What is a good credit score in South Africa?

A good score depends on whose scale it is. The table shows what each source prints, side by side, in the order TransUnion, Experian, XDS. Three sources describe Experian, and they do not agree on the cut-offs, which is the clearest reason to read the scale next to your own number.

A score of 600 shows the problem. It is “Average” on TransUnion’s scale, “Poor” on the Experian bands ClearScore prints, between “good” and “very good” on the bands Old Mutual quotes, and below the 621 that Nedbank calls good. Use the bands for the bureau your score comes from, and treat them as a way to read your own report, not a cut-off that a lender has published. None of the lenders on our list publishes a minimum score.

A good score helps, but it does not decide. TransUnion says a good score “will help, but it’s not a guarantee”: the lender uses its own scorecard, your income, your affordability and the type of credit. Nedbank puts it the same way: it does not look at the score alone, but also at how much you can afford and how you have managed loans and payments with other credit providers.

The number you see is also not the number the lender sees. TransUnion describes its consumer score as an educational scorecard that lenders do not see; lenders build their own risk score from the report and their own rules. So a “good” band in an app tells you how your record looks, not whether a particular lender will say yes.

Two checks happen on every application. The lender looks at your repayment history in the seven business days before approval, and it works out what you can afford from your statements or payslips and from the debt instalments on your bureau profile (regulation 23A). So a lower score with room in your budget can read better than a high score with a stretched budget. If your score is low, loans for bad credit in South Africa shows what each lender asks for.

Know your band? Compare lenders by amount, term and documents before you apply.

1. Get your reports and look for errors. You have a free report at each bureau every 12 months. Dispute wrong entries: it is free and the bureau has 20 business days to respond. Steps in how to check your credit score.
2. Pay every instalment on its due date. The payment profile stays on your record for up to five years, so every month on time counts for a long while. Nedbank adds that paying before the due date or paying extra can save interest.
3. Keep credit use low. Nedbank’s guidance is to use no more than half of the limit on any card or store account.
4. Apply for credit one at a time. Each application can leave an enquiry that stays visible for a year, and several in a short time look like stress. Compare lenders first, then send one application.
5. Deal with arrears and judgments. Pay or agree an arrangement with the creditor. Civil judgments stay for up to five years unless rescinded.
6. Use a small credit line and clear it. A card or store account used lightly and paid in full each month builds a record without costing interest. Do not take credit you do not need only for the score.
7. Track in one app. Check your score once a month in the same app. Switching apps changes the scale and hides progress.

None of these is a quick fix, and none guarantees a particular number.

How long a record stays decides how long a mistake follows you. The National Credit Regulations set maximum periods from the date of the event: enquiries by lenders and others one year; the payment profile five years; adverse classifications one year or the period set in section 71A of the Act; civil court judgments five years or until rescinded or abandoned; rejected complaints you lodged six months. Debt review stays until a clearance certificate is issued.

Scores move as files are updated. Splendi says it recalculates the XDS score on each login, and Nedbank suggests a monthly check. A correction after a dispute shows within the bureau’s 20 business days. Anyone who promises to add points within days, for a fee, is selling something that cannot be delivered: only inaccurate information can be removed, and a dispute is free.

A rough timeline for what you can control: a corrected error shows within about four weeks of a dispute; a new enquiry fades from the record in a year; a missed payment can be reported for up to five years, and every later month paid on time adds to the record. Plan on months of on-time payments, not days, before a lender’s view of your file changes.

• “Checking my score lowers it.” Looking at your own report or score is a soft enquiry and does not count in the score. Applications for credit are what leave hard enquiries.
• “Higher income, higher score.” TransUnion’s list of score inputs names payment history, how much you owe, defaults and judgments, account age, new accounts and enquiries. Income is not on it, though lenders use it separately in the affordability check.
• “I am blacklisted, so I am locked out.” There is no official blacklist. Bureaus hold negative entries for limited periods. See loans for blacklisted people.
• “My app score is the lender’s score.” It is not: lenders use their own scorecards on the bureau report, so two lenders can read the same file differently.
• “A good score guarantees a loan.” It improves the odds; the lender decides.

Once you know your number and the bureau behind it, put it next to what the lender asks for. The online loans list shows amount, term and documents for each lender, with the source and the date we checked. Your free report at each bureau is your legal right whatever the score; the apps in the check-your-score guide are a free way to track it.