JSE-listed Capitec, South Africa’s largest retail and digital bank based on number of clients, has announced its foray into the home loan market in partnership with SA Home Loans.

The Stellenbosch-based banking group said in a statement on Tuesday that the launch of “its first full home loan offering” is built on the principles of simplicity and affordability, with the product having “one of the fastest application processes in the country”.

Its new home loan offering would allow consumers to initiate an application in under five minutes – alongside highly competitive linked interest rates from 6%.

Francois Viviers, Capitec’s executive of marketing and communications, says the offering was developed in response to strong demand for a simple and efficient, digitally-led home loan option.

“We’ve continually received requests from both clients and the public asking us to challenge the norms of home loans as we have done with banking…. Previously, application processes have required a lot of paperwork as well as time. We’ve simplified this by offering potential clients an easy four-step online application that takes less than five minutes to complete,” he adds.

Capitec executive of marketing and communications, Francois Viviers. Image: Supplied

“You don’t need to have any documents on hand and the questions are easily answered through multiple choice or simple entries such as name, surname and income,” he says.

“We’ve also made it easy for clients to track the progress of their application in real-time through our online portal.”

We found most application tracking to be vague or use terms that are not easily understood by someone who is unfamiliar with the process. Our tracking is comprised of six easy-to-follow steps, with clear communication describing the details of each step and if anything is required from the client,” Viviers explains.

Capitec will offer home loans up to R5 million over 30 years. It notes that clients will get a discount of up to 50% on lawyer fees through SA Home Loans’ National Panel of Attorneys. However, it is unclear whether the partnership with Durban-headquartered SA Home Loans goes beyond this element.

“There is also a further benefit for government employees who, if they apply for a new home loan or switch their existing bonds, could qualify for a discounted interest rate,” Capitec says.

To qualify they must use the government employee housing scheme (GEHS) stop order.

“This special home loan package (for government) offers a flexible term of up to 20 years on 100% of the purchase price, depending on the applicant’s affordability… After an application is underway, it can be tracked in real-time on the home loan portal,” Capitec notes.

“Alongside the portal, clients are also assigned a home loans consultant, should they require further assistance through personalised human interaction.”

Capitec’s share price was up more than 2% in morning trade on Tuesday at R1 206 a share at around 11am.