R500 loan – compare your options before you borrow.
What a R500 loan actually costs in South Africa, and the cheaper ways to cover a short gap.
- Up to R350 000
- Quick offers right away
- Free application without commitment
10 000+ South Africans have used Swiftbanker to find the right loan.
The essentials
What a R500 loan really involves
Six things worth knowing before you borrow a few hundred rand. They take two minutes to read and they are the difference between a loan that quietly disappears and one that follows you around for months.
A R500 loan is short-term credit
Under the National Credit Act it falls into the short term credit transaction category, which must be repaid within six months.
Fees cost more than interest
On R500 the once-off initiation fee and the monthly service fee together outweigh the interest you pay by a wide margin.
Every rate is capped by law
Registered lenders may charge at most five percent a month on a first short-term loan, plus the regulated fees.
Payout is genuinely fast
Digital lenders verify your identity and bank statements electronically, and money often reaches an approved applicant's account the same working day.
Repeat borrowing is the real risk
A single R500 loan is cheap to fix; the same loan taken every month quietly becomes an expensive monthly subscription.
Cheaper alternatives usually exist
A salary advance, a stokvel payout or simply asking a creditor to move your debit order date costs nothing at all.
Key numbers
A R500 loan by the numbers
The legal limits and typical terms behind South Africa's smallest loans
Legal category
Up to R8 000
Agreements of R8 000 or less repaid within six months are short term credit transactions, with their own caps on interest and fees.
Maximum interest
5% per month
That is the legal ceiling on a first short-term loan. It drops to three percent a month on further short-term loans within the same year.
Typical term
7–35 days
Most R500 loans are written to be settled on your next payday, although some lenders will spread the repayment over two or three months.
Initiation fee
R189,75 incl VAT
The capped once-off fee on any agreement up to R1 000. It is charged whether you borrow for one week or for six months.
Those numbers describe the ceiling, not the offer. A registered lender may charge up to five percent a month on your first short-term loan, but it does not have to, and the initiation fee is a maximum rather than a fixed price. What you actually pay depends on which lender you approach and how long you take to repay, which is why the quotation in front of you matters far more than the advertisement that brought you there.
It also pays to read the figures the other way round. On R500 the fees are close to fixed, so the shorter the term, the higher the cost looks as a percentage, and the longer the term, the more monthly service fees you stack up. Somewhere between those two extremes sits the cheapest version of the same loan, and every registered lender must show you the total cost of credit in rand before you sign, so you can find it in about a minute.
Introduction
What is a R500 loan?
A R500 loan is about as small as regulated credit gets in South Africa. It is a microloan, usually arranged online or through a mobile app, designed to bridge a few days between an unexpected expense and your next payday. Nothing is put up as security, the paperwork is minimal, and the whole application is normally settled electronically in a matter of minutes.
In legal terms it sits inside a very specific box. The National Credit Act treats any agreement of R8 000 or less that must be repaid within six months as a short term credit transaction, and that category carries its own interest ceiling and its own fee structure. Understanding the box is what separates a R500 loan that costs you a handful of rand from one that costs you almost half of what you borrowed.
Words you will meet
The vocabulary of very small loans
Eight terms that appear on every micro-loan quotation in South Africa, explained in plain language.
- Short term credit transaction
- A credit agreement of R8 000 or less that must be repaid within six months. The category has its own interest cap of five percent a month on a first loan and three percent thereafter.
- Initiation fee
- A once-off charge for setting up the agreement, capped at R165 excluding VAT on amounts up to R1 000. It may be paid upfront or added to the balance you repay.
- Service fee
- A monthly administration charge capped at R60 excluding VAT. It is charged for every month the agreement runs, which is why a longer term on a small loan is rarely cheaper.
- Credit life insurance
- Cover that settles the outstanding balance if you die, become disabled or lose your job. A lender may require it, but you are entitled to use a policy you already hold.
- Total cost of credit
- The single rand figure covering the amount borrowed plus all interest, fees and insurance over the full term. It is the only number worth comparing between two offers.
- Rollover
- Extending a short-term loan instead of settling it, so a new set of fees is charged on the same money. It is the most common route into a small-loan spiral.
- Debit order
- The instruction that lets a lender collect the instalment from your account on an agreed date. A returned debit order attracts a penalty fee and is reported to the bureaus.
