SOLmate Blog

A micro loan's price is capped by law. The maximum a micro lender can charge on R2,000 to R8,000, worked out in rands, how to check a lender on the NCR register, and why a loan shark can't keep your ID or SASSA card.

Turned down for a phone contract, Naledi pulled all four credit reports, found one wrong line, fixed it for free, and then did the boring things. What moved her score in weeks, what took months, and how to build a score when your file is empty.

Registered lenders must verify income — but a 2018 court ruling scrapped the rigid three-payslips-or-three-statements list. What lenders can accept instead, why cash earners get stuck, and how to read the ads that promise no statement and no credit check.

Every bank live on PayShap in one table, the switch-on pattern that is the same everywhere, and your honest options if your bank — or your wallet — isn't on the network.

"ITC" is a bureau's old name and "blacklisting" is a myth. Here is what is actually on your credit report, how long each entry lasts, the three free exits, and why "guaranteed loans for blacklisted" are a warning sign.

The route map for checking your credit score in South Africa: your free annual right under the NCA, what you'll need, step-by-step routes to TransUnion, Experian, XDS (Splendi) and Consumer Profile Bureau, which bureau to check first, what score apps really show, and how to spot a fake "ITC check".

South Africa has 53 registered credit bureaus, not four. Who they are, which ones lenders actually query, where the data comes from, how to get your free report from each, and how to dispute an error in 20 business days.

Who keeps score, what moves it, how to read your report, how long negative entries legally stay, what "blacklisting" really means, and how to build a credit score from nothing — the whole South African credit system in one guide.

A wiCode is not an app or a voucher someone sends you — it's a one-time code you generate yourself to put cash in or take cash out at a supermarket till. How it works, where it works, what it costs, and how it differs from an eWallet.

Same money, three speeds, three prices. PayShap clears in seconds around the clock, a standard EFT queues in batches for 1–2 business days, and RTC buys you the courier lane at a premium. Here is the difference — and a one-question rule for choosing.

A ShapID is not an app or a separate account — it is a short proxy, usually your cellphone number, pointing at a bank account you already have.

There is no single "good" number — TransUnion scores you out of 999, Experian out of 740, and the same person gets different scores at different bureaus. What the ranges actually mean, where the South African average sits, and the handful of habits that move a score up.