Your questions. Our answers. No small print.
If we haven't covered something, email support@cashlift.com.au or call 1300 000 000 (9–5 AEST, Mon–Fri).
Q01 How long does the application take? +
Most people finish in 8 minutes. The longest step is usually connecting your bank via illion (about 90 seconds); everything else is sliders and short form fields.
Q02 What do I need before I start? +
Your driver's licence or passport, your online banking login (read-only, we don't store your password), and a device with a camera for the ID check.
Q03 Do you check my credit file? +
We don't pull a credit bureau report for decisioning. We use 90 days of your bank statements instead — for SACC lending, this is a more accurate picture. We do check ourselves against ASIC's CRPA rules.
Q04 Will applying hurt my credit score? +
No. A bureau inquiry is not part of our decisioning process.
Q05 How fast is the decision? +
Most decisions come back in under 10 minutes. Some applications need a human credit analyst to review — that can take up to 2 hours during business hours.
Q06 Can I save my application and come back? +
Yes. Your progress is autosaved; you can log in with the email you registered and continue.
Q01 What does a $1,000 loan actually cost? +
Establishment fee (20%) = $200 up front. Monthly interest = 4% of the outstanding balance. Your weekly repayment is set based on what fits your budget — typically $100–$130 per week for a $1,000 loan.
Q02 When are repayments due? +
Weekly, on the same day of the week as when your loan was disbursed. You nominate the day in the apply flow.
Q03 How is my weekly repayment decided? +
After you connect your bank, we analyse 90 days of statements to understand your income and essential expenses. We then set a weekly repayment that fits comfortably inside your budget — you'll see the exact figure before you sign.
Q04 How do repayments work? +
We set up a PayTo mandate with your bank via Monoova. Your bank debits the weekly amount automatically on the agreed day. You get an SMS reminder 24 hours before each debit.
Q05 Can I repay early? +
Yes, and early payout is free. You'll save the remaining interest. Request a payout quote from your dashboard at any time.
Q06 What if a repayment fails? +
A $15 dishonour fee applies. We'll reach out by SMS and email to agree a rescheduled debit — usually within 1–3 days. If you're in hardship, tell us early; we can arrange a pause or a reduced schedule.
Q07 Are there any hidden fees? +
No. The rate card is exhaustive: establishment, monthly interest, dishonour, default (NCCP-capped), early payout ($0), broker fee ($0), variation fee ($0). That's all.
Q01 Why was I declined? +
If you're declined, we tell you the main reason (affordability, income stability, identity, or policy criteria like bankruptcy or existing SACC loans). We won't leave you guessing.
Q02 Can I apply again after being declined? +
Yes — after 14 days. A fresh 90 days of bank data may tell a different story.
Q03 Do you lend to Centrelink recipients? +
Yes, if your benefit payment is regular and your affordability check passes. Under responsible lending rules, we cannot let repayments exceed 20% of a Centrelink income.
Q04 Do you lend to self-employed applicants? +
Yes. We look at 90 days of business-account deposits as your income stream.
Q05 Will my co-habitant's debts affect my application? +
No. We only assess your own income and commitments from your own bank statements.
Q01 How do you handle my bank statement data? +
illion retrieves 90 days of statement data via a read-only handoff — we never see your online-banking password. The retrieved data is encrypted at rest, accessible only to credit decisioning processes, and retained per our Privacy Policy.
Q02 Do you sell my data? +
Never.
Q03 Can I delete my data? +
Yes. After a loan is closed (or if you don't complete an application), you can request deletion from your portal or by emailing privacy@cashlift.com.au. Some data we're legally required to retain under AML/CTF and NCCP rules — we'll tell you what we can and can't delete.
Q04 What if there's a data breach? +
We'll notify you directly and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) as required by the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme. We maintain ISO-aligned security controls.
Q01 What if I can't make a repayment? +
Contact us as early as you can — ideally before the payment is due. Our hardship team can arrange a 2-week deferral, a reduced-repayment plan, or a full restructure depending on your situation. There's no fee to request hardship assistance.
Q02 Does requesting hardship affect my credit file? +
SACC loans are not generally reported to credit bureaus, so a hardship arrangement with CashLift doesn't appear on your bureau file.
Q03 What's AFCA and how do I contact them? +
AFCA is the Australian Financial Complaints Authority — a free, independent external dispute resolution service. If you're not satisfied with how we handle a complaint, you can escalate to AFCA at afca.org.au or 1800 931 678.