Pawnshop loans rose to $884 million in June amid surging gold prices, economic uncertainty
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In June 2025, a record total of $884 million in loans were given out by pawnshops here, a 29 per cent increase from the $686.4 million in June 2024.
ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
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- Singapore pawnshop loans surged 29% to $884 million in June 2025 from a year ago.
- Gold price increases enable larger loans, attracting more pawners amid economic uncertainty.
- Pawnshops say their clientele include those struggling with cash flow, like small business owners.
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SINGAPORE – The amount of loans given out by pawnshops shot up by close to 30 per cent in the past year, fuelled by surging gold prices and growing economic uncertainty.
In June 2025, $884 million in loans was given out by pawnshops here, a 29 per cent increase from the $686.4 million in June 2024.
The $884 million is almost double the $467 million in loans disbursed during the Covid-19 pandemic in June 2020, according to latest figures found on the Singapore Department of Statistics website.
Meanwhile, the number of pledges received rose by 8 per cent from 316,916 in June 2024 to 341,490 in June 2025.
In June 2020, there were 323,549 pledges, which are valuable items that borrowers leave with the pawnshop as collateral to secure a short-term loan.
Mr Lim Chun Seng, group general manager of MoneyMax Financial Services, said the rising price of gold is one key factor driving the increase in pawnshop loans.
This is because gold is the primary type of collateral used to secure a loan in the pawnbroking industry.
He said the price of spot gold rose from over US$2,300 per ounce of gold on June 30, 2024, to over US$3,200 on June 30, 2025.
Gold rose to a high of over US$3,500 per ounce on Sept 2
The price of spot gold, which is the price to buy or sell gold in over-the-counter trade, has risen by more than 30 per cent since the start of the year.
Pawnshop operators said that as gold prices rise, clients can get a larger loan as the pledge of gold jewellery, for example, is now worth more money.
The higher value also attracts more people to pawn their gold, they said.
MoneyMax has 50 pawnshops in Singapore, while ValueMax runs more than 50 pawnshops here. Both MoneyMax and ValueMax are among the biggest players in the industry.
As at Sept 1, there were 241 registered pawnshops here, according to the Registry of Pawnbrokers website.
Ms Yeah Lee Ching, managing director of retail and trading at ValueMax Group, said: “When the economy weakens, the number of pawners tends to rise slightly as many rely on pawning to ease temporary cash flow shortages.”
Mr Brian Lan, a spokesman for Fund Express, which runs six pawnshops here, said its clientele includes small business operators such as hawkers, contractors and shop owners.
“They tell us that the business environment is tough now, with high rentals and more businesses shutting down. The market sentiment is quite bad,” he said.
“They may need cash flow to tide them over, but they find it hard to get loans from banks.”
One such client runs a minimart and he pawned about $40,000 of gold jewellery recently for cash to meet his business needs, Mr Lan said.
Mr Brian Lan, spokesman for Fund Express, said its clientele includes small business operators, such as hawkers, contractors and shop owners.
ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
Pawnshop operators say they accept gold and gold products, including jewellery and luxury watches.
Ms Yeah said ValueMax has seen a steady increase in the number of clients pawning luxury watches from brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet in recent years.
Besides the usual gold items, her company also accepts valuables such as old currency notes, silver bars, and Hermes and Chanel bags in “near-new” condition, she said.
“Pawnbroking offers a quick and hassle-free way to obtain cash using one’s personal assets,” she added. “Unlike other forms of borrowing, pawn loans come with no late fees or administrative charges, making them cost-effective for smaller sums.”
For example, a $1,000 pawn loan incurs a maximum monthly interest of $15, she said, adding that pawnbroking is becoming “an increasingly popular financial solution” and loan volumes have reached record highs.
Pawnshops say their customers come from all walks of life, from domestic helpers to business owners, and some are in their 20s.
When asked by The Straits Times outside a pawnshop, a 35-year-old domestic helper from Indonesia, who did not want to give her name, said she needed money urgently.
Another customer, a 65-year-old retiree who wanted to be known only as Mr Chong, said he would turn to pawnshops when he requires money urgently.
The former blue-collar worker said in Mandarin: “It is not easy to borrow money from your own family, much less your friends. Everyone would say they have no money.
“So when my finances are very tight, I would go to the pawnshop to pawn my gold jewellery.”
Correction note: The pawnshop chain Fund Express was misnamed in an earlier version of the story. This has been corrected.
