How long should it take to hear back from a lender?

You should get an acknowledgement soon after you apply, and a first call within a working day or two is a fair expectation. There is no fixed deadline for a first call, but RBI’s Fair Practices Code guidelines for NBFCs ask lenders to acknowledge every loan application and, preferably, state the time frame within which it will be decided.

For a lending desk or DSA, the checker below measures how quickly enquiries get a first reply, so you can see whether evening and weekend applications wait too long.

By Vocora team · Published 18 October 2026

Lead response time checker: financial services example

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Lead response time checker

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Opens at

Closes at

#	Loan enquiry received	Waited
1		20 min
2		18 h 20 min
3	outside your hours	13 h
4		3 min
5		no reply
6		17 h 5 min
7	outside your hours	1 d 1 h

Or paste from a spreadsheet: one loan enquiry per line, “received, first reply” as YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM

Loan enquirys checked	7 (2 arrived outside your hours)
Median wait for a first reply (clock time)	15 h 3 min
Median wait counting only your open hours	30 min
Arrived in hours / outside hours: median wait	8 h 43 min / 19 h
Replied within 5 minutes	1 of 7 (14%)
Replied within 1 hour	2 of 7 (29%)
Replied within 24 hours	5 of 7 (71%)
No reply yet	1
Slowest reply	1 d 1 h

Times are read as entered, in your local time. Rows with an error are left out of the totals.

Why lender replies are slow

Leads arrive after hours. Many people apply online in the evening or at weekends.
Hand-offs. An enquiry passes from a website or DSA to a branch or credit team.
Document checks first. Some teams wait for documents before calling, when a quick call could collect them.
Calls from unknown numbers. Applicants ignore unknown numbers; financial callers should use the numbering series TRAI and DoT set for them.
Peak days. Month-end and festive offers bring more applications than the desk can call.

Where the example numbers come from

These are example assumptions, not benchmarks. We have not found reliable public data for them, so check each against your own records.

Input	Example assumption	Why, and where to find yours
Open hours	10:00–18:00, Monday to Saturday	Assumption for a branch or DSA desk.
Enquiry times	7 enquiries over one week	Hypothetical sample: daytime, late-afternoon, evening and Sunday applications, one never called.
Replies	First call or message from a person	Count the first real contact, not the system acknowledgement.

Worked example (hypothetical)

A hypothetical NBFC branch logs seven website loan enquiries in a week: two during working hours, two late in the day that rolled over, an evening and a Sunday application, and one that nobody called.

Open 10:00–18:00, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat. Week of 12 October 2026.

Loan enquiry received	First reply	Wait (clock)	Wait (open hours)
Mon 12 Oct, 10:05	Mon 12 Oct, 10:25	20 min	20 min
Mon 12 Oct, 16:40	Tue 13 Oct, 11:00	18 h 20 min	2 h 20 min
Tue 13 Oct, 21:30 (closed)	Wed 14 Oct, 10:30	13 h	30 min
Wed 14 Oct, 12:10	Wed 14 Oct, 12:13	3 min	3 min
Thu 15 Oct, 13:00	No reply	—	—
Fri 16 Oct, 17:55	Sat 17 Oct, 11:00	17 h 5 min	1 h 5 min
Sun 18 Oct, 09:30 (closed)	Mon 19 Oct, 10:30	1 d 1 h	30 min

Replied: 6 of 7; median wait 15 h 3 min (clock), 30 min counting open hours only
Within 5 minutes: 1 · within 1 hour: 2 · within 24 hours: 5
Arrived while closed: 2; median wait for those 19 h, against 8 h 43 min for the rest

What it shows: Enquiries that arrive late in the afternoon wait almost as long as night-time ones because they miss the day’s calling. An instant acknowledgement listing the documents needed, and a callback slot, would use that time.

A reasonable target: an acknowledgement at once (with what documents are needed), a first call within the working day, and a stated decision timeline.

How lending desks can respond faster

Acknowledge every application at once, list the documents needed and state when a decision is expected, as RBI’s Fair Practices Code expects of NBFCs.
Call within the working day; book a callback slot on WhatsApp for evening and weekend applicants.
Use the numbering series TRAI and DoT set for financial institutions so applicants recognise your call.
Track every application to a decision, and tell the applicant if it will take longer than stated.

The method and its limits are explained on the main tool page: How quickly should you respond to a lead? More for this industry in the Financial Services playbook.

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FAQ

How long should it take to hear back from a lender?

An acknowledgement should come soon after applying, and a first call within a working day or two is a fair expectation. RBI’s Fair Practices Code for NBFCs asks them to acknowledge applications and preferably state the time frame for a decision.

How long does it take for a bank to get back to you about a loan?

It varies by lender and loan type. Ask for the expected decision timeline when you apply, and follow up if you have not heard within it.

What should I do if a lender doesn't respond?

Use the lender’s official customer-care channel and quote your application number. If a regulated lender does not resolve a complaint, the RBI’s grievance process is the next step.

Why do lenders call from unknown numbers?

Calls may come from a branch, a DSA or a call centre. TRAI and DoT have set number series for service and transactional calls from financial institutions; be careful with calls asking for OTPs or passwords, which genuine lenders do not ask for.

Sources

The tool gives an estimate from the numbers you enter. It is not a forecast, a quote, or legal, medical or financial advice.

Same tool, other industries: