Guides
How credit works in South Africa, written for people deciding whether to borrow rather than for people selling loans.
Each guide explains one part of borrowing in plain language: what a loan really costs and the legal limits on every charge, how lenders decide who gets credit, what debt review does and how it ends, and how to recognise a loan scam before you pay anything. Every guide lists the parts of the National Credit Act, its Regulations and the regulators’ pages it relies on, so you can check the facts yourself. Our editorial policy explains how we write and update them.
Last updated 8 October 2026
What a loan really costs
Interest is only part of it. Initiation fees, service fees and credit life insurance decide what you repay — and the law caps each one.
How lenders decide
Affordability, credit record and each provider's own rules. What actually moves the answer, what does not, and what to do after a decline.
Debt review, explained
What debt review does, what it costs, what it protects you from, why you cannot simply leave it, and how it ends with a clearance certificate.
Loan scams: how to spot them
Upfront fees, fake lenders and loans promised on WhatsApp whatever your record. How the common scams work and how to check a lender before you pay.
How to check if you are blacklisted in South Africa
There is no blacklist, but there is a credit record. How to get your free report from each credit bureau and what to look for on it.
How long does blacklisting last in South Africa?
Every negative listing has an expiry date set by the National Credit Regulations: one year for adverse listings, five for judgments, and less once paid.
Can you get a loan with a low credit score in South Africa?
What a credit score of 500 or 600 means, why each bureau's scale is different, and what lenders look at besides the number.
How to clear your name at the credit bureaus
Disputing wrong entries, removing paid-up judgments, rescinding a judgment and ending debt review — what each takes and how long it lasts.
What to do instead of a loan when you are blacklisted
Payment arrangements, debt counselling, an employer advance or family help: options to try before another loan when your credit record is poor.
PERSAL loans: how payroll deduction loans work
How a PERSAL loan repaid by salary deduction works, who may get a deduction code, and the limits Treasury sets on what can come off your salary.
Garnishee orders on a government salary: your rights
An emoluments attachment order needs a court's approval, may take at most 25% of your basic salary, and can be challenged. What public servants should know.
Debt review for government employees
How debt review works with a PERSAL salary: what changes on your payslip, what happens to your GEPF pension, and why you cannot borrow during it.
Debt consolidation loans for government employees
When one loan to repay several debts helps a public servant, when it makes things worse, and what to compare before you sign.
Personal loans for police officers, teachers and nurses
Can a SAPS member, teacher or nurse get a personal loan? What lenders look at, how PERSAL deductions and the pension rules apply, and what to watch for.
Personal loan interest rates in South Africa, explained
The law caps the interest on an unsecured personal loan at the repo rate plus 21% — 28.25% a year today. Why your own rate differs and how to compare.
What is the monthly repayment on a personal loan?
How a personal loan instalment is worked out, what R20 000 or R100 000 may cost a month at most, and why a longer term costs more in total.
Secured vs unsecured personal loans in South Africa
What security changes: the legal interest cap, the risk to your asset and when borrowing against a car or a home is worth considering.
How to get a lower interest rate on a personal loan
Lenders price each applicant by risk. What you can change before you apply — and how to compare quotes so the lower rate is real.
Paying off a personal loan early in South Africa
You may settle a personal loan at any time. What the settlement amount includes, when an early termination charge applies and how to close the account.
Personal loan rates at South African banks (2026)
The personal loan rates and fees Capitec, FNB, Absa, Nedbank and Standard Bank publish, checked on their own sites, and the rate most borrowers are offered.
Can I get a loan without a guarantor in South Africa?
Most personal and short-term loans need no guarantor. When lenders ask for one, what standing surety means, and how to borrow on your own income.
Unsecured loans for the self-employed in South Africa
How self-employed people get an unsecured loan without a payslip: the documents lenders accept, how they read changing income and what it costs.
6-month loans in South Africa: what they cost
What a loan repaid over six months may cost in South Africa: the R8 000 line between short-term credit and unsecured loans, with worked examples.
Loan without a payslip in South Africa: what lenders accept
Can you get a loan with only bank statements? What the law lets lenders accept instead of a payslip, which lenders say so and what to avoid.
Short of money before month-end: options before a loan
Rent, taxi fare or groceries due before your salary: the options that cost nothing, what a small loan costs by law and how to avoid a second loan.
Loan apps in South Africa: registered lenders with an app
Which registered lenders have a loan app, what a loan through an app costs by law, and how to tell a real loan app from a scam before you install it.
Work out a cost or compare by loan type
The loan cost calculator shows the most a loan may legally cost for your amount and term. Loans by situation: Personal loans · Payday loans · Government employees · Self-employed · Poor credit record · Under debt review · Unsecured loans · Long-term loans · Small loans · Solar loans · Education loans · Appliance loans · Car repair loans