John Lewis launches new flexible personal loan

John Lewis Finance has today officially launched a new personal loan offer as it continues to expand its range of financial services products. In addition to flexible loan terms, customers will benefit from no hidden fees, with no early repayment fees or penalties for over payments, no admin fees and a payment holiday option, offering greater flexibility.

The payment holiday option has proved popular with customers who have already had a loan approved by John Lewis Finance. More than four in ten (41%) of those chose December or January as the month they wished to take a payment holiday. The average loan value to date among customers has been £10,000 with an average repayment term of 48 months.

John Lewis Finance will also offer applicants a personalised loan quote which has been developed to ensure transparency, enabling customers to see the likelihood of being approved for a loan and the rate they would receive before making a full application, which will avoid leaving a ‘hard footprint’ on their credit file. John Lewis has seen demand for its financial services products continue to grow in 2017 with the latest figures for the first half of last year showing that total profits increased by 39% year-on-year.

John Lewis Finance has been lending to its customers via its Partnership Card for more than 10 years and believes there is a gap in the market for an alternative, trusted provider of personal loans.

Mike Jackson, Director, Financial Services, John Lewis Partnership, said “We believe that the trust our customers have for the John Lewis brand is the reason why many of them choose us when it comes to money matters.”

“John Lewis Finance is always looking to ensure it meets the needs of its customers and providing access to a smart, responsible source of credit is an important part of this commitment. We have created a flexible proposition that includes a payment holiday, no early repayment fees, admin fees or charges for overpayment. We want to make it easy as possible for people to manage their finances and ensure that they are able to pay back their loan in the simplest way possible. With this in mind our personal loan offer will be competitively priced not only at launch but over the longer term.

“Demand for our financial services products continues to grow and that is testament to the trust our customers hold in our brand.  They appreciate the fact that we understand their financial needs, whether that’s related to everyday spending or purchases of bigger-ticket items, and are on hand to help them. This product builds on the support we already provide, offering greater choice and flexibility and ensuring customers maintain control of their money while still achieving their financial goals.”