Leading British supermarket chain Sainsbury's has been seeking to increase its hold in the personal loans market recently with news that customers who hold a Nectar card will be eligible for reduced personal loan interest rates.

The chain said that any customer who has a Nectar loyalty card will be in line for a 0.2% interest rate cut on loans between £5000 and £15,000. Rates for non loyalty card customers will remain at the standard 8.1% as opposed to 7.9% under the new deal.

A spokesman for the company said that anyone who applied would receive an instant decision on whether they were eligible and that the money would be paid into the customer's account within 24 hours.

“We’re constantly looking for ways to reward our customers and with this offer, we’re giving the Sainsbury’s shopper a preferential rate, enabling even more people to enjoy the benefit of banking, as well as shopping with us,” said Steven Baillie from Sainsbury's.