If you have been turned down for personal loans because of bad credit, the question in Singapore is not really your three-digit score. It is your Credit Bureau Singapore (CBS) risk grade. Banks rarely approve unsecured loans below a BB grade, which is a score of roughly 1,825. Below that, a licensed moneylender is usually the only legal lender that will say yes, and the law caps what they can charge: 4% interest a month, and total charges that can never exceed the amount you borrowed. This guide shows the grade that gets you rejected, who lends anyway, the 2026 numbers, and the cheapest order to fix it.
Lenders here do not score you the way US sites describe. Every bank pulls one number from Credit Bureau Singapore, a score from 1,000 to 2,000 that maps to a risk grade from HH (worst) to AA (best). The score is a probability of default, not a report card. A grade of HH means CBS thinks there is a 3.48% or higher chance you miss a payment in the next 12 months; an AA grade puts that under 0.27%.
A grade of FF, GG or HH is what most people mean by bad credit. At HH you are below 1,724, and almost no retail bank will approve an unsecured personal loan. CC to EE is the grey middle: some banks decline, others price the loan higher. You can pull your own report from CBS for S$8.00 (with GST) online before you apply anywhere, so you know which camp you are in.
One detail that surprises people: having no track record can score as badly as a missed payment. CBS cannot judge what it cannot see, so a thin file or a recent flurry of loan applications both push your grade down. Check your standing first with our financial health calculator before you let a lender pull it.
| Grade | Score range | Probability of default | What lenders do |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA | 1,911 - 2,000 | 0.27% or less | Best rates, fastest approval |
| BB | 1,844 - 1,910 | 0.27% - 0.67% | Standard bank approval |
| CC - EE | 1,724 - 1,843 | 0.88% - 2.28% | Mixed; higher pricing or decline |
| FF - GG | 1,724 - 1,754 | 2.29% - 3.47% | Most banks decline |
| HH | 1,000 - 1,723 | 3.48% or more | Bank rejection; moneylender route |
Three legal lanes exist when your grade is weak: digital banks that weigh income over history, secured borrowing where your own asset is the collateral, and licensed moneylenders. Each prices risk differently, and the gap is large. A bank EIR of about 2% a year is a different universe from a moneylender's 4% a month.
Rates below are indicative and move often, so treat them as 'from' figures as of June 2026 and confirm on the provider's own page before applying. The minimum income shown is the published floor; a bad grade can still get you declined even when you clear it.
| Route | Indicative cost | Min. income / limit | Reality check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Digital bank (e.g. GXS, Trust) | EIR from ~2% p.a. | S$30,000 / yr | Looks at cash flow, not just grade; still needs decent history |
| Secured / collateral loan | Lower than unsecured | Asset-dependent | Your car or property is on the line if you default |
| Licensed moneylender | Up to 4% per month | Loan capped at 6x monthly income | Legal and fast, but the most expensive money |
| Debt consolidation plan | EIR from ~3-7% p.a. | Unsecured debt > 12x monthly income | Folds existing debt into one cheaper loan |
| Unlicensed lender / Ah Long | Illegal | None | Never. Harassment and uncapped charges |
If a moneylender is your route, the Ministry of Law sets hard caps that no licensed lender can breach. Knowing them is your defence against being overcharged, and they have applied unchanged since 1 October 2015. Verify any lender on the Registry of Moneylenders list before you sign; the name must match exactly.
The single most useful rule is the total cost cap. Interest, late interest, the admin fee and late fees added together can never exceed the principal you borrowed. Borrow S$2,000 and the most you can ever legally owe in charges on top is S$2,000.
Numbers make the gap real. Take a S$5,000 loan repaid over 12 months. From a bank at an EIR near 7% a year, total interest lands around S$190. From a moneylender at the 4% monthly cap on a reducing balance, the same loan can cost well over ten times that, though the total-cost cap stops it ballooning past S$5,000 in charges. The lesson is to borrow the smallest sum that solves the problem and clear it fast.
Always read the loan in EIR (effective interest rate), not the advertised flat or monthly rate. The flat rate hides the fact that you keep paying interest on money you have already repaid. Run any offer through our compound interest calculator to see the true cost over the tenure, and check the fee definitions you do not recognise before you agree to them.
A rejected application is recorded and drags your grade lower, so the goal is to apply once, to the right lender, with the strongest file you can present. Some of these moves work in weeks; rebuilding a grade takes months of clean repayment, because CBS keeps account data for a rolling period and recent behaviour weighs most.
A high-cost loan is sometimes avoidable. If the need is short-term cash flow rather than a one-off purchase, a 0% balance transfer buys you 6 to 12 interest-free months to clear a card. If the need is genuine hardship, government and charity schemes exist that no loan can beat on price.
Before you commit to any borrowing, see whether the cash already exists in your budget. Our budget calculator often surfaces a few hundred dollars a month, and comparing borrowing against a structured repayment plan in how different money decisions stack up is a useful habit. ComCare and MediFund help with living costs and medical bills; family loans with a written agreement carry no interest at all.
Most banks want a CBS grade of BB or better, which is roughly a score of 1,844 and above. At grade HH (1,723 or below) almost all banks decline, and a licensed moneylender becomes the main legal route to an unsecured personal loan.
Yes, but usually not from a retail bank. Licensed moneylenders weigh income stability and repayment ability more than your grade, so they will often lend when banks will not. The cost is far higher, capped at 4% interest per month, so borrow the smallest amount you can.
Interest is capped at 4% per month, late interest at 4% per month on the overdue amount, the admin fee at 10% of the principal, and late fees at S$60 a month. Total charges can never exceed the amount you borrowed, a rule the Ministry of Law has enforced since 2015.
There is no instant fix. Six months of paying every bill and card on time usually starts to lift your grade, because CBS weighs recent behaviour most. Errors on your report can be corrected faster once you flag them to Credit Bureau Singapore.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change — verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.