Nectar vs Instant Finance

Nectar and Instant Finance turn up in the same searches, partly because the words “instant finance” are used for any fast loan. This page treats Instant Finance as one specific company, instantfinance.co.nz, and sets it beside Nectar using only what each says on its own pages on 10 November 2026.

Car Finance Guide is a guide, not a lender or broker. We cannot tell you who will lend to you, and nothing here should read as a recommendation of either.

Where the two pages start

Nectar describes itself as a direct New Zealand lender and runs a seven-minute online application. Instant Finance also takes applications online, and adds that you can contact the team or visit a branch. It also offers pre-approval before you choose a car.

Both state a fixed rate once set. Both describe the rate as personal to you.

The numbers each one publishes

Instant Finance’s page also lists default interest of 5% a year on loans written after 1 March 2026 (10% for earlier loans), with a maximum annual rate of 39.95%, and refers to a full fee schedule for credit and default fees.

Rules that decide whether you can apply

This is where Nectar is more explicit. Its page says you must be 18 or over, earn at least $350 a week after tax, be a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, have no serious bad debts or payment defaults, and hold a New Zealand driver licence or passport.

Instant Finance asks for over 18, residence or citizenship in New Zealand, a recent bill or formal letter to your home address, valid photo ID and three months of bank transactions. For work visa holders, the loan term must end before the visa does.

The two lists differ in what they put first. One sets an income floor and a debt history test. The other sets out documents. Neither is a verdict on you, because each lender decides case by case.

Security: two versions of “secured or unsecured”

Nectar spells out how the secured option works. The vehicle must be road legal, you must be its registered owner, it must be comprehensively insured with Nectar listed as an interested party, and you can buy from a dealer or privately. You have 60 days to give vehicle details, or the loan moves to the unsecured rate, which is your rate plus 3% a year. You must spend at least 70% of the loan on the vehicle, and can repay unused funds at any time.

Instant Finance is less specific on the car page. It says security you can provide affects the rate, that for secured loans it registers an interest in the personal property provided, and that the car can be used as security. It says there is no age limit on the vehicle.

If you plan to sell the car before the loan ends, Nectar says you either pay the loan off in full or ask to move to the unsecured rate. Ask Instant Finance the same question.

How the application is described

Nectar breaks its process into three steps: a seven-minute online application, choosing a loan option, and receiving the funds. It says it aims to pay out on the day the contract is signed online, which is a target and not a promise. Repayments can be weekly, fortnightly or monthly, to match your pay cycle. Its rates are subject to responsible lending checks and credit criteria.

Instant Finance describes an application that takes a few minutes, a same-day response, and money in your account within 24 hours of approval. It says the minimum weekly repayment is $25. It will take pre-approval requests before you choose a car, and lets you apply in a branch or by phone. If you want to talk it through with a person, that is a real difference in how the two present themselves.

A fast response is only useful if the offer is right for you. Take the written offer away, read the disclosure statement, and compare it with a second quote before you sign. The speed claims on both pages describe the lender’s usual process and are not a commitment about your application.

Using the money

Nectar’s car page has a condition that is easy to miss: you must spend at least 70% of the amount borrowed on the vehicle, and you can repay any unused part at any time. That suits someone buying a car and covering registration, a warrant of fitness and insurance in one go, and it matters if you were thinking of using the same loan for something else.

Instant Finance’s car loan page says nothing similar in the text we read. It does say the loan can fund a new or used vehicle from a dealer or a private seller. If you want to borrow more than the car costs, ask each lender in writing what the money can be used for, because the answer may change the rate you are offered or whether the loan is secured at all.

Complaints and who is watching

Nectar names the Financial Dispute Resolution Scheme on its complaints page. Instant Finance’s pages describe itself as a member of the Financial Services Federation, an industry body, and link to a complaints section, but the text we read did not name a dispute resolution scheme.

Our reading is limited to a few pages, so this is a prompt to ask, not a finding. Consumer Protection says every lender must belong to an approved dispute resolution scheme, and the Financial Service Providers Register shows which one.

What NZ law applies to both

Both loans are consumer credit contracts. That means the rules in the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act on suitability and affordability checks, written disclosure before you commit, fees that are not unreasonable, and the right to settle early all apply. The Financial Markets Authority took over regulating those rules on 1 July 2026. You do not need to choose a lender to get these protections.

A made-up example of how small fees add up

These are illustrations only, not offers from either lender. You borrow $8,000 over two years at 14%, paying a $1.75 fee on each repayment.

• Paid monthly: 24 payments, so $42 in per-payment fees.
• Paid weekly: 104 payments, so $182 in per-payment fees.

The same fee on the same loan costs $140 more when paid weekly, simply because it is charged more often. The monthly repayment is about $384 a month in the first case. In the second, the weekly amount is lower per payment but the fee is applied to each one.

For comparison, Instant Finance’s page gives its own illustration: $10,000 over three years at 29.95%, paid weekly in 156 instalments of $102.54, with $5,300.54 interest, $695.70 fees and $15,996.24 total. That shows how a high rate and weekly fees combine, and it is the lender’s example, not a prediction for you.

Making the choice

1. Check the basics first. Does the loan size, the term and the lender’s published rules fit you?
2. Ask for the same loan from each, repaid at the same frequency.
3. Compare the total, with every fee, rather than the weekly figure.
4. Ask whether the loan will be secured on the car, and what that requires of you.
5. Ask each for the name of its dispute scheme.
6. See cheapest car finance for how to think about cost and what is a comparison rate for fees.

Checklist

• Same amount, term and payment frequency on both quotes.
• Rate, every fee and total repayable in writing.
• Security terms, including selling the car.
• Early repayment terms.
• A named dispute scheme.
• A repayment that leaves you a buffer.

Red flags

• A fee schedule you are told about but cannot see.
• Weekly payments pushed without showing the total.
• A secured loan whose conditions you have not read.
• Any statement that you will definitely be lent to.
• Being rushed to sign.

If you struggle with repayments, tell the lender early and call MoneyTalks free on 0800 345 123. If you want help with the process, the /check form passes your details to a broker partner, who compares lenders for you and calls you back.

Sources

• Nectar: personal loans
• Nectar: car loans
• Nectar: feedback and complaints
• Instant Finance: car loan
• Instant Finance: home page
• Consumer Protection: what lenders must do
• Financial Markets Authority: changes to credit laws, July 2026