A settlement letter, also called a settlement quote, is the figure your bank needs paid to close a vehicle finance agreement. Absa does not publish a dedicated settlement desk; the request goes through vehicle finance.
Official provider route
- Absa vehicle finance: 0860 669 669
- Email: [email protected]
- Business vehicle and asset finance uses the same number, 0860 669 669
- Commercial asset finance is separate, on 0861 001 155
- A settlement figure can usually also be requested through Absa online banking or the banking app
Ask for it in writing and by email if a dealer or another bank needs to see it. A figure read to you over the phone is not a settlement letter, and the party paying the account will normally insist on the document itself.
Product or service support
- Settlement quotes for a vehicle finance agreement
- Balance and statement requests
- Trade-in and refinance queries, where the dealer needs the settlement figure
- Credit protection on a vehicle account: [email protected]
- Extended cover: [email protected]
- Mechanical warranty, administered by an outside provider, on 0860 000 786
A settlement letter is a different document from a paid-up letter. The first tells you what to pay to close the account; the second confirms afterwards that it was closed. If you are selling the car privately, you will need both, and the buyer will want the second one.
Eligibility, account or policy requirements
- The figure is date-specific: interest accrues daily, so a quote is valid only to the date printed on it
- Paying after the valid-until date usually leaves a shortfall and the account stays open
- You have the right under the National Credit Act to settle a credit agreement early
- On some agreements an early settlement charge may form part of the amount quoted
- The bank holds the vehicle papers until the account is settled; registration transfer follows settlement, not payment of the deposit
- You will be asked to verify your identity before a figure is released
Time the payment to land inside the quoted period rather than on its last day. An electronic transfer that clears a day late is the single most common reason a settlement fails and has to be requoted, and the vehicle cannot be transferred until it goes through.
Escalation route
- If the letter does not arrive: Absa Complaint Resolution Suite on 0800 41 41 41 or [email protected], weekdays 08:00 to 16:30
- Disputes about a credit agreement or its administration go to the National Financial Ombud on 0860 800 900
- Conduct of a registered credit provider is regulated by the National Credit Regulator on 0860 627 627
- If the account was settled but the credit bureau still shows a balance, raise it with the bank and then with the bureau directly
- Vehicle registration and title matters sit with the licensing authority, not with the bank
Keep the paid-up letter permanently. It is the document that resolves a credit bureau listing years later, and banks are far slower to reissue it than to issue it at the time.
Sources
- Absa contact directory, vehicle finance listings, absa.co.za, read 3 September 2026