- Stokvel
- A savings or credit club where members contribute regularly and take turns receiving the pot. For small amounts it is often faster and cheaper than any formal lender.
Definitions follow the National Credit Act and the fee regulations that registered credit providers work under.
Key term
Microloan.
Credit of a few hundred rand, repaid in weeks rather than years.
A microloan is credit stripped back to its simplest form: a small amount, a short term and no security. In South Africa the product exists because the gap it fills is real. Salaries arrive monthly, emergencies do not, and a taxi fare to a job interview or a school fee due on Friday cannot wait for the twenty-fifth. Lenders built the product around speed, which is why so much of it now lives inside an app.
The economics are unusual, and they explain most of what people find confusing. The lender's administrative cost of writing a R500 agreement is almost identical to the cost of writing a R50 000 one, so the regulator allows fixed fees that do not shrink with the loan. On a large loan those fees vanish into the interest; on R500 they dominate it. That is not a scam, it is arithmetic, but it does mean the percentage figures look alarming compared with an ordinary personal loan.
Used once, for a genuine gap, a microloan is a sensible tool that ends within a month. Used repeatedly it becomes something else entirely: a recurring cost that arrives before your salary does. The single most useful habit a small borrower can develop is to note the date the loan is settled, and to be honest about whether the same shortfall is likely to reappear in thirty days.
Tool · Loan calculator
If you need more than a few hundred rand
Our comparison covers loans from R5 000 upward, where an instalment loan is usually far cheaper per rand than short-term credit. Set the amount and the term to see the monthly repayment, the interest and the total you would hand over.
Each bar = one month paid
The calculation is indicative and based on the annuity principle. Your personal rate is set individually by the lender after an affordability assessment, as required by the National Credit Act.
Where to look
Six places to find R500 quickly
Not every route to a small amount of cash is a loan, and the cheapest options are often the ones people think of last. These are the six realistic sources in South Africa.
01Online micro-lenders
The fastest formal route, and the most heavily regulated.
1 min
Registered short-term lenders run entirely online: you upload an ID, link or upload three months of bank statements, and an automated affordability check returns a decision within minutes. Payout on approval is usually the same day. Every one of them must display an NCR registration number, and the interest and fees they charge are capped by regulation, so the differences between them come down to the fees they actually apply rather than the ones they are allowed to.
02Your bank's overdraft or small credit facility
Often the cheapest formal option if you already qualify.
1 min
An arranged overdraft on a transactional account charges interest only on the days you are actually overdrawn, and no fresh initiation fee applies once the facility exists. For R500 over a week or two, that is usually a fraction of the cost of a short-term loan. The catch is that the facility has to be in place before you need it, and an unarranged overdraft carries penalty charges that undo the advantage completely.
03An advance from your employer
Free money you have already earned, if the policy allows it.
1 min
Many South African employers will advance part of a salary already worked for, and a growing number offer earned-wage access through a payroll app. Because it is your own money arriving early rather than credit, there is no interest and usually only a small administration charge. It costs nothing but a conversation with payroll, and it is the first thing worth asking about before any loan application.
04A stokvel or workplace savings club
Community credit that carries no formal interest.
1 min
Stokvels remain one of the most widely used financial arrangements in the country, and many run a small lending pot alongside the savings. Amounts are modest and terms are informal, which is both the advantage and the risk: nothing is regulated and nothing is written down. Keep a record of what was borrowed and when it is due, because a disagreement with a group you see every week costs more than money.
05Retail accounts and buy-now-pay-later
Useful when the shortfall is a purchase, not cash.
1 min
If what you actually need is groceries, school shoes or a phone repair rather than cash, a store account or a pay-in-three arrangement can cover it without a cash loan. Interest-free periods are genuine when the instalments are met on time, but late payment charges are steep and a missed retail instalment is reported to the bureaus exactly like a missed loan instalment.
06Rescheduling what you already owe
The option nobody thinks of, and often the best one.
1 min
If the R500 is needed because a debit order lands before your salary, the cleanest fix is to move the debit order rather than to borrow. Banks, insurers and most credit providers will change a collection date on request, usually free of charge and often over the phone. Solving the timing problem directly removes the need for the loan and leaves nothing behind on your credit record.
Worth knowing
Six rules that protect small borrowers
Details in the credit regulations that quietly save people money.
- Fact 01
The interest cap falls after the first loan
Repeat short-term borrowing is capped lower.
