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What is the Minimum Income I Need to Get a Personal Loan in New Zealand?

  • Writer: Harmoney
    Harmoney
  • 19 hours ago
  • 3 min read

This is one of the most common questions people ask when considering a personal loan. The short answer is that there isn't a single, universal minimum income figure that applies to all lenders. Instead, responsible lenders in New Zealand, like Harmoney, focus on your overall financial health to determine if a loan is affordable for you.


While some lenders may have a set minimum income threshold (e.g., $35,000 per year), the key factor should not be just how much you earn, but whether you have a stable, regular income that can comfortably cover your loan repayments after all your other living expenses and debts are accounted for.


How Lenders Assess Your Income and Affordability

As a responsible lender, we are required by law to ensure that a loan is not likely to cause you "substantial hardship." This means we look beyond a simple income number and take a comprehensive view of your finances. When you apply for a personal loan, we will assess your application by looking at three main areas:


1. Your Income Stability and Source

We look for stable and consistent sources of income. This could be from:


  • Full-time or part-time employment

  • Self-employment

  • Government benefits (in some cases)

A regular income stream provides confidence that you can meet your repayment obligations throughout the loan term.


2. Your Existing Expenses and Financial Commitments

We use a secure, read-only view of your bank statements to get a clear picture of your income and spending habits. This helps us understand your existing financial commitments, such as:


  • Rent or mortgage repayments

  • Credit card bills

  • Other loan repayments

  • Regular living costs (e.g., groceries, utilities, transport)


This information allows us to calculate your surplus income, which is the amount of money you have left over each month to put towards a loan repayment.


3. Your Debt-to-Income (DTI) Ratio

Many lenders also use a Debt-to-Income (DTI) ratio to assess your financial health. This ratio compares your total debt repayments to your total income. While DTI restrictions in New Zealand are currently more focused on home loans, lenders use their own internal DTI ratios to ensure that your total debt burden remains manageable. A lower DTI ratio generally indicates a healthier financial situation and a greater ability to manage new loan repayments.


Harmoney’s Approach to Assessing Your Income

At Harmoney, we don't have a rigid minimum income requirement. Instead, we use a sophisticated, data-driven approach to assess your individual situation. This allows us to offer personalised rates based on your specific financial profile, rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach.


Our online application process is designed to be fast and secure. By using secure bank-grade technology, we can quickly and accurately assess your income and expenses without the need for extensive paperwork, providing you with a pre-qualified quote in minutes.


The Best Way to Find Out What You Can Borrow

The most accurate way to determine what you can borrow and what your repayments might be is to get a personalised quote.



Our quote process performs a "soft" credit check, which does not impact your credit score, and will give you a clear, guaranteed interest rate and loan amount tailored to your circumstances.


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