October 20, 2020 | Last Updated September 29, 2026
How to Prepare for a Loan Application in New Zealand
Most loan applications do not fall over on credit or income. They stall on paperwork. A bank statement missing for one account, an income figure that does not match the statements, a debt left off the list, an expired licence. Every one of those means an email from us, a wait for your reply, and another day gone.
The fix is to have everything in one place before you start, rather than hunting for it halfway through. That is really all there is to preparing a loan application in NZ, and this guide sets out exactly what to have ready, what we look at, and what commonly holds an application up.
It will not change the answer. It will get you an answer sooner.
Before You Start, Work Out What You Actually Need
Dave, who owns Alternate Finance, has been lending since the 1980s, and this is the advice he gives borrowers.
Borrow the smallest amount, for the shortest time, and preferably not at all.
So get the real quote for the repair, the bill or the trip first, rather than a round figure with a bit extra on top. The smaller the loan, the less it costs you.
If the money is for everyday bills rather than a one-off cost, borrowing may not be the right tool at all. A free financial mentor will go through your position with you. MoneyTalks connects you with one on 0800 345 123, or free text 4029.
Start With the Calculator
Before you fill anything in, spend a few minutes with our loan calculator to get a feel for the numbers. Put in the amount you are thinking about and what you could comfortably pay each week, and it shows you roughly how long the loan would run.
Those figures are an estimate to help you think it through. They are not an offer, and they are not your rate. Your rate is set when we assess your application, because it depends on your circumstances.
The useful thing to do with a calculator is move the numbers around. Put in a bit more each week and watch the term drop. Put in a smaller amount and watch it drop further. A smaller loan paid off faster costs you less, and that holds no matter who you borrow from.
Then Do a Budget
We are going to work out whether the repayments fit alongside your rent, power, food and the debts you already have, so you may as well know the answer first. Our budget planner is free and takes about as long as a cup of tea.
Who Can Apply
Every lender sets its own lending criteria, and the eligibility criteria vary between lenders, so this is worth a read before you start. A few of ours are hard requirements rather than matters of judgement. To apply with us you need to be 18 or over and legally able to enter a loan agreement, a New Zealand citizen, permanent resident or eligible visa holder, with an active New Zealand bank account in your own name. The form asks whether you have ever been declared bankrupt, and whether you are currently under a No Asset Procedure or subject to a Debt Repayment Order. Answering yes does not rule you out on its own. We look at how your finances have gone since, and we need to see them moving in the right direction. The money cannot be for gambling or anything illegal.
Every loan we write is secured, so you also need something we can take as security. More on that below.
Beyond those, there is no checklist that decides the outcome. Every application gets looked at on its own.
What to Have Ready
This is the checklist of documents required, and it is the part that saves you the back and forth. Most of it is information you already have.
Photo ID
One of these.
- A New Zealand driver licence. Have the card with you. The form asks for the licence number, the version number and the expiry date, which are printed on it as 5a, 5b and 4b.
- A passport, which can be from any country.
- Another form of photo ID, such as an 18+ card or a firearms licence.
Check it has not expired, and that the name on it is the name you are applying under. If you have changed your name, have the paperwork that shows the change. Fill the details into the application form rather than sending them to anyone unprompted, and we will ask you directly for anything else we need and tell you how to send it.
Where You Have Lived
Your current address and how long you have been there, and your previous address as well. If you have moved about a bit, work the dates out before you start.
Bank Statements for Every Account
Not just the account your income goes into. Every account, including any you rarely use.
The usual way is a secure link that pulls your statements straight from your bank, so there is nothing to print, scan or photograph. An account left out means we have to stop and come back to you, and that is the easiest delay on this page to avoid.
Proof of the Income You Actually Receive
Payslips if you are on wages, and your employment agreement if you have recently changed jobs. Recent accounts or IRD records if you are self-employed. Your Work and Income or NZ Super statement if that is where your income comes from. And anything else regular, such as child support, board or a second job.
