What Is The Money Lender Credit Bureau?

A loan from licensed money lenders is a good option when you have a cash crunch.

When you apply for a loan from a legal money lender, your lender will have to check your creditworthiness, unless it is a loan shark. You will also need to be aware of your financial history to know your limits.

This is when the Moneylenders Credit Bureau (MLCB) can be helpful.

In this article, we discuss what is money lender credit bureau, what is a MLCB report, who can access the report, and more.

What Is Money Lender Credit Bureau?

A Moneylenders Credit Bureau is a central repository of borrower information that licensed money lenders can access.

Its comprehensive MLCB report contains a borrower’s personal and financial information. Such information comes from various licensed money lenders.

The main idea of the loan information report is to protect licensed money lenders and borrowers during the lending process. A MLCB report allows licensed money lenders to access borrowers’ credit history and get a better gauge of their creditworthiness.

For borrowers, having information about their individual repayment history helps them restrain from taking on more debts than they can repay.

What Is Included In A Loan Information Report?

The MLCB loan information report determines the level of risk you pose as a borrower. Thus, it’s vital to understand what’s contained therein.

For instance, if you were funded by a legal money lender and failed to pay on time, your money lender report will include the information about your risk grade and that you are not creditworthy.

The information in the report is divided into sections as follows:

1. Personal Details

In this section, there is data on your basic personal records such as your full name, gender, marital status, nationality, and employment information.

2. Payment Status

This is a list of recent debts such as fast cash loans, credit cards, overdrafts, and more that you have from legal money lenders in Singapore.

3. Enquiries

Any new loan will show on the report, but only enquiries made during a specific window may impact your credit score.

4. Bankruptcy Proceedings And Default Records

The section has information about your debt defaults.

5. Credit Score

In this section, there is a brief description of your credit score and creditworthiness, and the risk grading or the probability that you’re likely to default on your loan.

The credit score is vital. Legal money lenders use such information to determine whether you will become their customer.

Therefore, they have to check your loan credit report before they give you a loan. This makes borrowing loans easier for those with good credit reports.

How To Get A Copy Of The MLCB Loan Information Report

You can request a copy of your report online, or at the Credit Bureau Singapore office or any SingPost branch. A transactional fee of $ 6.42 will apply.

How Often Is It Updated?

The service updates loan repayments in real time. This means that your loan repayments will show up in the report the following business day.

Updates may be done daily, weekly or at least once a month – or anytime CBS receives new information from licensed money lenders.

However, there may be errors from time to time. So you should check the report regularly. If you find any errors, you can have them corrected.

Who Can Access The Report?

Since the report contains details about your loan amount, credit card debts, and more, not everyone can have access to the information.

Only four parties have permission to view the information on the credit report. These include:

• Registry of Moneylenders
• Ministry of Law
• Licensed money lenders
• Borrowers

The CBS tracks all access to its database, and unauthorised disclosure to any other persons is prohibited. For instance, you can’t use your credit report in divorce proceedings, immigration, etc.

How Can You Improve Your Credit Record?

The information obtained from your credit record will determine whether you will get approval or a credit denial.

In Singapore, a credit score ranges from 1,000 to 2,000, and a risk grade of AA to HH. Those with 1,000 have a high probability of payment default. Anyone scoring 2,000 or close to it has a low chance of defaulting, and is likely to get an AA credit rating.

If your risk grade is HH, you will have a hard time when getting accepted for credit. But this is not the end. You can improve your credit record by doing the following:

1. Make Timely Repayments

If you are late to make payments on any loan you have, this will have an adverse effect on your credit score. Plan well and pay your dues on time. If you cannot make payment on time, inform your money lender early.

2. Don’t Default On Any Loan

Any loan default automatically lowers your credit score. A lender may go to court for a settlement.

If you have issues paying what you owe, you can notify your money lender or opt for debt consolidation. The latter allows you to merge all your unsecured credit facilities to have a single loan. It is a prudent way to ensure your credit score is not affected.

3. Don’t Make Multiple Loan Enquiries

Making too many inquiries within a short time is a concern. It will be reflected in the MLCB report, and could have a negative impact on your credit score. It could imply that you have an issue paying your bills and have no option other than to create a new credit account to manage them.

4. Check For Errors On Your Credit Report

Although CBS ensures the information on credit reports is free from mistakes, sometimes errors do occur that lead to low credit scores. To correct this, you can get your credit score and scrutinise it to see if there are any issues. If so, report them for amendment.

How And When To Check The Report

As mentioned, a credit report is prone to errors. Thus, it would be better to check the report now and then. We recommend you check the report once a year. You may discover discrepancies that could result in poor credit scores. Also, it could be a way to monitor and prevent identity theft.

Here is how to check your credit report:

• Go to the Singpass website and sign up for a new account. If you have an existing account, you only need to log in.
• Fill in your personal details form.
• You will be prompted to choose the type of credit report you want.
• You will need to answer some questions to prove your identity to get access.
• Once that is done, you will be able to access your credit report.

Note that every borrower has a chance to access one free credit report, which can be extended upon request on the CBS website. A free report is readily available to anyone who applies for a new credit card with a CBS member.

How Does The Report Affect You As A Borrower?

As a borrower, knowing what is money lender credit bureau may help you in understanding your credit score. After all, the credit report determines whether a licensed money lender will lend to you or not.

Singapore’s legal money lenders must check your credit report records when you apply for a loan. No one wants to risk lending to a high-risk borrower. You will only get any loan based on your credit repayment history.

If you are in need of a loan, know your limits. It pays to have clear information on what is money lender credit bureau to understand your financial health better.

You can seek help from a qualified and eligible licensed money lender like 1AP Capital.

We are well versed in offering information on what constitutes a good credit score and how to get a loan.

 Contact us now or apply for a loan today.