Black Friday and Christmas are coming, the rush for loans may begin

The pre-Christmas gift shopping season officially began at the beginning of November, which will also have an impact on the aruhitelek and smaller personal loan markets – points out Attila Fülöp Norbert, financial expert at BiztosDöntés.hu. Demand is also benefiting – he added – that the Black Friday period, which originally fell on the fourth Friday of November and brought strong discounts, has gradually been postponed, so that the related promotions are now practically running throughout November.

According to the financial expert of BiztosDöntés.hu, the fact that the last quarter is crucial for loans for the purchase of goods is also supported by the statistics of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank: according to them, more than 31 percent of the 46.4 billion forints new contracts shown for 2024 were concluded by customers in the last quarter – mainly in November and early December.

Fülöp Norbert Attila reminded that the amount and number of credit cards issued in Hungary have been continuously increasing in recent years, primarily due to the more intensive use of online channels. At the same time, he added, the growth of the market was also contributed by the fact that in recent years the average amount per contract for goods purchase loans has gradually increased: while in the first nine months of 2020 it was still approaching 180 thousand forints, by the end of September this year it had already exceeded 262 thousand.

From the point of view of the goods credit market, however, the financial expert of BiztosDöntés.hu drew attention to the fact that it will be crucial this year how well the year-end rush is managed, as the first nine months brought a noticeable decline in both the number and amount of contracts compared to the same period last year. As for the latter, by the end of September this year, financial service providers had issued new commodity loans worth 27.4 billion forints, which was 14.4 percent less than the amount issued a year earlier.

However, there is no sign of stagnation in the personal loan market, and in fact, in the first nine months of the year, the amount issued in the whole of 2024 was exceeded. Moreover, Norbert Attila Fülöp pointed out, favorable offers can now be found not only in the multi-million loan amount category, but also in the range of a few hundred thousand forints.

According to the BiztosDöntés.hu personal loan calculator, Trive Bank, which specializes in online quick loans, is now offering its 6-month eHitel Expressz product with an annual interest rate of 12 percent, the amount of which can be 450 thousand forints.

Provident, which is also active in the market for smaller loans, is now offering a Start loan for new customers in amounts between 100 and 300 thousand forints at an annual interest rate of 12.43 percent. The loan term is 19 weeks and can be applied for by those who have not yet had a relationship with the service provider or have paid off their previous loan more than a year ago.

In addition to the quick loan market, you can also find favorable conditions for classic personal loans. At Erste, for example, you can borrow 500 thousand forints for a six-year term at 14.79 percent.