Loan cost report: interest caps, the repo rate and what lenders state

1. The Reserve Bank repo rate is 7,25% (in force since 25 Sep 2026), so the cap on unsecured personal loans is 28,25% a year. It was 28% a year ago, 29,25% at the 2023 to 2024 peak and 24,5% at the 2020 to 2021 low. The cap on short-term loans does not move with the repo rate: it stays at 5% a month on a first loan.
2. In rand the swing is small. A R30 000 loan over 24 months at the cap, before fees, costs R1 650,48 a month today. It would have cost R1 665,82 at the peak and R1 593,63 at the low, a range of R72,19 a month.
3. Seven NCR-registered lenders are on our online loans list on 27 Oct 2026, all with a minimum of R500. The top amount they state runs from R4 000 to R8 000 (median R8 000), and three of the seven state a term, between 5 and 180 days.
4. Century is the only one of the seven whose pages state the interest rate and fees. Its figures sit at or just under the legal ceilings. For the other six, the home page and FAQ we read do not state the rate or the fees; the price appears in the quotation the lender gives you before you sign.

For most credit types the maximum interest is the repo rate plus a fixed margin (regulation 42): 21 points for unsecured credit, 14 for credit facilities such as cards and overdrafts, 12 for mortgages. The table shows the 2020 low, the 2023 peak and every change since the peak, with the maximum rates that followed. The date is the day the new rate came into force.

A R30 000 loan over 24 months at the unsecured cap, before fees: R1 593,63 a month at 24,5%, R1 646,65 at 28%, R1 650,48 at 28,25% and R1 665,82 at 29,25%. Instalments are a standard annuity at the annual rate divided by 12. Repo moves of a quarter point change the instalment by a few rand; the initiation fee on the same loan can be up to R1 050 and the service fee up to R60 a month.

The prime rate used by banks is the repo rate plus 3,5 points in every row. Short-term loans are capped differently, at 5% a month on a first loan and 3% a month on later loans in the same calendar year, whatever the repo rate does.

Seven lenders on our online loans list on 27 Oct 2026, read from each lender's own website (home page and FAQ). We show a rate as stated only if the lender's page gives it. The date of each check is on the lender's page on this site. Crediwise, Primeloans and LendPlus say in their FAQs that their top amount is for repeat customers.

A lender that does not state a price on these pages may show it elsewhere. Creditbar says you see the full cost upfront before applying. LendPlus says the total cost is visible in your profile once you accept the conditions. Kredio says all costs are in your quotation before you sign. We did not go through an application, so we have not seen those figures.

The ceilings on short-term credit (up to R8 000, repaid within six months) are: interest of 5% a month on a first loan and 3% a month on later loans in the same calendar year (regulation 42); an initiation fee of R165 plus 10% of the amount above R1 000, never more than R1 050 and never more than 15% of the loan (regulations 42 and 43); a service fee of R60 a month before VAT (regulation 44). Century's figures sit at or just under them. Its 0,16% a day for a new client is about 4,8% over 30 days against the 5% ceiling, and 0,1% a day for a repeat client is about 3%. Its initiation fee follows the legal formula, limited to 15% of the loan, with VAT on top. Its R69 monthly service fee is the R60 ceiling plus 15% VAT. Century's own pages give different values for the term and the rate in places, so the figures here are those on the rate line of its home page. A worked one-month example is in our payday loans guide.

Before you sign, the lender must give you a pre-agreement statement and quotation (section 92 of the National Credit Act and regulation 28). That is where a figure not shown on the website appears. From the public pages you can compare only one of these seven lenders on price, so ask for the quotation and compare the total you repay.

Sources: the National Credit Regulations (regulations 28, 42, 43 and 44) and the National Credit Regulator's published guidance on fees; the South African Reserve Bank repo rate and prime lending rate series; the SARS VAT rate; the home pages and FAQs of the seven lenders on our loans list (27 Oct 2026) and their NCR registration numbers. Calculations are ours: loan instalments are a standard annuity at the annual rate divided by 12, before fees and VAT, and Century's daily rate is multiplied by 30 days. We did not take a loan from any lender, so the report says what lenders state and what the law allows, not what a given customer was charged.

If a figure on this page is out of date or wrong, use the report-an-error link at the bottom of the page and we will check it against the source.