Secured Peer-to-Peer loans (P2P), launched in August 2015, is a way of connecting an individual borrower who owns metals with lenders, without using traditional banks to obtain a secured loan.
For the full details about the P2P Loan platform, please click on this link
Silver Bullion is the agent that provides the infrastructure, custody services, management and platform to allow loan contracts to be entered into between lenders and borrowers based on their agreed terms. We then collect and disburse funds between the parties and lock the bullion as collateral.
Silver Bullion's Secured P2P Loans system is not required to be licensed or regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”), Ministry of Law, nor any other regulators within and outside of Singapore.
In addition, Silver Bullion is not a financial institution under Singapore law and our liquidity lending system classifies us as such. Silver Bullion is also not the lending entity. Our role is merely to match lenders with borrowers and to provide a framework for this to happen securely while charging a small fee for the service.
Unlike other P2P lending platforms, Silver Bullion’s P2P loans are 200%* backed by the borrower’s metals storing in STAR Storage therefore significantly minimizes the risk exposure of lenders.
The loan contracts formed on Silver Bullion's P2P platform are legal loan contracts and not promissory notes. A promissory note is just a written promise by one party to pay another party a definite sum of money, either on demand or at a specified future date and there are no collaterals involved.
Unlike a promissory note, a loan contract imposes obligations on both parties where the borrowers' metals in STAR Storage are collateralized for the loan and include consequences of defaulting.
In addition, the loan contract formed on Silver Bullion's P2P platform is a one-to-one relationship where it consists of one lender and one borrower only and not by crowdfunding. Crowdfunding usually have multiple lenders lending money to one borrower only.
The Silver Bullion’s P2P platform allows lenders to be able to choose the borrowing requests that are available but other P2P lending platforms do not allow lenders to choose borrowers and or loan terms.
*Only 1-month loans can be funded with a lower ratio of 160% (or about 62.5% loan to value ratio)
We charge an administration fee of 0.5% per annum of the principal amount from both the lender and the borrower for every loan contract that is created for duration 6 months, 12 months and 24 months.
Do note that the 1 month loan contract administration fee is 1% per annum.
Please visit our Schedule of Charges page for more information.
Our P2P lending platform matches borrowers directly with those that have liquidity and who are comfortable to lend with the borrower’s bullion as collateral.
Those who wish to lend against their gold and silver submit a borrowing request, which allows him/her to set the currency, amount, interest rate and duration. The borrowing request is then posted on our platform for potential lenders to accept.
Likewise, lenders can choose to accept an existing borrowing request, or submit a new lending offer and customize their own terms.
Our P2P lending platform allows both lender and borrowers to set the loan amount, currency (EUR/SGD/USD), preferred interest rate and loan duration (1 month, 6 months, 12 months or 24 months).
Lenders can also specify whether a partial fill is allowed for the lending offer. Allowing a partial fill means that lending offer can be filled by multiple borrowers or multiple borrowing requests with smaller principal amounts until the full lending offer amount is filled.
There are 4 loan start date, on the 1st, 8th, 15th and 22nd of every month. Please refer to our Loan Contract Schedule for more information.
For 1 month, 6 months and 12 months loan contract, interest will be repaid together with loan principal at the end of the term of loan. For 24 month loan contracts, the interest portion is to be paid out yearly by the borrower, with the principal amount repaid after two years.
Yes. These are simple interest loans that are pro-rated for 1 and 6 month loan contracts. The interest does not compound.
There are minimal risks for both borrower and lender. Borrower does not lose ownership of the metals through collateralization but a lien is placed on the metals in favor of the lender. The collateralized metals is stored securely at The Safe House and retain all the protective features of S.T.A.R. Storage.
The lender’s loaned funds are always fully backed by physical metals stored under S.T.A.R. Storage. We typically require the borrower to pledge metals valued at least twice (200%*) of the loan amount when submitting the loan request. The collateralized metals is re-valued every five minutes based on spot prices. Should the value of the pledged collateral fall during the loan tenor to 110% or less and margin calls remain unfulfilled, a liquidation sale as per user agreement will occur to ensure the lender’s loan is always fully covered.
