Loan types

Personal loans in South Africa

A personal loan is a lump sum you repay in fixed monthly instalments, often over several years. Here is what the law caps, what banks publish and where matching services fit.

Compare personal-loan services

Written by LM editorial teamLast reviewed 1 October 2026

How a personal loan works

You borrow a fixed amount and repay it in equal monthly instalments. Capitec and African Bank, for example, lend up to R500,000.

Most personal loans are unsecured. You do not put up a car or house as security. The lender relies on your income and credit record.

A loan over R8,000, or longer than 6 months, is not short-term credit under the National Credit Act. A different, lower interest cap applies.

Interest: at most 28.25% a year. That is the repo rate of 7.25%, set on 24 September 2026, plus 21%.
Initiation fee: at most R165 plus 10% of the amount above R1,000. It is capped at R1,050, plus VAT.
Service fee: at most R60 a month, or R69 with VAT.
Credit life insurance: comes on top of these costs. Absa and FNB say it is mandatory on their personal loans.

What Absa, FNB, Capitec and African Bank publish

Most people get a quote from their own bank first. These figures come from each bank's website, checked October 2026.

Bank rates are personalised, so your offer may differ. Only a written quote shows your real cost.

Bank	Amount	Term	Rate as published	The bank's own example
Absa	Up to R350,000	12 to 84 months	From 13.75% a year, personalised	R50,000 over 36 months at 18%: R2,113 a month, incl. fees
FNB	Up to R450,000	Up to 72 months	15.15% to 28.00% a year, personalised	R30,000 over 24 months at 18%: R1,796 a month, incl. fees
Capitec	Up to R500,000	12 to 84 months	From 12.50% a year, personalised	R50,000 over 4 years at 22%: total cost R84,811
African Bank	R2,000 to R500,000	7 to 72 months	Not published. Its separate 12% Loan is fixed at 12%, for R2,000 to R50,000.	Not published

Capitec and FNB list a R1,207.50 initiation fee and a R69 monthly fee. Those are the legal maximums with VAT. Banks work out their examples in their own way, so compare the total in each written quote.

Loan-matching services are not lenders

Every provider we list on this page is a loan-matching service. Each one passes your details to partner lenders, and the lender makes the offer.

You sign the loan agreement with that lender, not with the matching service. Check the lender's NCR number before you sign.

Creditum and Arcadia Finance both forward applications to Myloan.co.za. Apply through one of them, not both.

Creditum: R500 to R500,000 over 6 to 72 months. APR 11% to 28%, set by the lender.
Crezu: R500 to R350,000 over 6 to 72 months. APR 12% to 36%, set by the lender.
Arcadia Finance: R500 to R350,000 over 6 to 72 months, with offers from up to 19 lenders.
MoneyHello: R500 to R25,000 over 3 to 72 months.
Binixo: R1,000 to R50,000, but only for up to 6 months.

APR ranges are each service's own figures. The lender's pre-agreement quote must show your actual rate and fees.

How to compare personal loan quotes

Get a written quote from your own bank first.
Get one or two more quotes, from another bank or a matching service.
Compare the total amount you will repay, not only the monthly instalment.
Check the term. At the cap, R30,000 over 36 months costs about R6,035 more than over 24 months.
Ask whether credit life insurance is included, and what it adds each month.
Check the lender's NCR number on the NCR register before you sign.

Loan-matching services for personal loans

All five are loan-matching services, not lenders. Each one passes your details to partner lenders, and the lender decides on your loan.