Read moreHide
Five percent a month applies to your first short-term loan in a year. Any further short-term loan within the same twelve months is capped at three percent a month, a rule written specifically to make repeat borrowing less profitable.
- Fact 02
The initiation fee has a ceiling
On R500 it cannot exceed R165 plus VAT.
Read moreHide
Regulations cap the once-off initiation fee at R165 excluding VAT for agreements up to R1 000. Anything above that is not permitted, and the fee must appear separately in the quotation rather than being buried in the instalment.
- Fact 03
The service fee is capped monthly
A maximum of R60 excluding VAT per month.
Read moreHide
Every month the agreement runs, a lender may add a service fee of up to R60 before VAT. It is the reason a three-month R500 loan can cost noticeably more in fees than a one-month loan of the same amount.
- Fact 04
You may settle early without penalty
Small agreements carry no early settlement charge.
Read moreHide
The National Credit Act lets you settle a small credit agreement at any time by paying the outstanding balance plus interest to that date. No penalty applies, so paying a week early genuinely reduces what the loan costs you.
- Fact 05
Holding your bank card is illegal
No lender may keep your card, PIN or ID.
Read moreHide
Retaining a borrower's bank card, SASSA card, PIN or identity document as security is prohibited under the Act. Any lender that asks for it is operating outside the law, and no debt owed to them can be enforced that way.
- Fact 06
Your first quotation stays valid
A pre-agreement quote holds for five business days.
Read moreHide
Before you sign, a lender must give you a quotation showing the instalment, the fees and the total cost of credit. That quotation is binding for five business days, which is more than enough time to compare it against another offer.
Be honest about it
When R500 is the wrong answer
01When small borrowing makes sense
Borrowing a small amount is sensible when the money solves a problem that ends.
Borrowing a small amount is sensible when the money solves a problem that ends. It is expensive when the problem repeats, because the loan treats a symptom every month.
02The calendar is the warning sign
The clearest warning sign is the calendar.
The clearest warning sign is the calendar. If you have taken a small loan in each of the last three months, the loan is no longer covering an emergency, it is covering a shortfall that arrives on schedule. Each new agreement carries its own initiation fee and its own service fees, so the cost of the same R500 climbs steadily even though the amount never changes. At that point a written budget, a call to the creditors you already owe, or free advice from a registered debt counsellor will do more than another application.
03Two situations that deserve a pause
Two other situations deserve a pause. Borrowing R500 to repay another loan is where the spiral usually begins, because the new agreement adds fees to money you already owe.
Two other situations deserve a pause. Borrowing R500 to repay another loan is where the spiral usually begins, because the new agreement adds fees to money you already owe. And borrowing for something that could genuinely wait until payday means paying a premium for impatience rather than for a solution to anything.
04Taken once, it is not a bad product
None of this makes small loans a bad product.
None of this makes small loans a bad product. Taken once, for a real emergency, on the shortest term you can afford, they do precisely the job they were designed for and then disappear from your life. The damage comes from treating them as income instead of as credit.
Myths and facts
What people get wrong about small loans
Small loans attract more folklore than almost any other credit product in South Africa, and believing the wrong thing is what makes them expensive. Here is what actually holds true.
A small loan is too small to matter
Supposedly R500 is not real credit
It is a registered credit agreement like any other
A R500 loan from a registered lender is reported to the credit bureaus in exactly the same way as a car finance agreement. Repay it on time and it helps your record; miss the debit order and the default sits on your file for years.
Nobody checks anything for such a small amount
Supposedly there is no affordability test
Affordability must be assessed for every agreement
The National Credit Act makes no exception for small amounts. A registered lender must still verify your income and existing commitments, which is why three months of bank statements are requested even when you are only asking for a few hundred rand.
The advertised rate is what you pay
Supposedly the monthly percentage is the whole story
Fees make up most of the cost on tiny loans
Five percent a month on R500 is R25. The initiation and service fees on the same loan run several times higher, so comparing lenders on the interest rate alone tells you very little about which offer is genuinely cheaper.
Rolling the loan over buys you time
Supposedly extending it is a harmless delay
Each extension restarts the fees on the same money
Rolling a short-term loan forward is not a pause, it is a new charge on money you already owe. Two or three rollovers on R500 can cost more than the amount borrowed, which is how a one-month problem becomes a six-month one.
