Our loan eligibility criteria

You might be wondering…

• What questions will I be asked?
• What documents do I need to bring?
• What are the ‘rules’ around who can get a loan?

Good news: it’s surprisingly simple, and we’re here to help.

This article explains our eligibility criteria, what to bring to your meeting with MTF Finance, and how our credit checks work. Being prepared will improve your chances of having your application approved and speed up the process.

Why do we have eligibility criteria?

As a finance company registered in New Zealand, MTF Finance follows all relevant legislation designed to protect consumers and is proud to champion the Code of Responsible Lending.

Being a responsible lender means that we act in your best interests: we do things the right way, to protect you from stress and financial hardship. Before we offer any finance, we need to be confident that you can afford the repayments.

You’ve probably heard horror stories in the news about people getting into debt they can’t afford to pay back - and we never, ever want that to happen to our customers!

Our eligibility criteria are there to make sure we lend you the right amount, structured in a way you can comfortably repay.

What questions will I be asked?

It’s important for us to understand your personal circumstances, so they can find the right option for you. You can expect some general questions, including:

• How much would you like to borrow?
• How are you planning to use the loan?
• How would you like to repay your loan?
• Have you applied for finance before?

As well, we’ll ask more specific questions about your finances, including:

• How much are your monthly expenses (like rent or mortgage, groceries, bills, other loans and childcare)?
• How many people live in your household, and how many are dependants?
• How long have you been at your current job?
• Is there anything in your credit history that might affect your application?

There are no right or wrong answers, it’s all part of our process to find the right solution for you.

What documents will I need?

ID

A New Zealand driver licence is the quickest and easiest way for us to verify your identity. If you don't have one, we can also accept a passport of any nationality or a NZ firearms licence.

Proof of address

Please bring a recent document that confirms your home address (usually a bank statement, a phone or power bill, or a New Zealand Government letter). Your name and your address will need to be on the document.

If you don’t have proof of address handy, ask your bank - they should be able to provide this.

Bank statements

You will need to show us 90 days of bank statements, with the latest information no more than 60 days old. The statements should include your name, address, and bank account number. If you have a couple of bank accounts, we may need statements for those as well.

The good news is there’s no need to go to the bank first or bring printouts - with your permission, we can extract the necessary information from your accounts using a secure tool registered with every major bank in New Zealand.

Your MTF Finance advisor will go through the statements with you and use this to determine how much you may be able to borrow. We’ll look at how much you earn and how much you spend, to work out how much you can afford to repay (and still leave something left over for a rainy day).

An important note on this: we don’t mind where you spend your money, and we aren’t going to judge if you’ve got takeaways three times this week (that happens sometimes)!

Other financial documents

Please bring along any other documents that might help our team assess your financial position - this could include mortgage or insurance documents, other loan contracts, or payslips from your employer, or your employment contract if you have a new job.

You may also need to bring any Work and Income documents and ‘Buy now pay later’ statements such as Afterpay, Zip or Laybuy.

How do credit checks work?

Credit checks are a standard part of our application process, but we know they can make customers feel a bit nervous!

Credit checking isn’t a bad thing - it helps us feel confident that you can make your repayments as well as preventing us from putting you in a bad financial situation.

We use a system called Comprehensive Credit Reporting (CCR), provided by Centrix (that’s New Zealand’s major credit company). When Centrix runs your Credit report they give you a number between 1 and 1,000, based on your financial history. The higher the number the better your score, and the more likely that we can lend to you.

CCR is a fairly new system, and we think it’s great! The old credit checking system only looked at the bad stuff (like missed payments and debt collection), so one rough patch could wipe out your credit history for years.

CCR is different. It takes into account all of your good behaviours, as well as the not-so-good ones. So, how does that work in your favour?

1. MTF Finance gets a fairer, more balanced view of your credit history.
2. It’s easier for you to build up a good credit history, especially if you’re a younger person or new to New Zealand.
3. It’s easier to recover from bad credit! If you had a rough patch in the past, all your good behaviour since you got back on track is included in your credit report.

If your credit history is not spotless, you can still apply to borrow with us - we’re big believers in second chances. Just be aware that a less-than-great credit history can make a difference to the amount you can borrow, or the amount of interest you pay.

Because we’re responsible lenders, we will never put you in a situation you can’t afford. We’ll always tell you if a loan from us is not the best option for your situation right now.

Learn more about our credit report process

The process was quick, done online and over the phone. They offered me fair rates and considered my application even though I'm on a work visa.

Eligibility for NZ residents and visa holders

If you are a New Zealand resident or have a New Zealand visa, you can apply to borrow with us. We are all about helping Kiwis do more, and that includes people who are Kiwis by choice!

Please note that if you hold a New Zealand visa, we can only provide lending for the remaining time on the visa – for example, if you have 12 months left on your visa, we’ll set up your payments for your lending to be paid off within the 12 months. This is the case even if you are intending to renew your visa.

You are protected by responsible lending laws. Because of these protections, the content of this page is not regulated financial advice.

This means that duties and requirements imposed on people who give financial advice do not apply to this content. This includes a duty to comply with a code of conduct and a requirement to be licensed.