*Only the 1-month loans can be funded with a lower ratio of 160% (or about 62.5% loan to value ratio)
The other risk is during the loan period, the prices of the collateralised metals fall significantly for example, a drop by 50% in price overnight where the liquidation sale would occur as explained above. However, the chances of such an incident like a 50% drop in the price of metals overnight has a very low probability of happening.
To withdraw funds from your P2P account, you would have to simply email us using your Silver Bullion account secure notifications system to instruct us clearly on how much you would like to withdraw.
For example, you can write "Please send USD $5000 from my P2P account to my linked bank account registered in Silver Bullion".
Our accounting team will then process your withdrawal request and inform you once it has been completed.
If you would like to change your linked bank account details, you will have to do a change request. Kindly contact us for us for more information on the change request.
The P2P client bank accounts are in DBS bank Singapore. This is due to the exclusive Singapore jurisdiction aspect of Silver Bullion.
Yes, make a usual metal purchase order and specify under comments that you want the funds to come from your P2P account balance. We will then transfer the balance from the P2P account to the SB account to pay for the metal purchase. This can also be done for storage fees.
Click here to read the terms and conditions of the P2P lending section of the User Agreement.
Since each IRA and 401(k) will vary from one another we would advise you to seek professional advice from your IRA or 401(k) administrator/consultant.
The P2P platform will suspend all bidding at 23:00 hours (GMT+8, Singapore time) the day before the Loan Start date. This will be a 1 hour non-bidding period before bidding for the next Loan Start date begins.
During this 1 hour, customers will see this message: "The Secured Peer-to-Peer Loans Platform is closed for 1 hour and no new borrowing requests or lending offers may be submitted at this time."
Thus, your lending requests or borrowing offers will not show up during this 1 hour non-bidding period on the P2P platform page.
However, you will still be able to see your own borrowing requests or lending offers from your own individual P2P page.
After this 1 hour non-bidding period, your borrowing requests or lending offers will appear back on the P2P platform page.
P2P Lending has nothing to do with bullion leasing or metals leasing. Bullion leasing or metals leasing is a practice whereby an institution leases the bullion or metals they are storing on behalf of customers to third parties for additional income. This is legal, for operators of unallocated or allocated storage systems as, in such systems, the storage customer does not have legal title ownership of their metals. Customers will typically receive an "IOU" document stating that something is owed to them but in reality, it will be recorded as liability under the operators balance sheet.
At Silver Bullion, it is impossible to do such bullion leasing and metals leasing because we always transfer legal title ownership of the metals to customers. We do this by packing the metals into uniquely serialized parcels whose ownership is then transferred through a sale invoice.
The invoice is an official document, under Singapore Law, that document the ownership of specific serialized parcels was transferred to the new party. The metals will then be removed from our balance sheet which makes bullion leasing and metals leasing impossible as it requires ownership.
To be able to borrow against your metals, you must have an approved S.T.A.R. Storage account and own at least one metal parcel stored at S.T.A.R. Storage. If your S.T.A.R. Storage account was approved before the official public launch, you must also download and sign our new User Agreement to be able to access the P2P page.
IMPORTANT: Owners of metal cannot lend their assets, they can only borrow against it (we do not facilitate gold leasing).
Notes: Corporate entities are not allowed to borrow
Borrower (Requirement: Have metals stored in STAR Storage)
If you have bullion storing in our vault under STAR storage, you can become a borrower and use them as collateral to borrow against at attractive interest rates for 1 month, 6 months, 1 year or 2-year loans.
For gold, you can borrow up to 62.5% of the value of the gold. For silver and other metals, you can borrow up to 50% of the value of the metals.
The minimum to borrow is 3000 USD, 3000 SGD or 3000 EUR, and in multiples of 500.
Do note that any metals that are locked as collateral for the P2P loan cannot be sold, moved or taken delivery of until the loan has been paid off.
