How to Cancel a Licensed Moneylender Loan in Singapore

You signed the agreement, the money reached your account, and now you are having second thoughts. As of 15 September 2026, you have a way out: a three-business-day cooling-off period that lets you cancel an unsecured loan from a licensed moneylender without paying any interest.

Knowing the right exists is not the same as knowing what to do with it. This page walks through the steps, in order, and what to have ready at each one.

Before anything else: work out your deadline

The window is three business days. Saturdays, Sundays and Singapore public holidays do not count towards it, which means the calendar date you are working towards is usually further out than three days.

A loan taken on a Wednesday does not expire on Saturday. The clock pauses over the weekend and resumes on Monday.

Two things follow from this:

Do not leave it to the final day. If your calculation is out by one day, you lose the right entirely and the loan reverts to normal terms with interest. Acting on day one costs you nothing extra and removes the risk.

Confirm the exact date in writing with your lender. Ask them to state your cooling-off deadline explicitly. Get it by email or message so there is a record. If a public holiday falls inside your window, it shifts your deadline further out, and you want that confirmed rather than assumed.

Step 1: Tell your moneylender, in writing

Contact them as soon as you have decided. Say plainly that you are cancelling the loan under the cooling-off period, and include:

• Your full name and NRIC or FIN
• Your loan agreement or reference number
• The date the loan was granted
• A clear statement that you are cancelling within the cooling-off period

Email or a messaging record is better than a phone call, because it timestamps your request. If you do call, follow up in writing the same day so there is proof of when you asked.

Ask at this point whether they need you to come in person. Licensed moneylenders are required to verify borrowers face to face when granting a loan, so some may run cancellations the same way. Check rather than assume, and check their opening hours before travelling.

Step 2: Confirm the exact amount you owe

Before you transfer anything, get the figure in writing. Your repayment has two parts:

1. The money actually disbursed to you, after the approval fee was deducted upfront
2. The portion of the approval fee your lender is permitted to retain

That retained portion is capped. For loans of S$5,000 or less it is a maximum of S$50. For larger loans it is a maximum of 3.5% of the principal. In both cases the lender cannot keep more than the approval fee they actually charged you.

Two figures to check against:

• There should be no interest. Not a single day of it.
• The total cannot exceed the principal you borrowed. MinLaw set that as an absolute ceiling.

If the amount you are quoted breaches either of those, query it before paying.

Step 3: Repay within the window

Make the payment before your deadline, not on it. Bank transfers can take time to clear, and a payment that lands a day late may not count.

Keep the transfer record. Screenshot it.

Step 4: Get written confirmation the loan is closed

Ask for confirmation that the loan has been cancelled and the account settled with nothing outstanding. Keep it.

This matters more than it sounds. If a discrepancy surfaces later, a dated confirmation from the lender is the document that resolves it.

What to have ready

• NRIC or FIN
• Your loan agreement
• The loan reference number
• Bank records showing what was disbursed to you
• A way to make the repayment before the deadline

If you are cancelling because you cannot afford the repayments

Say so directly rather than cancelling in silence. MinLaw’s Registry of Moneylenders updated its Professional Service Handbook in April 2026 to encourage licensed lenders to help borrowers in difficulty — by restructuring repayments to something workable, or by referring them to a Social Service Agency for assistance.

These are encouraged practices rather than legal obligations, so not every lender will offer them. But they cost nothing to ask about, and restructuring may suit you better than cancelling and being back where you started.

What the cooling-off period does not cover

• Business loans. If you borrowed for a company or business purpose, the cancellation right does not apply.
• Secured loans. The rule covers unsecured lending.
• Unlicensed lenders. Anyone operating outside the Moneylenders Act is not bound by any of this. Check the Registry of Moneylenders list before you borrow, not after.

Cancelling a loan with us

Our approval fee is 10% of the principal, charged once when the loan is granted, so the retained portion on cancellation will be the full cap: S$50 on loans of S$5,000 or less, or 3.5% of the principal on larger loans.

Cancellation is confirmed in person at our Bedok Central office. Call first on 6445 9166 so we can put your request on record and have your settlement figure ready, then come in with the same documents you provided when you applied — your NRIC or FIN and your original supporting documents. Bring your loan agreement too.

Repayment is due within 24 hours of confirming the cancellation. Note that this is separate from your cooling-off deadline: you have three business days to decide, and once you have told us you are cancelling, 24 hours to settle. Do not confuse the two.

Where to find us Blk 210 New Upper Changi Road, #01-731, Bedok Central, Singapore 460210 Phone: 6445 9166

Sources: Ministry of Law press release, 31 August 2026 · Registry of Moneylenders