Standard Chartered Bank CashOne is the personal loan you have seen plastered with a 0.90% p.a. headline rate. That number is real, but it is the flat rate, not the price you pay. Once the S$199 first-year annual fee and the repayment schedule are folded in, the published EIR starts from 1.75% p.a., and only on a 5-year tenure. For a short or small loan it climbs higher. CashOne still earns its reputation on speed: approved applicants who verify through Myinfo can see funds land in minutes. This review breaks down the genuine 2026 cost, who actually qualifies, the fee that the ads bury, and the situations where CashOne beats a no-fee rival and the ones where it quietly loses.
CashOne is Standard Chartered's unsecured instalment loan: you borrow a fixed sum, then repay it in equal monthly instalments over one to five years. There is no collateral and no need to be an existing Standard Chartered customer to apply. It competes directly with the term loans from DBS, UOB, CIMB and the digital banks, and it sits at the cheap end of the market on the headline rate.
The product makes most sense for a planned, one-off expense you can clear within the fixed tenure: consolidating a few credit-card balances, a medical bill, a wedding, or a renovation top-up. It is the wrong tool for ongoing or unpredictable spending, where a line of credit or a balance transfer usually costs less. Because CashOne is unsecured, the rate you are offered hinges on your income and credit profile, not just the advertised floor.
Standard Chartered quotes CashOne from 0.90% p.a. flat with an EIR from 1.75% p.a., verified on its product page as of June 2026. The gap between those two numbers is the whole story. A flat rate charges interest on your original loan for the full tenure, even on principal you have already paid back, so it always looks roughly half the true cost. The EIR is the figure that accounts for the declining balance plus fees, which is why MAS requires every lender to publish it.
Two details push the genuine cost above the 1.75% banner. First, that EIR is quoted on the maximum 5-year tenure; a shorter loan carries a higher EIR because the same fixed costs are spread over fewer months. Second, the 1.75% figure excludes the S$199 first-year annual fee, which Standard Chartered deducts straight from your approved loan amount. On a S$10,000 loan, you receive S$9,801 but still repay interest on the full S$10,000. Fold the fee back in and the effective cost rises, especially on smaller loans where S$199 is a bigger slice.
Treat 0.90% as a marketing anchor and the EIR as the price tag. To sanity-check what a quoted rate means for your wallet, run the monthly instalment through our personal budget calculator before you sign anything.
Here are the figures that decide whether CashOne is cheap for your situation, taken from Standard Chartered's CashOne page as of June 2026. Rates and promotions move, so confirm the live numbers on sc.com before applying.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Flat interest rate | From 0.90% p.a. |
| Effective interest rate (EIR) | From 1.75% p.a. (5-year tenure, excludes first-year fee) |
| Loan amount | S$1,000 up to 4x monthly income (8x if annual income is S$120,000 or more), up to S$250,000 |
| Tenure | 1 to 5 years |
| First-year annual fee | S$199, deducted from the disbursed amount |
| Year 2 onward fee | S$50 a year, charged only if a minimum payment was missed in the prior 12 months |
| Late payment fee | S$100 per occurrence |
| Early/full repayment fee | S$150 or 3% of outstanding principal, whichever is higher |
| Disbursement speed | Instant to a Standard Chartered account; within minutes to other banks via FAST |
| Min. annual income (Citizen/PR) | S$30,000 (S$20,000 tier for some existing SC cardholders) |
| Min. annual income (foreigner) | S$90,000 plus a valid Employment Pass |
| Age | 21 to 65 |
To apply you must be 21 to 65. Singapore Citizens and PRs need a minimum annual income of S$30,000 on the standard tier, though existing Standard Chartered cardholders earning S$20,000 to S$29,999 may qualify under a separate path (with the catch that the existing card account is closed once CashOne is approved). Foreigners face a steeper bar: S$90,000 a year plus a valid Employment Pass.
The draw is speed. If you apply online and verify your details through Myinfo with Singpass, Standard Chartered can approve and disburse without you uploading payslips or NRIC scans. Funds reach a Standard Chartered account instantly, or land in another local bank within minutes over FAST. That makes CashOne one of the faster routes to cash among the banks, though digital lenders like GXS and Trust can match it.
On the headline rate CashOne is competitive, but the first-year fee is what separates it from the zero-fee crowd. CIMB and the digital banks charge no processing or annual fee, which can make them cheaper in dollar terms on a small or short loan even when their EIR looks marginally higher. The table shows the lowest advertised tiers as of June 2026; your actual offer depends on income, tenure and credit profile.
If your goal is the lowest all-in cost rather than the fastest cash, weigh the fee structure, not just the rate. Our wider guide to cheap personal loans in Singapore ranks the market by real EIR, and for clearing card debt specifically a debt consolidation plan may beat any single loan.
| Lender | Flat rate p.a. (from) | EIR p.a. (from) | Annual/processing fee | Min. income (Citizen/PR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Chartered CashOne | 0.90% | 1.75% | S$199 first-year annual fee | S$30,000 |
| UOB Personal Loan | 1.00% | 1.93% | Nil | S$30,000 |
| CIMB Personal Loan | 1.00% | 1.94% | S$0 | S$20,000 |
| GXS FlexiLoan | 1.08% | 2.02% | S$0 | S$20,000 |
| DBS / POSB Personal Loan | 1.48% | 3.22% | 0% (rebated) | S$20,000 |
As of June 2026, Standard Chartered runs a CashOne cashback offer of up to 3% (capped, with the headline cap quoted around S$7,500) for new customers, valid until 30 June 2026 and limited to loan tenures of three to five years. Existing customers see a lower tier. Cashback offers like this reset and change wording often, so verify the current terms and end date on sc.com before treating any rebate as part of your cost.
A cashback rebate can genuinely offset the S$199 fee and then some on a large loan, which is when CashOne becomes hard to beat. On a small loan, the cap and the tenure condition often mean the rebate is modest, and a clean zero-fee loan still wins. Run the post-rebate numbers, not the advertised percentage. If you are borrowing to consolidate debt, also check your overall position with the financial health calculator before adding a new commitment.
The flat rate starts from 0.90% p.a., but the effective interest rate (EIR) starts from 1.75% p.a. on a 5-year tenure, and that figure excludes the S$199 first-year annual fee. A shorter or smaller loan carries a higher effective cost, so always compare loans on EIR plus fees rather than the flat rate.
Singapore Citizens and PRs need a minimum annual income of S$30,000 on the standard tier, with a S$20,000 path open to some existing Standard Chartered cardholders. Foreigners need at least S$90,000 a year and a valid Employment Pass. Applicants must be aged 21 to 65.
If you apply online and verify through Myinfo with Singpass, Standard Chartered can approve without document uploads and disburse immediately to a Standard Chartered account, or within minutes to another local bank via FAST. This speed is CashOne's main advantage over slower bank loans.
Yes. Standard Chartered charges an early or full settlement fee of S$150 or 3% of the outstanding principal, whichever is higher, as of June 2026. Because the flat-rate interest is baked into your instalments, paying off early saves less than you might expect, so factor the fee in before settling ahead of schedule.
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.