Reference

NZ Credit Card and Personal Loan Rates 2026

Last updated: May 2026

~20%

Standard Card Purchase Rate

~12-14%

Low-Rate Card

~12-20%

Unsecured Personal Loan

Typical credit card and personal loan interest rates in New Zealand. Unlike mortgage and deposit rates, consumer lending rates move slowly and stay high even when the Official Cash Rate falls, because they price in the risk of unsecured lending. These are indicative ranges; your actual rate depends on the product and provider.

Credit Card Interest Calculator Personal Loan Calculator Debt Consolidation

Typical Credit Card Rates

Type	Approx. annual interest rate
Standard / rewards card purchase rate	~19% to 23%
Low-rate card purchase rate	~12% to 14%
Cash advance rate	Often higher than the purchase rate, with no interest-free period
Balance transfer offers	0% to low rates for an introductory period, then the standard rate

Most cards offer up to around 55 interest-free days on purchases if you pay the full balance by the due date. Interest only applies if you carry a balance, and on cash advances it usually starts immediately.

Source: RBNZ - Retail interest rate statistics. Indicative ranges; check each provider for current rates.

Typical Personal Loan Rates

Loan type	Approx. annual interest rate
Unsecured personal loan (bank)	~12% to 20%
Secured personal loan (e.g. against a car)	Lower than unsecured, often ~10% to 15%
Finance company / non-bank	Can be considerably higher

If you are carrying credit card debt at around 20%, consolidating into a lower-rate personal loan, or paying down the highest-rate debt first, can save a lot of interest. Always check fees as well as the rate, and beware of high-cost short-term lending.

Source: RBNZ and interest.co.nz - Borrowing. See also our NZ Interest Rates reference.

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