Smarter Student Loans by Ed Lend

Ed Lend provide smart student loans for all types of education.

Welcome to Ed Lend

We're a boutique financier that lends money to people who want to invest in their education. We know there are a lot of reasons to invest in your education and a lot of reasons it needs to be fast and simple - so we're here to help with smarter student loans.

 

Why we started lending to students

In the old days, you mostly went to Polytech or University and got a Government student loan - it was cheap but painful.  You, along with droves of other students, lined up on campus or battled with antiquated web platforms and eventually - you signed a massive document with Studylink and somehow the education provider then got their fees paid for the course you were on.  The student loan system was antiquated, time consuming and unfriendly to say the least.

From there, you spent a few years jammed in a classroom learning things that you may (or may not) need in the real world.  If nothing else, you got older, wiser, and ready to work - even if you weren't 'fully' prepared.  You also ended up with a big fat student loan.

That student loan sat there over your shoulder for years and although the government didn't charge you interest the IRD did take 12% out of every pay packet from then on. 

The reality is, many of us had student loans for a lot longer than we planned and when we tripped overseas, we then got blasted with additional interest costs which really set us back for other things - like that dream of getting on the property ladder or borrowing some more money to do a professional course that our employer wanted us to do, or re-training into another industry we discovered was more our thing!

 

The future of student loans

Nowadays education isn't just about University and Polytechnic.  It's about learning what you need to, when you need to, with the people you want to learn from.  It's about getting where you want to go sooner rather than later. Student loans need to match this reality.  They need to let you study now, make progress, and pay as you go.

Training and education has changed dramatically and student loans need to as well.  Many students are studying while they work.  They need to learn while they earn, to take up training to get raises, move into new career areas, gain professional certifications and so on.  The old approach to student loans still works - but only half the time.  For the rest of us, we need to borrow to develop and grow.  We need to learn more now to improve our earnings and to realise our potential sooner.

 

What should a student loan look like in 2020?

For a student loan to meet our needs in 2020 it should probably look like this;

  1. You should be able to borrow for any study you want to (not just the stuff the Government thinks is important). You need to borrow for study that will improve your employability, your own business or your productivity - something industry cares about or you know will get you results
  2. You should be able to pay back your loan by small installments as soon as you can so you save on interest and don't end up with a big loan dragging down your future
  3. The loan should have a fair interest rate, but no set up or establishment fees - surely with computers and the internet loans can be organised with no upfront costs
  4. Installments should remain predictable and low, and when you have more money you should be able to pay more off quickly and easily at no additional cost
  5. Payments should be predictable, always - that means if you miss a payment, the next payment shouldn't double - you obviously missed it because you got caught short - the installment should stay the same so you can always afford it

 

What does an Ed Lend student loan do?

Ed Lend only have one type of student loan - it's all you'll need!  It's called a Flexi-Pay Loan.

  • It has a standard weekly installment you pay - $49
  • The weekly installment never goes up, even if you miss a payment - same same
  • It has a standard Annual Interest Rate - 14.95%
  • You don't need to provide any security to borrow - no assets, no problem
  • It has no establishment or set up fees at all - $0
  • It can be approved in 24 hours - 1 day
  • It can be paid back as quickly as you like at no extra cost - $0
  • You control your savings, if you pay it back in half the time, you'll pay less than half the interest - flexible indeed
  • We pay the education provider directly for you - 100% smarter and safer
  • It can be used for any education you choose - you're in charge