A benefit is income and we assess it the same way we assess wages. Because it is a fixed payment from Work and Income, we can usually verify it more precisely than a variable wage. What we are looking at is what you can afford to repay, not where the money comes from.
A List of Everything You Already Owe
Write this one out before you start, because it is the part people get wrong from memory.
Credit cards, and put down the limit as well as the balance. Other loans and hire purchase. Car finance. Overdrafts. Money owed to IRD or for fines. Anything you are paying back to a family member. And buy now pay later, which people often leave off, partly because each purchase is small.
It shows up on your credit file anyway, so it is better coming from you.
Details of the Security You Can Offer
Every loan we write is secured. That is our model, and it is worth knowing before you start, because an application with nothing behind it cannot proceed.
- A vehicle is the most common. It needs to be warranted, registered and insured, all three, and we will ask who insures it. If you are still paying it off, tell us who to, because that affects what is left to secure against.
- A property, if you own one. Have your latest mortgage statement and your rates notice, which is what shows the equity.
- Something else, or security from someone else. Talk to us and we will tell you whether it works.
Whatever you offer needs to be worth at least as much as you are borrowing. Meeting that is one part of the assessment, not the whole of it.
If the loan goes ahead, we register our security on the Personal Property Securities Register. A registration fee applies and it is listed with everything else on our Rates and Fees page.
If You Cannot Provide Security Yourself
One option is for a family member or a friend to put up security on your behalf. On our form we call that person a supporting borrower, and they act as a guarantor for your loan.
Be straight with them about what it means. They are not signing a character reference. They are guaranteeing a loan that is not theirs, usually with something they own, such as a vehicle, put up as security. If the loan is not repaid, we can look to them for it, and they can lose what they put up.
Before they commit to anything, we send them their own paperwork setting out exactly what they are agreeing to, they should read all of it, and they are entitled to take independent advice on it first. Nobody should agree to this on the strength of a phone call from someone they care about. Our rule of thumb, and we would say it to our own families, is not to do it unless you could absorb repaying the loan yourself or losing what you put up.
The Loan Itself
Three things. How much you want, what you can put towards it each week, and what it is for. The first two are the opening questions on the form and the third is on the screen after it, so the weekly figure is worth thinking about beforehand rather than in the moment.
What We Look At
Applications are assessed by a person, not decided by an algorithm. Here is what that person looks at when they assess your application.
Whether the repayments fit. This is the main one. We compare what comes in against what already goes out, and we want to see the new repayment fitting with room to spare, not just barely fitting.
Your credit history. A credit score is where the assessment starts, not where it ends. If something went wrong at a particular point and there is a reason for it, tell us. A person is reading it, and a decline from a bank is not an automatic decline here.
What you already owe. Including the things people forget, like buy now pay later.
Whether your income can be confirmed. Wages, self-employment or a benefit, it makes no difference which, but it does have to be something we can verify.
The security you can offer, and whether it covers what you are asking for.
What Commonly Holds an Application Up
Almost none of these are about credit or income. They are about paperwork.
- Bank statements for some accounts but not all of them.
- Income details that do not match what the statements show.
- Existing debts left off the list, which we then find on your credit file.
- ID that has expired, or a photo of a licence where the numbers are not readable.
- Not coming back to us. The most common reason an application goes nowhere is that we asked for ID and statements and never heard back.
Apply to One Lender at a Time
Every application for credit is recorded on your credit file, and other lenders can see it. If you send applications to four finance companies in the same week, all four show up, and the next lender who looks at your file will ask you about them.
If you are shopping around, ask your questions first and apply once. Nothing stops you talking to us before you submit anything.
It is worth getting a free copy of your credit report before you apply, and reading it. Mistakes do happen, and a default you have paid should be showing as paid. Our guide to improving your credit score explains how to get your report and what to do about an error, and we have written separately on how a loan application affects your credit score and what a good credit score looks like in New Zealand.
Why We Ask for Statements and a Budget
Before any lender in New Zealand can lend to you, the law requires it to make reasonable inquiries and be satisfied you are likely to be able to make the repayments without suffering substantial hardship. That is a real test with a real answer, and it is the reason we ask for complete bank statements and go through a budget with you.
