Applying for a loan

We encourage all our customers to review our criteria here prior to beginning an application. All our personal loan applications are completed 100% online.

Enter your details into the online loan calculator, select the amount you would like to borrow. Once you are happy with the amount, push the ‘Apply now’ button.

You will need to complete our online application form. Please make sure the information you provide is accurate. We will also verify your personal and credit information as part of the application process; this includes obtaining a credit report about you from one or more of the credit reporting agencies. Before your loan is approved, you will be asked to sign your loan documents online. SMB uses proven, encrypted transport layer security (TLS) technology to ensure the security of your information and protect the integrity of your data. Be sure to read and understand your loan agreement, give us a ring on 0800 272836 if there is anything you would like to discuss.

If you have any problems or questions, we are here to talk anytime. Please contact our lending team on 0800 27 28 36.

We look beyond your credit score and complete a thorough assessment of your overall financial profile. This allows us to assess your personal situation more comprehensively than traditional lenders do.

We will ask you to provide up-to-date information via our easy online application form, as well as connect and view your bank account(s) information. This and other credit information allows us to access your personal and financial profile.

Our exceptional service and technology allow us to provide competitively priced credit in a responsible way for customers to borrow safely and easily.

Always check your options before you borrow:

Borrowing to pay utility bills?

Please talk to your electricity, gas, phone or water provider to see if you can work out a revised payment plan with them first.

Borrowing to pay existing debt?

It is not recommended to use this form of credit to pay off current debt, as the cost of your loan may be higher than loans offered by other lending institutions. It can be useful to talk with your credit provider and see if you can work out a payment plan with them. If you aren’t sure whether a SMB loan is right for you, please call our customer lending team on 0800 27 28 36. We are here to help talk you through your options, even if a SMB loan is not suitable for you.

See our How it works section for more information.

As part of the SMB application, we ask for a variety of information that will help us better understand your full financial profile. This means we can ensure that a SMB loan is right for you and identify the likelihood of making your loan repayments without suffering undue financial hardship.

In order to process your application, we are required to assess and verify the information that you have provided, including your identity, employment, income and bank account details.

All applicants must have their identity verified. We provide a number of ways you can do this. Click here for more information on our anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) identification and address requirements.

In addition, you will also need to provide confirmation of additional details, such as your income and banking information, before your loan application can be approved. This process is conducted by our Lending Specialists, who will reach out to you directly if anything is required.

In order to process your application, we need to know:

- where you work, how much you are paid and how often, so we can make sure your loan is affordable and will not put you in financial hardship;

- your bank account details, so we can transfer the money into your account and set up repayments;

- your contact details, so we can keep in contact throughout the process;

- your identification, to identify you  – under government regulations, we are required to verify all our customers;

- three months worth of bank statements, so we can ensure a SMB loan is the right option for you.

Government legislation and responsible-lending regulations require us to ask for the loan purpose. As a responsible lender, SMB will make enquiries to ensure that the loan product you have applied for is suitable based on your circumstances.

We do this by considering each customer’s requirements and objectives, as well as their current financial circumstances.

A SMB loan is a financial commitment. We ask that you be a responsible borrower and please check you are in a position to afford your repayments now and in the future.

It is imperative that SMB as a responsible lender ensures you will not experience financial hardship whilst repaying your loan. If you have any doubt about your current financial situation and about meeting repayments, we would ask that you please do not apply.

SMB may need to contact your employer or payroll department to verify employment. We do not discuss how much you intend to borrow or any other loan details; this is confidential between you and SMB.

If you do not want us contacting your employer or payroll officer, please contact us immediately on support@smb.nz or 0800 27 28 36 and we will work with you to confirm employment via other channels.

As part of the application process, all applicants must provide details of the bank account into which their income is deposited. You will be asked to complete a bank-verification page when prompted in the online application form.

Connecting your bank accounts via the bank verification service enables us to verify the information provided in your application as well as perform calculations that are critical to our assessment process. All of this information is what sets us apart; it allows us to look beyond your credit score and 'go the whole hog' to carry out a comprehensive assessment of your financial profile.

View our full DecisionLogic terms of use, illion terms of use, Credit Sense terms of use and privacy policy.

If you reapply for finance with us more than six months after the expiry and/or closing of your last loan, you will need to provide us with a fresh authorisation to your bank account information via the bank verification service.

The following banks are compatible with DecisionLogic and illion:

• ANZ

• BNZ

• Kiwibank

• Westpac

• TSB

• Co-operative Bank

Yes, we are required by New Zealand law to collect and verify your personal information.

At SMB we take our commitment to AML/CFT and fraud very seriously. All new customers must go through our verification process, present suitable photographic identification and in some cases, supporting non-photo identification, so that we may validate their credentials. For customers holding a New Zealand drivers licence, the licence and version number can be entered at the time of application for us to electronically verify your credentials. For customers holding a New Zealand passport, the passport number, date of issue and date of expiry can be entered at the time of application for us to electronically verify your credentials. You can upload copies of all other forms of identification upon application or email/fax them separately. All forms of identification must meet SMB's specific requirements and be valid at the time of application. We will attempt to validate your current address using our external bureau facility. If we are unable to validate your address in this way, then you must provide suitable documentary evidence of your address, which must be dated no later than six months prior to the date of your application.

Scanned or clear photos of your documents can be emailed to support@smb.nz or faxed to (03) 343 1034. Our Lending Specialists will contact you after you apply, to assist with the sending of these documents – they can be contacted on 0800 27 28 36 if you require further help.

Click here for our AML/CFT identification and address requirements.

All applicants must be receiving regular and consistent income (at the time of application). You are required to confirm details of your primary income and of the supplementary sources of income that will be used to repay the loan. Our Lending team will be required to verify your employer and employment details at the time of application.

All SMB applications are assessed based on the applicant's individual financial circumstances. This includes (but is not limited to) a person's individual income, their credit profile and their debt levels.

There are no guarantees that by providing evidence of additional income you will qualify for a higher loan amount, but, if you do have additional income aside from the primary source you listed on your application, we will certainly assess your application accordingly.

Your net income from your employer and/or government benefit must be your main source of income.

At SMB, we promise to keep you updated on the status of your application at all times, by email and text, and you can also call 0800 27 28 36. 

You can only have one open loan at any given time with SMB.

To reapply for a loan log into My Account and reapply.

Once the last payment has cleared under your SMB loan and the loan has been repaid in full you can re-apply for another loan.

No. Once a bank account is associated with a customer, it cannot be used by anyone else. This is to prevent fraud and protect our customers. If your bank account has changed, you can email our customer happiness specialists at support@smb.nz or call 0800 27 28 36.

No. Once a phone number is associated with a customer, it cannot be used by anyone else. This is to prevent fraud and protect our customers. If your mobile number has changed, you can email our customer happiness specialists at support@smb.nz or call 0800 27 28 36.

You will receive an explanation via email if your application was cancelled, however we are here to talk, so you can also call our Lending Specialists on 0800 27 28 36 to chat with us about the reason.