Kredit Komuniti: Checking a Licence and the Electronic Payout Rule

Two simple checks separate a licensed lender from everything else. One is the licence itself. The other is how the money reaches you, which since 2024 is governed by a rule that makes informal arrangements easy to spot.

What Kredit Komuniti means

Licensed moneylenders in Malaysia were rebranded as Kredit Komuniti by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government in April 2019. The rename was intended to distinguish lawful, licensed lending from illegal operators. The underlying law is unchanged: these companies operate under the Moneylenders Act 1951 and are bound by its ceilings of 12 per cent a year secured and 18 per cent unsecured.

How to verify a licence

• Peninsular Malaysia: check the company status through the i-KrediKom application.
• Sarawak, Sabah and the Federal Territory of Labuan: obtain confirmation from the state moneylender licensing authority.
• The ministry also publishes licence information through its portal at kpkt.gov.my.
• A licensed company must display its licence number, and the number should appear in the loan agreement. Ask to see it.

Do the check against the register rather than against a number printed on a website or in an advertisement. A number can be copied; a register entry is what confirms it is current.

The electronic payout rule

Since 1 April 2024, the disbursement of loan money to a borrower must be made by electronic funds transfer. This is a quiet but useful protection, because it creates a record of exactly what you received and when.

It also gives you a practical test. If someone offers to hand you cash, or to pay through a channel that leaves no trace, that does not match how a licensed lender is required to operate. Treat it as a reason to stop rather than a convenience.

Impersonation of the ministry itself

The ministry has publicly denied loan offers circulating under its name and using its logo, including schemes presented as official ministry personal loans and apps displaying the ministry crest without authorisation. No government ministry in Malaysia offers personal loans to the public through a social media page or a messaging app.

Two consequences follow. First, an official-looking crest proves nothing. Second, a request for a processing fee before a loan is approved is a reliable warning sign, whatever authority the sender claims.

Where to complain

Complaints about a moneylender can be submitted through the ministry public complaint system at kpkt.spab.gov.my. For entities claiming to be regulated by the central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia publishes a Financial Consumer Alert List. Company registration details can be checked through SSM.

In short

Verify the licence in the register, not on the advertisement. Expect the money by bank transfer. Anything else deserves a second look before you sign.