Please visit our FAQ on storage for more information about the S.T.A.R. Storage program.
There is no limit on how much you can borrow and it only depends on how much metals you have that is storing in STAR Storage and the amount has to be in multiples of $500.
You can borrow up to 50%* of the value of your existing S.T.A.R. Storage parcel and the minimum amount to borrow is from $3000 onwards either EUR,SGD or USD.
For gold, you can borrow up to 62.5% of the value of the gold.
For silver and other metals, you can borrow up to 50% of the value of the metals.
For example, if you want to borrow $10,000 USD, your pledged parcel(s) should be valued at least $20,000 USD at the time of your request.
The value of the metals in the S.T.A.R parcel is updated every five minutes based on spot prices.
*For 1-month loans, you can borrow up to about 62.5% of the value
Currently, borrowers can borrow in EUR, SGD or USD.
Currently, borrowers could borrow for 1, 6, 12 or 24 months.
You can set your own interest rate when submitting a borrowing request or can match an existing lending offer if the terms are acceptable to you.
You may refer to the P2P lending platform to check the benchmark interest rate determined through bid and offer prices set by other borrowers and lenders.
Aside from the interest charge for the loan, Silver Bullion will collect 0.5% (per annum basis) administrative charge of the loan amount for loan contracts which duration is of 6 months, 12 months and 24 months.
Do note that the 1 month loan contract administration fee is 1% per annum.
Please click here to find out how to submit a loan request.
You may now use the unlocked collateral to refinance your maturing loan by entering into a new Loan Contract.
To enter a new loan contract, visit the loan listing page.
You may view a video on the step-by-step borrowing instructions here.
Do note that refinancing of maturing loan(s) are not guaranteed and must be submitted manually.
To find out how to settle your loan, visit our P2P Funding Options page.
Please visit the Market page to view the existing lending offers that are available to you.
Click on the View button to inspect a lending offer. If you like the offer, click Next to view and agree to the terms and conditions of the prospective loan contract.
Once you submit a borrowing request, it will be listed on the P2P lending platform for potential lenders to match. Your borrowing request will stay active until it is cancelled by you or if it remains unmatched during the current bidding period. The preference can be selected when submitting a lending offer.
Once your borrowing request is accepted by a lender, a legally binding contract is created based on the agreed terms.
It can vary; normally it is for a week. Please refer to our Loan Contract Schedule on this link for more information.
The system will automatically notify you via e-mail and secured notification when your borrowing request is matched.
No signature from the borrower and lender is needed for any loan contract created in the P2P lending platform. By signing the P2P User agreement, both lenders and borrowers agrees to be legally bound to future Loan Contract they will enter in the P2P lending platform.
This is made possible by Singapore’s Electronic Transaction Act, which provides legal recognition of electronic records as long as the contractual parties have previously agreed on the terms and there is a system that allows this agreement to be interlinked to subsequent agreements (be it written or electronic).
You will not lose ownership of your metals but a lien is placed on the bullion in favor of the lender. This is similar to a mortgage on real estate. While the lien exists, the collateralized metals cannot be re-loaned, sold nor taken delivery of by the lender.
Yes. Both the borrower and lender will be identified by their 8 digit anonymous S.T.A.R. ID when using the P2P lending platform.
Your loaned amount will become available in your P2P account on the Loan Start date. You can then have the funds wired to your linked bank account, use them to purchase metals or use them for P2P loan purposes such as paying off your other loans or even lending out as a lender.
In general, the proceeds of a matched loan contract will only be available to borrowers at the Loan Start date. The borrower may however apply for a “Loan Advance” to have access to funds within a business day.
The Loan Advance finance charge will be 0.50 % (as a percentage of principal amount) as stated in the Schedule of Charges and User Agreement.
Kindly contact us for more details.
In general, borrowers must pay off the loan in full by due date. Failure to do so will result in penalties in accordance with our late payment policy.
However, the Borrower may, as an alternative, apply for a new loan before the Loan Maturity date that will, if accepted by lenders, result in a roll-over of the previous Loan Contract.
