Too old for credit card?

Aged over 60? Sorry, no loan for you

ST Forum Updated today at 06:00 AM

I REFER to Ms Tang Lye Kuen's letter on Monday ('Aged 55? Sorry, no credit card for you').

I am a senior citizen who is gainfully employed. My credit rating with the Credit Bureau (Singapore) is in the pink.

So, when I read a POSB advertisement offering cash loans for those with a minimum annual income of $30,000, I visited the nearest branch at Toa Payoh Hub to apply for it.

Midway through the application process, the young POSB official who was assisting me informed me that I was ineligible.

The reason: I was more than 60 years old.

I checked the ad again. Nowhere did it state that an applicant who was older than age 60 did not qualify.

Surely, the prime concern of a bank in granting me a loan should be my ability to service it, and not my age.

By way of explanation for not being alert to the possibility that I was too old to qualify for the loan, the official said I didn't look a day older than 55.

I am keen to have a clear answer from banks on how they decide on eligibility in granting loans and credit cards, especially when it involves older workers and senior citizens who have the means to pay up - and that, too, consistently.

Fong Cheng Cheong