Non-collateral loans in the Philippines: what they are and what lenders ask for
By MoneyNow editorial deskEvery rate on this page is taken from the issuing authority — SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, the BIR, the NWPC or the SEC — and carries the date it took effect. Where a figure cannot be sourced we say so rather than estimate.
What “non-collateral” means
A non-collateral loan — an unsecured loan, in the lender’s vocabulary — is one where you pledge nothing. No land title at a bank, no OR/CR at a car financing company, no necklace at a pawnshop. The lender’s recourse if you stop paying is the contract, the courts, and the credit record: licensed lenders report to the Credit Information Corporation, so a default follows you to the next application. How credit records work in the Philippines covers where that data goes.
Almost every loan you can apply for on a phone is non-collateral. That is the product’s whole appeal — nothing to pledge, nothing to appraise, nothing to lose physically — and it is also why the product costs what it does.
What lenders actually require
“No collateral” does not mean “no requirements”. The requirements just shift from what you own to who you are:
- Identity. One primary government ID and a live selfie matched to it.
- A phone number and an account in your own name. Lenders verify the match; a borrowed SIM or a relative’s GCash fails it.
- Income. Declared, for most app lenders; documented, for banks and for the larger amounts at some financing companies.
- Age and residency. A floor of 18 is universal; several lenders set it higher, and some set a ceiling. The app states its own.
- Sometimes a co-maker. Cooperatives and some financing companies ask for one in place of collateral. App lenders generally do not.
What a non-collateral loan does not require is a spouse’s signature. That document belongs to secured loans against shared property — when a spouse consent letter is needed explains the line.
Non-bank versus bank
The phrase “non-bank loan” means a loan from a lending company or financing company supervised by the SEC rather than from a bank supervised by the Bangko Sentral. Both can lend unsecured. The differences that matter to you:
| SEC-registered lender | Bank | |
|---|---|---|
| Documents | ID, number, account, declared income | ID plus payslips, ITR or certificate of employment |
| Decision time | Minutes to about a day | Days |
| Typical amounts | ₱500 to ₱50,000 at the providers we track | Larger |
| Price | Monthly rates; the 2026 SEC ceiling applies to small short loans | Annual rates, far lower; the SEC ceiling does not apply at all |
| Who to check | Company name on the SEC lists of lending and financing companies and recorded online lending platforms | The Bangko Sentral’s list of banks |
For a first-time borrower with thin paperwork, the SEC-registered route is usually the only one open. For anyone who can produce payslips and wait a week, the bank route is usually the cheaper one.
What it costs, and the cap
Unsecured credit is priced for the lender’s risk, which is why app loans cost monthly rates while secured bank loans cost annual ones. Since 1 April 2026, the SEC ceiling limits unsecured loans of ₱10,000 or less over four months or less to 12% a month effective, 5% a month in penalties, and a total cost of no more than the amount borrowed. Larger or longer loans are outside it. Among the direct lenders we track, MoneyCat publishes 0% on a first loan and around 11.9% a month after; HoneyLoan publishes 0.4% a day, which is 12% a month effective — exactly at the ceiling; Finbro publishes an APR range of 0% to 144%. Every figure is on the review page with its source.
Sangla ATM is not a non-collateral loan
A practice worth naming, because it is often searched as “ATM loan”: a lender, usually informal, gives you cash and keeps your payroll ATM card and PIN, withdrawing the repayment on payday. That is collateral — your entire salary, not just the instalment — and it leaves you with no control over what is taken or when. None of the SEC-registered lenders we list operate this way, and a lender that asks for your card has placed itself outside the market where the interest ceilings, the disclosure rules and the ban on abusive collection apply. What happens if you don’t pay an online loan explains what licensed lenders can and cannot do; an ATM lender is bound by none of it in practice.
Where to start
Run the registration check in how to check whether a loan app is actually registered, then compare the personal loan and online loan providers with each one’s registration status and published cost beside it. If you have already been declined, loans for bad credit covers what to do before applying again.
Questions people ask
What is a non-collateral loan?
A loan where the lender holds nothing of yours as security — no land title, no vehicle registration, no jewellery, no ATM card. The lender's only protection is your promise to repay and, for licensed lenders, the credit record that follows a default. Every online loan app we list is a non-collateral loan.
What are the requirements for a non-bank loan?
For an SEC-registered lending or financing company: a valid government ID, a mobile number in your own name, an account to receive the money, and some statement of income. Age floors and income thresholds vary by lender and are set in the app. Banks ask for considerably more — payslips, an ITR or a certificate of employment — even for an unsecured product.
Can I get a non-collateral loan with bad credit?
Sometimes. App lenders weigh a thin or patchy credit file less heavily than banks do, which is why they exist, but they price that risk in. A marketplace reaches several lenders from one form if one has declined you. What does not work is paying an 'advance fee' to unlock approval — that is the most common loan scam in the country.
Is sangla ATM a non-collateral loan?
No. Handing your ATM card and PIN to a lender is collateral in everything but name: it gives them unrestricted access to your salary. None of the licensed lenders we list ask for it, and a lender that does has stepped outside the regulated market where the SEC ceilings and the debt-collection rules apply.
Sources
Last updated 2026-08-21.