Under a loan roll-over scenario, the Borrower need send funds to pay off the old loan (if the new loan is insufficient to cover the amount due) or the Borrower only needs to partially pay a portion of the old loan not covered by the new loan contract.
Failure to pay the outstanding balance once due will result in a default of the loan contract and a late penalty charge will be imposed.
Please refer to the User Agreement for the full policy details when you default on a loan (Events of Liquidation).
Within Singapore, you can transfers funds via checks, FAST, MEPS, GIRO and international wire transfer (SWIFT) to our DBS SGD, USD and EUR bank accounts. Customers with bank accounts in the US can use ACH or Fedwire domestic wire transfers to our payment partner’s bank account in Bank of New York Mellon.
Please see the P2P Funding Options and Start Dates page to view payment instructions.
If you want, you can always make an early repayment of the full loan amount including full interest, and any outstanding fees. There will be no penalties charged.
As an alternative to sending funds, or if you are unable to do so in time, you can "roll-over" a loan, pending availability, by obtaining a new loan from a lender based on offered terms.
1 week before the loan maturity date, your collateralized parcels locked for the loan will be unlocked for you to use them as collateral to take a new loan from the P2P platform. You will be able to look for a new loan up until 1 hour before the Loan Start Date.
Ideally, one week before your loan maturity date you should begin looking for a new loan to cover your existing loan amount, interest, SB admin fee, and any outstanding fees.
If your new loan is unable to cover your existing loan amount, you would have to either pledge more collateral parcels or send funds to offset the remaining amount. This is to avoid the late payment penalty fee (see Schedule of Charges) when your funds in the P2P account are insufficient when the existing loan matures.
Currently, our P2P lending platform facilitates loans denominated in either USD, SGD or in EUR, as the funds are held in an escrow bank account solely for P2P lending.
For cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, it is not accepted as a payment method as of this moment yet.
Kindly note that collateral parcels cannot be taken delivery of or sold by the borrower while functioning as collateral on a loan.
Based on our lawyers' review, we will strictly follow a new way for you to "legally" sell the collateral parcels and use the proceeds as the repayment for the loan contract. What will happen is before we can close a Loan Contract, a third party called "Sweeper", will be providing you Loan Advance funds to be used as repayment for the Loan Contract. Kindly note that the "Sweeper" will be charging an additional 0.5% fee of the total Loan Advance funds used and that Silver Bullion cannot waive this as it is a third party providing the Loan Advance funds. Once the Loan Contract is fully paid, we will be able to "legally" close the Loan Contract, and the collateral parcels will be released, which you will be able to sell. The payment for the Loan Advance funds can come from the proceeds of the sellback.
Notes: With regards to the sellback of your secured parcels, we would like to inform you that once the Loan Advance has been applied, our accounting team will sell the parcels in sufficient amounts to pay off the loan. If you wish for us to sell specific parcels, you will have to inform us in advance here in writing on which parcels to sell, or we will sell the parcels based on the highest value.
If you wish to proceed with this option and are agreeable to the terms of the Loan Advance, kindly let us know via a Secure Notification.
Kindly note that the Loan Advance facility will only be processed from 7 AM to 6 PM Singapore time on weekdays and 9 AM to 1 PM Singapore time on Saturdays except public holidays in Singapore.
After 4 consecutive times of late payment penalty, your collateral parcels will be sold in sufficient to cover for the loan obligations which include the loan principal amount, interest, SB admin fee and late payment fees.
Anyone with an approved S.T.A.R. Storage account and a cash balance in their P2P account can be a lender.
Lender (Requirement: Have funds in the P2P account)
If you would like to earn some extra income, you can become a lender on the P2P platform where you can send funds (USD, SGD or EUR) to our P2P escrow bank account to lend out funds to borrowers on the P2P platform to earn some interest. Kindly note that you do not need to have metals stored in STAR Storage to become a lender.
The minimum amount to lend is 3000 USD, 3000 SGD or 3000 EUR, and in multiples of 500.