Step by step
From application to money in your account
A small loan application is short, but each step decides something. This is what actually happens between opening the form and seeing the money arrive.
Work out what you actually need
Price the expense before you decide on an amount.
Read moreHide
Write down what the shortfall really is rather than rounding to a comfortable number. Every extra hundred rand carries the same fees for the full term, and a cushion you did not need is the most expensive part of any small loan. Check first whether moving a debit order solves it instead.
Check the cheaper routes first
An advance or an overdraft usually beats a loan.
Read moreHide
Ask payroll about a salary advance, look at whether your account has an arranged overdraft, and consider a stokvel if you belong to one. These options carry no initiation fee, and for an amount as small as R500 that single difference is often larger than all the interest involved.
Complete one free application
A single online form, free and without obligation.
Read moreHide
The form covers your ID number, employment details, income and monthly expenses, and nothing binds you at this stage. Your details go securely to our partner Myloan.co.za, which matches your profile against the criteria of multiple NCR-licensed lenders and requests an offer from each of them.
Read the quotation properly
The total cost of credit is the number that counts.
Read moreHide
Every registered lender must give you a pre-agreement quotation setting out the interest, the initiation fee, the monthly service fee, any insurance premium and the total repayable in rand. Compare that final figure across offers, because the headline percentage on a small loan hides most of the cost.
Accept and set the repayment date
Choose a collection date just after payday.
Read moreHide
You sign the agreement electronically and choose when the debit order runs. Put it a day or two after your salary lands rather than on the same date, so a delayed payment run does not turn into a returned debit order, a penalty fee and a mark against your name.
Money arrives and the clock starts
Payout is usually the same working day.
Read moreHide
Approved funds are transferred straight into your bank account, often within a few hours of signing. Save the agreement, diarise the settlement date, and if you can clear the balance early, do it: there is no penalty on a small agreement and the interest simply stops accruing.
Compare routes
Three ways to cover a small shortfall
The right choice depends on how much you need, how quickly you can repay it and what facilities you already have in place.
| Product | Typical amount | Term | Cost level | Best for | CTA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short-term micro-loanA few hundred rand until paydayFastest | R500 – R8 000 | 7 days – 6 months | Highest per rand borrowed | A one-off emergency before payday | See loan offers |
| Arranged overdraftA facility on your bank accountCheapest | R500 – R30 000 | Days, repaid as you like | Low – interest on days used | Small, recurring timing gaps | See loan offers |
| Personal instalment loanA fixed monthly repaymentMost predictable | R5 000 – R350 000 | 3 – 72 months | Moderate – from about 20% APR | Larger needs spread over time | See loan offers |
Figures are typical market ranges rather than offers. Your rate, fees and term depend on the lender and on your credit profile.
Watch out
Six mistakes that make R500 expensive
Almost everything that goes wrong with a small loan is decided before the money arrives. These are the traps worth knowing about while you can still walk away.
- Rolling the loan over. Extending instead of settling means a fresh set of fees on the same money, and two rollovers can cost more than you originally borrowed.
- Borrowing from an unregistered lender. Outside the National Credit Act there are no caps, no affordability checks and no legal protection when the demands start.
- Handing over your card or ID. Any lender that keeps your bank card, SASSA card, PIN or identity document as security is breaking the law, whatever the paperwork says.
- Taking a longer term to lower the instalment. On a small loan each extra month adds another service fee, so stretching it out simply raises the total you repay.
- Ignoring the credit life premium. Cover is often bundled into the instalment, and you are entitled to use a policy you already hold instead of the lender's.
- Applying to five lenders at once. Each formal application leaves an enquiry on your record, and a cluster of them in one week reads as distress to every scoring model.
Tool · Affordability check
How much can you afford to repay?
Enter your income and your fixed costs to see an indicative estimate of what you could responsibly repay each month. Lenders run a similar calculation under the National Credit Act, so an honest answer here means fewer surprises later.
Likelihood of approval
The estimate is indicative only. Every lender carries out its own assessment of your income, expenses and credit record before granting credit, as the National Credit Act requires.
Your protection
The rules behind every small loan
The National Credit Act applies in full
No amount is too small to be regulated. Every agreement between a South African consumer and a registered credit provider falls under the Act, which sets the caps, requires an affordability assessment and governs how a lender may collect what it is owed.
