Ask any of the lenders on this page for their rate, and you'll get a number. Ask for the Disclosure Statement, and you get the truth. It is the one document Philippine law actually requires, and it is built specifically so you can compare loans without doing the maths yourself.
Where the requirement comes from
The Truth in Lending Act (Republic Act No. 3765) requires every creditor to furnish a disclosure statement before a loan is consummated. The BSP and SEC both enforce it on the lenders they supervise, banks and financing companies alike. It is not a courtesy. It is the law.
What it must show
- The cash price or principal you are actually borrowing.
- All finance charges, interest and fees together, in pesos, not just as a percentage.
- The effective interest rate, the true annualised cost, calculated the same way regardless of which lender issues it.
- The schedule of payments, how much, how often, and for how long.
- The total of payments, what you will have paid by the time the loan is settled.
When you should see it
Before you sign anything, not after. If an app or a branch asks for your signature first and promises the disclosure "will be in your account" afterward, that is backwards. You have the right to see the finance charge and the effective rate before you commit to a single peso.
What to do if a lender skips it
- Ask for it directly, by name: "May I see the Disclosure Statement?" A legitimate lender will not hesitate.
- If they cannot produce one, or the numbers on it don't match what was advertised, that is a reason to walk away, not to ask twice.
- You can raise a complaint with the SEC's Financing and Lending Companies Department, or the BSP if the lender is a bank, citing RA 3765.
Every lender on Pautang Check publishes enough of this information for us to estimate your total cost before you apply. The Disclosure Statement you receive at the point of borrowing is what confirms, or corrects, that estimate.