If you want a personal loan but don’t have income proof, getting approval from lenders such as banks can be challenging.  

However, the good news is that it’s not the end of the world; you can still qualify for a personal loan even if you’re a low-income earner, self-employed person, or don’t have a regular income. Let’s discuss below. 

In case you didn’t know, declaring your earnings is a standard requirement for getting a personal loan from a bank. Indeed, the amount you can borrow from a bank is largely dependent on your income. 

Typically, Singaporeans and Singapore Permanent Residents require an annual income of at least S$30,000 to be eligible for a personal loan. For foreigners, the minimum annual income requirement is usually S$40,000 to S$60,000. 

That said, it’s technically still possible to get your personal loan approved even if your annual income falls below that benchmark. 

However, other factors, such as your relationship with the bank and credit score, will also come into play. If your credit score is excellent, banks may be willing to offer you a loan even if you’re a low-income earner but at a higher interest rate. The amount you can obtain varies from bank to bank.

As mentioned, it’s possible to get a personal loan without proof of income. But there are ways to compensate for the lack of income proof.

Unlike salaried workers who only need to submit their CPF contribution history, self-employed persons have to submit their latest income tax NOA as proof of income. The NOA is your tax bill from the IRAS, and features your income, tax, and contribution history in a year.

You’ll also need to provide identity proof to verify your ID; NRIC for Singaporeans or Singapore Permanent Residents and Employment Pass for foreigners.

Your credit score is one of the deciding factors in getting a personal loan, as it reveals whether or not you’re a creditworthy customer. Therefore, having a good credit score can help increase your chances of securing a loan. 

A credit score is a four-digit number derived from the Credit Bureau Singapore (CBS). It is used by lenders to indicate an individual's likelihood of repaying debt and the probability of default. 

Your credit score consists of your financial activity and credit history with banks and finance companies. These include your past payment history and credit or loan applications. 

Lenders can assess your risk profile based on your credit score, which is between 1,000 and 2,000.

The highest score is 2,000, while those with 1,000 are most likely to default on payments. A bad credit score ranges from 1,000 to 1,723, with an “HH” rating.

Things that can improve your credit score include paying your credit card or loan payments on time, staying within your credit limit, keeping your loan balances low, and having low-risk credit products to prove that you’re managing them well. 

On the other hand, things that can harm your credit score include missed or late payments, having multiple credit facilities (credit cards, personal loans, personal lines of credit, etc.), making multiple loan enquiries in quick succession, and having no credit history.

You can also increase your chances of getting a loan by making a joint application with someone else. 

The joint applicant can be your spouse, children, relative, or friend, and ideally, they should have a good financial standing (i.e., a good credit score and income). Your co-applicant will also be the guarantor or cosigner and share the responsibility of repaying the loan.

Each time you make a loan application with a bank or financial institution, they will pull your credit report from your records. Having too many enquiries will reflect that you’re “credit hungry”, in financial difficulty, or trying to take on more debt, thus increasing your risk profile. 

The interest rate is the main deciding factor in overall loan affordability. For obvious reasons, the lowest interest rate is preferable to higher interest rates, but you should consider the effective interest rate (EIR) over the advertised rate. 

That’s because the EIR considers the cost of borrowing, which includes the administrative fees, as well as other factors such as the number of instalments, frequency of instalments, and the instalment amounts, giving you a more accurate picture of the cost of a loan.

While going with the lowest EIR may be a wise move, every loan is structured differently. For example, a longer loan usually has a lower EIR because you’re paying a lower amount each month. However, this also means that you’re paying more interest overall. 

In contrast, a loan with a lower EIR usually means a shorter tenure, which results in higher monthly instalments. This isn’t ideal if you have cash flow problems.

Aside from the interest rate, you should also be aware administrative costs of borrowing. Some banks charge a processing fee which can increase the cost of your loan. Other fees to look out for include late payment fees, early settlement fees, and cancellation fees.

A balance transfer is a type of unsecured short-term loan in which you transfer the outstanding balance on your credit card(s) to another credit card of another bank, or a percentage of your available credit card limit to your deposit account at a low or 0% interest rate. 

In other words, you can consolidate all your credit card debts in one account, making it easier to keep track and manage your debts. 

Balance transfers offer more flexibility in repaying your debt, and you can also avoid the sky-high interest rates of credit cards or credit lines.

While a balance transfer can help reduce the interest charges on your existing debt, it doesn’t eliminate it; you still need to make a minimum payment every month to clear your debt. Furthermore, a one-time processing fee is charged.