Please visit our FAQ on Storage for more information about the S.T.A.R. Storage program.
Currently, lenders can lend in SGD, USD or EUR.
The minimum amount you can lend is 3,000 SGD, 3,000 USD or 3,000 EUR. There is no maximum limit on the amount you can lend, however it should be in multiples of $500. Any unfilled lending offers below the above minimum will automatically be removed from the Offer Listing.
Yes, we require funds to be in the lender’s P2P account before allowing you to post a lending offer. This ensures that funds are immediately available to the borrowers at Loan Start date.
The lending offer can be filled by multiple borrowers or with multiple borrowing requests with smaller principal amounts until the full lending offer amount is filled.
Silver Bullion keep customer’s fund for the P2P with DBS Bank Singapore. Singapore has a strong banking foundation and has never had a banking default. DBS has also been recognised as the Bank of the Year, Asia by The Banker, a member of the Financial Times Group, and also voted the Best Bank in Asia-Pacific by Global Finance. It is also name "Safest Bank in Asia" by Global Finance for six consecutive years from 2009 to 2014. Thus, customers can be rest assured that their funds are safe.
Once you submit a lending offer, it will be listed on the P2P lending platform for potential borrowers to match. Your lending offer will stay active until it is cancelled manually by you or if it remains unmatched during the bidding period. You can choose either option when submitting a lending offer.
Once your lending offer is matched by a borrower, a legally binding contract is created based on the agreed terms.
It can vary; normally it is for a week. Please refer to our Loan Contract Schedule for more information.
The system will automatically notify you via e-mail and secured notification when your lending offer is matched.
No. Both the borrower and lender will be identified by their 8 digit anonymous S.T.A.R. ID when using the P2P lending platform.
The creation of security interest over the borrower’s parcel(s) is covered under the User Agreement. With the borrower agreeing to the User Agreement, a security interest over the parcel(s) will be created in favor of the lender one there is a loan match. Please note that the borrower's parcel(s) is, and for the entire tenor of the loan will be, under our custody and will therefore result in a perfected security interest over these parcel(s).
No other form is necessary to enforce this security interest over the parcel(s).
No. The entire P2P loan arrangement has been structured to significantly minimize the credit risk exposure of lenders, therefore in our view, an additional financial guarantee (insurance coverage) will unnecessarily drive up the cost without really adding tangible benefits and/or additional protection.
Your loaned amount will become available in your P2P account on the Loan Due date. You can then have the funds wired to your linked bank account, use them to purchase metals or use them for P2P loan purposes such as lending out again on the P2P platform.
Please click here to find out how to submit a lending offer.
Please click here to find out how to accept a borrowing request.
Within Singapore, you can transfers funds via checks, FAST, MEPS, GIRO and international wire transfer (SWIFT) to our DBS SGD, USD and EUR bank accounts. Customers with bank accounts in the US can use ACH or Fedwire domestic wire transfers to our payment partner’s bank account in Bank of New York Mellon.
Please see the P2P Funding Options and Start Dates page to view payment instructions.
Early maturity of a loan is not allowed as stipulated in the contract.
Please note that cancellation of Lending Offer will not be allowed once it is filled by a borrower and a loan contract is created.
If the borrower defaults or is late in fulfilling their payment commitments, the Sweeper Fund (subject to fund availability) will provide temporary liquidity so that you will still receive your funds on time. The Sweeper Fund is a kind of overdraft protection to provide automatic short-term funds.
Please refer to the User Agreement for the full policy details when you default on a loan (Events of a Borrower Default).
A liquidation event happens if anytime during the loan term, the value of the borrower’s collateral falls to 110% or lower. Once this happens, the P2P system will automatic initiate a sellback of the collateral parcels which will ensure that the lenders will not receive anything less than the full principal and interest of the loan contract.
The obligation to pay tax on interest income earned varies from one jurisdiction to another. Please seek professional advice from a qualified tax accountant or tax attorney for questions on reporting and payment obligations of the jurisdiction that you are subject to.