Lending that respects your budget
A loan should ease a moment, not create a bigger problem. That belief shapes how we work.
What this means in practice
A loan has to fit the rest of your month.
Credit is useful when it smooths over a gap. It becomes harmful when the repayment quietly takes the place of food, transport or school fees.
So the question we ask isn't "how much can this person borrow?" — it's "what can this person repay without the rest of the month falling apart?" Those are different questions, and only the second one is fair to you.
That's why our affordability check looks at what you actually have left after your real costs, not just at what you earn.
Our commitments
How we lend responsibly.
We check affordability
We assess whether repayments fit your income before we offer, not after.
Borrow only what you need
Our estimate tool helps you pick an amount you're comfortable repaying.
Costs explained upfront
The initiation fee, interest and service fees are shown in plain rands before you commit.
No pressure to take more
We never push a bigger loan or a longer term than you asked for.
Clear repayment dates
You'll know exactly what's due and when, before you accept.
Talk to us early
If repayment gets difficult, contact us; the sooner, the more we can help.
How the check works
Our affordability maths, in the open.
No secret score decides this. We start from what you tell us, verify it, and work down to what's genuinely left over each month.
- Your income
What you actually take home each month, confirmed against your recent income documents.
- Minus your living expenses
Rent, food, transport, electricity, data, school costs — the things that have to be paid.
- Minus existing commitments
Other loans, accounts and debit orders you're already carrying.
- What's left is your disposable income
A repayment only makes sense if it sits comfortably inside that figure — with room to spare, not right at the edge.
Worked example
How the numbers stack up
An illustration of the method — not anyone's real figures, and not an offer.
| Monthly income Verified take-home pay | R 11 200 |
| Living expenses Rent, food, transport, utilities | − R 6 100 |
| Existing commitments Other credit and debit orders | − R 1 450 |
| Disposable income What's genuinely left | R 3 650 |
A repayment that swallows most of that R 3 650 is not affordable, even if it is technically payable. Where the numbers are tight, we'd rather offer less, or nothing at all.
Before you borrow
A short, honest self-check.
If you answer "no" to any of these, it's worth pausing before you apply. There's no penalty for waiting, and we'd rather you did.
- Do I know exactly what this is for?A specific, necessary expense — not a vague shortfall.
- Can I still cover the essentials?Rent, food, transport and electricity, with the repayment on top.
- Is my income steady enough?Across the whole term, not only this month.
- Have I tried the alternatives first?A payment arrangement, or help from family, may cost you nothing.
- Am I borrowing to repay other credit?If yes, this is a warning sign — speak to a debt counsellor, not a lender.
- Do I understand the total cost?Not just the monthly figure — what it adds up to overall.
If things get difficult
We'd rather work it out with you.
Life changes. If you think you'll struggle to repay, reach out — we can talk through the options.
-
Contact us early Before a payment is missed, if you can.
-
We'll talk options We look at what's realistic for your situation.
-
Raise a complaint If you're unhappy, our complaints process is here.
Free, independent help
You don't have to take our word for it.
If you're over-indebted, or you'd rather speak to someone with no stake in whether you borrow, these routes exist and they're independent of us.
The National Credit Regulator
The NCR regulates credit providers in South Africa and handles complaints about them. [ NCR contact details — to be confirmed ]
A registered debt counsellor
Debt counselling is a formal process under the National Credit Act. A counsellor can review everything you owe and negotiate with your creditors. [ Referral route — to be confirmed ]
Your free annual credit report
You're entitled to one free credit report each year from a registered credit bureau — worth reading before you take on anything new. [ Bureau list — to be confirmed ]
We list these because they're the right thing to point you to, not because we're paid to. If a debt counsellor tells you not to borrow from us, that's the correct outcome.
Support
There's a person on the other end.
Our support team is based in South Africa. You can ask about affordability, costs or a repayment date without starting an application, and without being sold to.
If your circumstances have changed, that conversation is the most useful thing you can do — earlier is always better than later.
Contact support
We're here to help
Questions before you borrow?
If anything about affordability, costs or repayment isn't clear, our support team is glad to talk it through before you apply.