Interest is capped by credit type
Short-term credit carries a ceiling of five percent a month on a first loan and three percent on later ones within a year. Unsecured credit above that category is capped using a formula linked to the repo rate, and no registered lender may exceed either limit.
Only three charges are permitted
Beyond interest a lender may add a once-off initiation fee, a monthly service fee and a permitted credit life premium. Each is capped by regulation, and all of them must appear in the quotation you receive before you sign anything at all.
Reckless lending is unlawful
Granting credit without properly assessing affordability is reckless lending. A court can suspend or set aside such an agreement, which is why registered lenders ask for bank statements even on a loan of a few hundred rand rather than taking your word for it.
You can complain, free of charge
If a lender treats you unfairly you may take the matter to the National Credit Regulator or the Credit Ombud, both of which handle consumer complaints at no cost. Keep your quotation, your agreement and your payment records, because they are the evidence.
Borrow smarter
Six habits that keep a small loan cheap
None of these cost anything, and together they decide whether R500 stays a minor expense or turns into a monthly one.
Compare the total, not the instalment
Ask the lender for the total cost of credit in rand, not just the monthly instalment.
Read moreHide
On a small loan the interest is trivial and the fees are not, so two offers with the same monthly percentage can differ noticeably in what you repay. The total cost of credit rolls interest, initiation fee, service fees and insurance into one figure you can compare in seconds.
Take the shortest term you can afford
Choose the shortest term you can genuinely afford, because every extra month adds another service fee.
Read moreHide
Stretching R500 over three months instead of one does lower the instalment, but it adds two further service fees to the bill. Work out what you can clear on your next payday, and only lengthen the term if the shorter instalment would leave you short of essentials.
Verify the lender before you apply
Check the lender's NCR registration number on the regulator's public register before you send any documents.
Read moreHide
The register is free to search and takes a minute. An unregistered lender is bound by none of the caps, and handing over your ID, payslip and bank statements to one is a data risk quite apart from the credit risk you are taking on.
Time the debit order to your salary
Set the debit order for the day after your salary arrives, then add a calendar reminder.
Read moreHide
A returned debit order costs a penalty fee immediately and is reported to the credit bureaus shortly afterwards. Giving your salary a day to clear removes almost all of that risk, and a reminder two days ahead lets you move money across if something has gone wrong.
Borrow the exact amount you need
Borrow the exact amount the expense costs, because rounding up carries fees for the full term.
Read moreHide
It is tempting to ask for a little extra as a buffer, but that buffer is charged at the same rate as the money you actually needed. Price the shortfall first, apply for that figure, and keep any spare capacity for the month after this one.
Question the insurance premium
Ask about the credit life premium and whether you may use a policy you already hold.
Read moreHide
Credit life cover can be a condition of the loan, but the lender's own policy is not compulsory. If you already have life or funeral cover that meets the requirement, substituting it removes a line from your instalment without changing the protection you have.
Requirements
What you need to be approved
The requirements for a small loan are lighter than for any other credit product, but they are not optional. Have these ready and a decision usually takes minutes.
Who qualifies
The baseline every NCR-licensed lender applies before it opens your documents at all.
- 18 years or olderLegal minimum for credit
Read moreHide
A credit agreement can only be concluded with an adult. There is no upper age limit, though some lenders apply their own rules where the term extends beyond retirement.
- Verifiable regular incomeSalary, grant, pension or trading income
Read moreHide
Income must be visible on a bank statement. Salaried, self-employed and grant recipients all qualify, provided the deposits show a consistent pattern the lender can assess.
- Not under debt reviewA formal restriction while the plan runs
Read moreHide
Consumers under debt review may not take on new credit until the process is completed and a clearance certificate is issued. Applications during that period are declined automatically.
- Room in your budgetThe affordability assessment must pass
Read moreHide
Income minus living expenses minus existing repayments has to leave enough for the instalment. Even on R500 the lender is legally obliged to run that calculation before approving anything.
What you must provide
The paperwork that proves who you are, what you earn and where the money should go.
- South African IDGreen ID book or Smart ID card
Read moreHide
A clear copy of your identity document, or a passport with permanent residence. Most digital lenders verify it electronically, which takes seconds when the image is legible.
- Three months of bank statementsOr a secure statement link
Read moreHide
Statements show income and spending, which is the heart of the affordability check. Many lenders now read them through a secure banking link rather than asking for uploads.
