll be considered a late payment and you’ll be charged $100 on top of the annual fee.

What if you don’t need the loan anymore and want to pay it off early? Well, they also penalise you for it. In Standard Chartered’s case, if you repay the loan back in full before the lock-in period, the fee is $150 or 3% of the remaining loan amount, whichever is higher. 

While SCB’s 2.88% p.a. interest is one of the lowest rates out there, it’s best to shop around. Some banks may advertise attractive headline rates, be sure to factor in the Effective Interest Rate (EIR) which includes additional fees. You can use MoneySmart’s personal loan comparison tool to compare what the other banks are offering for your desired loan amount and loan tenure. 

 

Standard Chartered CashOne personal loan vs SCB Credit Card Fund Transfer vs Debt Consolidation

The SCB Credit Card Fund Transfer lets you consolidate your credit card debt from other banks. You can transfer your debt from other cards to SCB and pay off only one credit card bill rather than monitor a few.

Debt consolidation is a different beast from personal loans. Instead of borrowing fresh money, you’re simply transferring your existing debt from various other loans or credit cards to one single loan, typically to take advantage of lower interest rates.

With the CashOne personal loan, it’s different as you will be drawing fresh funds, not just reshuffling your debts into one place. 

 

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ALSO READ: Should You Take A Personal Loan To Help With The Rising Costs Of Living?

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Comparing Standard Chartered CashOne personal loan vs DBS, POSB, OCBC, UOB personal loan interest rates

How does Standard Chartered’s CashOne Personal Loan compare to other banks’ loans? From interest rates to time-limited promotions, there’s a lot to compare. I recommend you check out our review of the 8 best personal loans in Singapore for an overview—yes, CashOne made the list.

Another good tool you can use to compare personal loans in Singapore is MoneySmart’s personal loan comparison platform. Why open a million tabs when you can open just one?

For now, here’s a list of personal loans from the big banks in Singapore. DBS, POSB and UOB all have slightly better interest rates than Standard Chartered’s CashOne. However, in terms of promotional offers, Standard Chartered’s CashOne and UOB’s personal loan come up on top. In last place is the OCBC ExtraCash Loan, which comes with a high interest rate of 5.43% (EIR: 11.47%).

 

Be careful when taking personal loans

Remember, personal loans are best suited for essential needs, not material wants. The higher interest rates can make them a costly option for non-critical expenses. If you’re reading this article with that dream holiday or luxury handbag in mind, we’d advise saving for them the good ol’ fashioned way. 

 

Not sure if the Standard Chartered personal loan is right for you? Take a look at all the best personal loans in Singapore.