Loans in NZ,
without the runaround.
Get the car, clear the cards or buy the house, on a repayment that fits your week.
Tell us what it's for and how much. Someone who does this every day takes it round the lenders and comes back with what they'd offer.
What do you need the money for?
What do loans cost in NZ right now?
Each row is one realistic example, priced once at the cheapest advertised rate and once at the dearest. Set-up fees are in both the weekly payment and the total, because a low rate with a large fee can still lose to a higher rate with a small one.
| Loan | Rate (p.a.) | Example | Each week | Paid back in total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal loan$5,000 over 3 years | 7.99%–29.99% fixed | $5,000 over 3 years | $37–$51 | $5,796–$7,960 |
| Debt consolidation loan$15,000 over 5 years | 7.99%–29.95% fixed | $15,000 over 5 years | $71–$113 | $18,389–$29,396 |
| Car loan$20,000 over 5 years | 8.95%–29.99% fixed | $20,000 over 5 years | $97–$150 | $25,143–$39,121 |
| Home loan$600,000 over 30 years | 4.99%–5.75% fixed | $600,000 over 30 years | $742–$807 | $1,157,416–$1,259,650 |
| First home loan$700,000 home, 5% deposit | 4.99%–5.75% fixed | $700,000 home, 5% deposit | $832–$906 | $1,298,197–$1,412,865 |
| Refinancing a home loan$500,000 over 25 years | 4.99%–5.75% fixed | $500,000 over 25 years | $673–$725 | $875,308–$942,882 |
| Business loan$50,000 over 5 years | 7.99%–25.95% fixed | $50,000 over 5 years | $234–$354 | $60,871–$92,053 |
| Loan with defaults on file$5,000 over 3 years | 9.95%–29.95% fixed | $5,000 over 3 years | $43–$57 | $6,737–$8,837 |
| Boat loan$30,000 over 5 years | 7.95%–29.95% fixed | $30,000 over 5 years | $143–$228 | $37,165–$59,193 |
Advertised rates checked 21 Oct 2026, lender's fee included. Your rate depends on your credit and the lender. Not every lender in New Zealand is here.
See what I could getHow does Compare Loans work?
None of these three steps is an application. Compare Loans does not lend money and does not give financial advice. It shows you what a loan costs, then puts you in touch with a licensed broker who can look at your actual position.
- 1
Pick what the money is for and roughly how much. The weekly cost and the total appear before you give anyone your name.
- 2
Leave a first name, a mobile and an email. The enquiry goes to one licensed broker who handles that kind of loan.
- 3
Take the call. The broker tells you which lenders would look at you, what the rate and fees would come to, and whether they charge you anything. Your credit file stays untouched until you decide to apply.
A text or email names the broker before they ring, so you know who is on the phone.
Talk to a broker
Who can get a loan in NZ?
Steady income matters more than a spotless credit file. Lenders look for four things:
- You are 18 or over.
- You live here. Citizen, resident, or on a work visa with at least a year left on it.
- Your income shows in your bank statements. A benefit counts at some lenders and not at others.
- Your credit file is in reasonable shape. A default narrows the field without closing it. See loans with defaults on file.
Have your licence or passport, three months of bank statements and a payslip, and a broker has enough to start.
Does looking hurt my credit score?
No. Reading this page, using the calculator or talking to a broker leaves your credit file alone.
A lender runs a check when you apply, and several applications in a short window can count against you. So work out the shortlist first, then apply once.
What protects borrowers in NZ?
Whatever your credit history, every lender owes you these six things:
- The lender must be licensed
- Anyone lending to people in New Zealand needs a licence from the Financial Markets Authority.
- The lender must check you can afford it
- Before the money goes out, the lender has to satisfy itself that the repayments fit your budget. A lender that says it skips that check is breaking the law.
- There is a cap on very expensive loans
- A loan at 50% a year or more cannot charge more than 0.8% interest a day, and the interest and fees can never add up to more than you borrowed.
- You get the full cost in writing first
- The rate, every fee and the total you will pay back all come to you in writing before you sign.
- You can change your mind
- You have five working days after you get that statement to cancel. You pay back the money plus interest for those days.
- You can complain for free
- Every lender and broker belongs to a dispute scheme that costs you nothing to use.
These rules are in the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act, policed by the Financial Markets Authority since 1 July 2026.
Questions people ask
What is the easiest loan to get?
There's no such thing as a loan without checks here. Every lender has to satisfy itself that you can afford the repayments, and a lender promising otherwise is telling you something worth listening to.
If you own a car, a loan secured on it is easier to get and costs less. At the same lender the secured rate usually starts about a percentage point lower.
What is the cheapest way to borrow $20,000?
Take the lowest rate you're offered, then pay it off faster than the term requires. How long you stretch the loan matters as much as the rate.
At 7.99% with a $150 fee, $20,000 costs about $94 a week over five years and $24,458 in total. Over three years it's $145 a week and $22,677 in total.
If you own a home, adding it to the mortgage at around 4.99% makes the weekly cost smaller, though over 25 years you pay more by the end.
Who will lend to me if the bank says no?
Finance companies take on some of the people the banks turn down. Their rates start around 9.95% and run to 29.95%, and the fees tend to be higher.
They still check that you can afford the loan. Anyone offering money with no checks at all is worth walking away from.
Can I get a loan on a benefit?
Some will, plenty won't. Where a lender counts a benefit, it treats it like a wage and still wants the repayments to fit after rent, food and power.
Borrowing less over a shorter term is easier to fit. A licensed broker can tell you which lenders work with benefit income, so you don't spend a week finding out the hard way.
How do I know a lender is legit?
Search the business name on the Financial Service Providers Register, which the Companies Office runs. A licensed lender is listed there and names a dispute scheme you can use for free.
Anyone who promises approval before they have seen your details has told you something about how they work.
What is a loan shark?
Someone lending without a licence, or charging more than the law allows. In 2025 an Auckland lender was charged over loans at up to 15% a week.
If someone has offered you a loan like that, report it to the Financial Markets Authority.
Should I take out a loan at all?
A loan works when the repayments fit after rent, food, power and petrol, and when what you're buying will still be useful after the last payment.
Four in ten New Zealanders borrowed last year just to cover living costs. If the repayments wouldn't fit, borrowing less or waiting will cost you less.
Talk to a licensed broker
Two short steps and a phone number is all it takes. One licensed broker reads the enquiry and rings you back.
This is not a loan application.