Nedbank loans: terms and fees

One number covers arrears and arrangements: 0860 103 117. Nedbank’s FAQ does not list a separate legal or collections line for personal loans, so start there.

Prefer not to phone? Nedbank says you can apply in the Money app (Borrow, then Personal loan), online, or by asking for a call-back. If you are a Nedbank client you may already have an offer in the app under More, Notifications, For you; Nedbank adds that these offers are not available to everyone. The FAQ says that after you accept the offer the money could be in your account in 3 to 90 minutes, and that an evening application is paid the next working day.

You do not need Nedbank’s bank details. In your bank’s internet banking, choose Nedbank from the list of approved beneficiaries and use your personal loan account number as the beneficiary reference. That is the “account name” most people search for: it is Nedbank in the list, and the reference is your loan account number.

Nedbank normally collects the instalment by debit order on your salary date. To pay extra, call 0860 103 117 and have the debit order amount changed. You may pay the loan off early: Nedbank says it charges no penalty fee, and you should ask for a written settlement figure before you pay (National Credit Act, s 125). For a Nedbank Quick Loan, settlement is by EFT or PayShap, and EFT payments can take up to 5 business days to show.

If you know you will miss a payment, call 0860 103 117 as soon as you can. Nedbank says it can then arrange a new payment date, or a debit order for double the monthly repayment amount in the following month. For a longer-term fix it offers a personalised payment arrangement through the same number.

An extension of the loan term works through consolidation. Nedbank says you can combine your loans into one, with a new rate and a new repayment term, and that this may reduce the monthly instalment. It is a new agreement, so ask for the total repayable before you accept. How consolidation works, and when it saves money, is in debt consolidation loans in South Africa.

Nedbank says you do not have to be a client to apply for a personal loan, and that it can approve loans for clients who do not have high credit scores because it already has a history with them. It looks at your income and monthly expenses, your credit record and your payment history. Nedbank lists these among the reasons for a decline: your credit record, risk or affordability, bureau disputes or inaccurate information, administration or sequestration orders, and debt counselling or legal processes. If you are under debt review, read loans under debt review: when you can borrow again.

The Nedbank Quick Loan has its own rules: South African citizens only, with a valid SA ID number, aged 18 to 65, income paid electronically into a bank account, and permanent, self-employed or contract employment. The personal loan FAQ does not say whether non-citizens can apply, so ask Nedbank before you start.

If your bank says no, a smaller lender may decide differently: read if your bank says no for what each online lender asks for and says about your record.