It is not about judging what you spend your money on. It is about checking that a new repayment fits alongside everything you already pay, with room left for the week that goes wrong. If the numbers say it does not fit, we will tell you, and sometimes that means saying no to a loan you wanted. That is the test working, not the test failing.
What Happens After You Submit
- You complete the online application form. Your details, the loan, your security and your work.
- You give permission for a credit check, which the form asks for.
- We come back for your ID and bank statements, or for your supporting borrower’s details. This is the step where applications tend to sit, so sending everything in one go keeps yours moving.
- A person goes through your income and outgoings against what you already pay out each week.
- We check the security, including the insurance on a vehicle.
- We verify your ID.
- You get your loan documents to read before you sign. They set out your interest rate, the fees, the repayments and the total amount payable. Loan terms here run up to three years. Read them before you sign, not after, and ask about anything that is not clear.
Every application goes through responsible lending checks first. How long those take depends mostly on how quickly we can confirm your income, your existing debts and your security, which is why having your documents ready matters. We cannot promise a decision time.
Once your loan is approved, funds are typically in your account within 24 hours.
Why People Choose Us
A person reads your application. Not an algorithm and not an overseas call centre. Someone in our Christchurch office reads what you wrote and looks at your situation as a whole. If a bank has said no, that is not an automatic no here, because the reasons behind a decline matter and a person can see them.
We would rather lend you less than you asked for. We mean that. If you come to us for a car loan and a cheaper car does the same job, we will say so. If a chunk of what you are borrowing is going on fees somewhere else, we will point that out too. We have been lending since the 1980s, and the loans that go wrong are almost always the ones that were bigger than they needed to be.
We are local. Alternate Finance is owned and operated from Christchurch, lends throughout New Zealand, and has supported community organisations in Christchurch and across the country, including:
- Cross Road Youth with a Future
- Nae Nae Charitable Trust (Billy Graham)
- Parenting Inc.
- Ellesmere Food Bank
- Shirley Boys High School
- Neighbourhood Trust St. Albans Christchurch
- Tanden Ministries
- Gideons
- Mairehau High School
- Sharp Trust
- Youth Alive Trust New Brighton Christchurch
Your interest rate depends on your own circumstances and is fixed once it is set. Our rates and fees are set out in full on our Rates and Fees page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What documents are required for a personal loan application?
Photo ID, bank statements for every account you hold, proof of the income you receive, a list of everything you already owe, and the details of the security you can offer. At Alternate Finance you will also be asked for your address history, and for the amount, the purpose and the weekly repayment you have in mind.
Do I have to provide statements for every account?
Yes. Not only the account your income goes into, because the law requires us to make reasonable inquiries into whether the repayments fit alongside everything else you pay. An account left out means we have to come back to you with questions.
What is recorded on my credit file when I apply?
The application itself is recorded, and other lenders can see it. That is why it is worth asking your questions before you apply, and applying once rather than to several finance companies at the same time.
Do I need security to apply?
Yes. Every loan we write is secured. That is usually a vehicle, which needs to be warranted, registered and insured, or a property. Security needs to be worth at least as much as you are borrowing, and if you have none of your own, a family member or friend can put up theirs and act as a guarantor. Our form calls that person a supporting borrower.
How is my interest rate decided?
It depends on your circumstances, your credit history with us and with others, the security you can offer and the amount you borrow. Once it is set, it is fixed for the term of your loan. The full schedule, including the establishment fee and the other charges, is on our Rates and Fees page.
When You Are Ready
Get your ID, your statements, your debt list and your security details into one place, and the form itself is the easy part. You can apply online through our online application form whenever you are ready, or read more about our personal loans if you are still weighing up the loan options. If you would rather ask a question before you start a personal loan application, contact us and a person will answer it.
This guide is general information about preparing a personal loan application, not financial advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a financial mentor or another professional before making financial decisions.
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