(Acom Loan) App SIM

(Acom Loan) App SIM is an independent, unofficial Android app: a loan simulation, calculator and plain-language guide to the cost of an ACOM personal loan. It works entirely on figures you type in yourself.

What the app does

The developer describes it in one line, and the app is that line: a simulation, a calculator, and a guide. You supply the amount, the rate and the tenure; the app does the arithmetic and explains the vocabulary a loan agreement uses. Nothing is submitted anywhere.

Who ACOM is

Unlike many brands that lending calculators are named after, ACOM is easy to identify. ACOM Co., Ltd. is a Japanese consumer finance company listed in Tokyo under the code 8572, and a consolidated subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. Its corporate information is published at acom.co.jp, and it runs overseas financial operations including Malaysia.

The Malaysian arm states on its own website at acom.com.my that it is ACOM (M) Sdn. Bhd., company registration 202101024811, licensed by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government under licence number WL8076/14/01-2/201126, and that its rates are up to 18 per cent a year unsecured and 12 per cent a year secured. Those are that company own published statements, quoted here for reference rather than endorsed. Verify the current licence yourself before borrowing; how to do that is covered in the guides linked from this page.

What it does not do

This app is an independent educational app. It is not an official representative of ACOM and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or related to ACOM, nor to any government body or regulator. It does not offer loans and cannot be used to apply for one. It does not process applications, does not disburse funds, does not check application status and does not access any account. There is no account, no login and no personal data.

Never type an identity card number, a bank account number, a password or a one-time PIN into any third-party app or website. All figures the app produces are estimates for planning only, and the binding terms are the ones in the lender own offer document.

The ceiling that applies to licensed moneylenders

One number is worth carrying into any conversation with a licensed moneylender in Malaysia. Under the Moneylenders Act 1951, interest is capped at 12 per cent a year for a secured loan and 18 per cent a year for an unsecured loan, which is 1 per cent and 1.5 per cent a month. Interest collected may also not exceed the principal sum lent. The text of Malaysian legislation is published at lom.agc.gov.my.

Before you borrow from anyone

Confirm who you are dealing with. Moneylenders are licensed under the Moneylenders Act 1951 and supervised by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government at kpkt.gov.my, while banks and development financial institutions are regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia at bnm.gov.my. Bank Negara also publishes a Financial Consumer Alert List, which should be read the right way round: a name on it is a warning, and a name absent from it is not a clearance.