This article, based on a pilot survey in Trivandrum taluk, seeks to bring out certain less known but crucial aspects of the rural credit market in Kerala. Non-institutional agencies account for an overwhelming proportion of the credit supply in Kerala. The average rate of interest is much higher than the average indicated by the Reserve Bank's All India Debt and Investment Survey. The bulk of the institutional credit is appropriated by a relatively small proportion of households belonging to the upper stratum of families. The cost of credit it thus inversely related to the economic status of the borrower. The distinction between professional and non-professional moneylenders is irrelevant in practice; they both cater to the same clientele, take identical types of securities and charge the same high rates of interest. The results of the author's pilot survey also show that the actual interest on a good proportion of loan transactions is concealed.