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Capitec, which is listed on JSE, South Africa’s largest digital and retail bank by number of clients, has announced its foray into the mortgage loan market in partnership with SA Home Loans.
The Stellenbosch-based banking group said in a statement Tuesday that the launch of “its first complete offering of home loans” is based on the principles of simplicity and affordability, and that the product has “one of the fastest application processes from the country”.
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Its new home loan offering would allow consumers to start an application in less than five minutes, along with highly competitive pegged interest rates of 6%.
Francois Viviers, Capitec’s marketing and communications executive, says the offering was developed in response to strong demand for a simple and efficient home loan option, digitally targeted.
“We have continually received requests from both clients and the public asking us to challenge the rules of mortgage loans as we have done with banking…. Previously, the application processes required a lot of paperwork and time. We have simplified this by offering potential clients a simple four-step online application that takes less than five minutes to complete, ”he adds.
Capitec Marketing and Communications Executive Francois Viviers. Image: supplied
“You don’t need to have any documents on hand and questions are easily answered through multiple options or simple entries like first name, last name and income,” he says.
“We also make it easy for clients to track the progress of their application in real time through our online portal.”
We found that most of the app tracking is vague or uses terms that are not easy for someone unfamiliar with the process to understand. Our follow-up is made up of six easy-to-follow steps, with clear communication describing the details of each step and if anything is required from the customer, ”explains Viviers.
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Capitec will offer home loans of up to R5 million for 30 years. It notes that clients will get a discount of up to 50% on attorneys ‘fees through SA Home Loans’ National Bar Panel. However, it is unclear whether the partnership with Durban-based SA Home Loans goes beyond this element.
“There is also an added benefit for government employees who, if they apply for a new home loan or change their existing bonds, they could qualify for a discounted interest rate,” says Capitec.
To qualify, they must use the government employee housing scheme (GEHS) suspension order.
“This special package of mortgage loans (for the government) offers a flexible term of up to 20 years on 100% of the purchase price, depending on the affordability of the applicant … Once an application is being processed, it can be traced on real time in the home loan portal, ”says Capitec.
“In addition to the portal, clients are also assigned a home loan consultant, should they need further assistance through personalized human interaction.”
Capitec’s share price rose more than 2% on Tuesday morning to R1 206 per share around 11 a.m.
