Tag: National Credit Regulator (NCR)

The vidcast looks at the increase in the number of unauthorised lenders and unpack the concerns around licensing in the lending space. We also provide information useful to consumers looking to validate lender licensing.

If you have taken out a loan or a store account, or have a credit card or a home loan, you have a credit record. A great way is to put your finances in order, especially after the costly generosity of the festive silly season – not to mention Black Friday. 

The new regulations proposed by the South African Government will lead to greater regulatory oversight and control in the crypto asset sector and will spell bad news for non-compliant operators. It has long been clear that regulation in South Africa was inevitable, regardless of this being contradictory to the philosophy of most of those involved in the crypto asset sector.

It’s common cause that too many South Africans struggle with debt. National Credit Regulator data shows that 40% of the 25 million active credit users are behind on their payments. That proportion has probably become worse since April 2020 because the data was released before the COVID-19 crisis.

In mid-August 2020, approximately 23.4 million South Africans' personal information was compromised. The data breach was announced by Experian South Africa on 19 August 2020. Correctly, Experian issued a notification to the Information Regulator, but is this enough? Experian stated that 'no consumer credit or consumer financial information was obtained', but what information was then the subject of the breach?

It’s still early enough in the year to review your spending habits, getting your finances into shape and implementing a financial plan that will ensure you get back on track. According to the 2019 Consumer Credit Market Report carried out by the National Credit Regulator, 59% of employees are stressed about their finances with less than 15% of South Africans able to afford retirement.

Debt relief for the most vulnerable in society is crucial, but the National Credit Amendment (NCA) Act will not achieve this. The extremely high rate of over-indebtedness among South Africans is well documented. The seriousness of the situation is well reflected in the headline to an article last year in the Economist: “In South Africa, more people have loans than jobs”.

The High Court in Johannesburg has ruled in favour of the National Credit Regulator (NCR) against Standard Bank that the common law set-off does not apply to credit agreements subject to the National Credit Act (NCA). This follows an application for a declaratory order brought by the NCR against Standard Bank seeking legal clarity on the effect of section 124 of the NCA on the common law set-off.