- Proof of incomePayslip, grant letter or invoices
Read moreHide
Salaried applicants supply a recent payslip. Self-employed applicants use invoices or a tax return, and grant recipients the award letter, alongside the statements.
- An active bank accountIn your own name
Read moreHide
The loan is paid into your account and the instalment is collected from it by debit order, so it must be active, in your name and the account your income arrives in.
FAQ
R500 loan questions, answered
The questions South Africans ask most often before borrowing a small amount – answered plainly, without jargon and without sales talk.
How quickly can I get R500?
Usually the same working day. Online lenders assess the application automatically, and once approved the transfer is normally in your account within a few hours. Applying early on a business day gives you the best chance of same-day payout.
What does a R500 loan actually cost?
At the legal maximum, roughly R25 in interest for one month, plus an initiation fee of R165 and a service fee of R60, both before VAT. That works out at around R780 repayable, though many lenders charge less than the cap.
Can I get a R500 loan with a bad credit record?
Sometimes. Several registered lenders weigh affordability more heavily than the score itself, so a defaulted account does not rule you out automatically. Expect a smaller amount and a higher rate, and be wary of anyone promising approval without any checks.
Do I need a payslip?
Not necessarily. Bank statements showing regular deposits are usually enough, which is why self-employed applicants and grant recipients can also qualify. What matters is that the income is regular and visible on the statement.
Can I repay the loan early?
Yes, and it costs nothing. Small credit agreements carry no early settlement penalty, so paying the balance a week ahead of schedule simply stops the interest. Ask the lender for a settlement figure and pay that amount.
What happens if I miss the repayment?
A returned debit order attracts a penalty fee, interest keeps running, and the missed payment is reported to the credit bureaus. Contact the lender before the date if you know it will fail, because arrangements made in advance rarely become defaults.
Is a R500 loan reported to the credit bureaus?
Yes. Every agreement with a registered credit provider is reported, whatever the amount. That works both ways: repaid on time it strengthens a thin credit record, while a default on it sits on your file for years.
Is there a cheaper option than a micro-loan?
Often. A salary advance from your employer, an arranged overdraft, a stokvel payout or simply moving a debit order date all avoid the initiation fee entirely. For an amount this small, that fee is the largest part of the cost.
About Swiftbanker
An independent, free comparison service
Swiftbanker is an independent comparison service for the South African credit market, and it is completely free to use. We are not a lender, we do not decide the outcome of any application, and we never charge you a cent. When you apply, your application is handled by our partner Myloan.co.za, a leading South African loan marketplace, which matches your profile against multiple NCR-licensed lenders and returns their offers to you.
We earn a commission from lenders on loans that are actually paid out. That commission does not change the rate you are offered – it is simply how a comparison service stays free for the people using it. Our incentive is straightforward: the better the offers you see, the more likely you are to find credit that genuinely fits your budget.
Everything on this page is general information rather than financial advice. Check any credit provider against the National Credit Regulator's register, read your quotation line by line, and only sign an agreement you are confident you can repay in full and on time.
Jacob Hartmann
At R500 the fees dominate the cost entirely. Jacob has insisted this page be honest about that, and about the alternatives worth considering before borrowing such a small amount.
Three habits that keep R500 at R500
Most of what goes wrong with a small loan is decided in the first ten minutes. These three habits cost nothing and prevent nearly all of it.
Do not round up
Borrow what the expense actually costs. Every extra hundred rand carries the same fees for the full term, and a cushion you did not need is the most expensive money in the loan.
Settle it, never extend it
Plan the repayment for your next payday and stick to it. A rollover is not extra time, it is a second set of fees charged on money you already owe.
One application, not five
Compare through a single application instead of applying lender by lender. You reach the same market, keep your enquiry footprint small, and still choose freely between the offers.
Follow all three and the loan does its job quietly: it covers the problem, it costs what you expected, and it ends on the date you agreed. Read about short-term loans →
Other amounts
Looking for a different amount?
Each amount has its own guide with worked examples of the instalment, the total cost and what lenders look for at that level.
Up to R8 000: R1 000 · R1 500 · R2 000 · R3 000 · R4 000 · R5 000 · R6 000 · R8 000.
R10 000 to R80 000: R10 000 · R15 000 · R20 000 · R25 000 · R30 000 · R40 000 · R50 000 · R60 000 · R70 000 · R80 000.
R100 000 to R350 000: R100 000 · R150 000 · R200 000 · R250 000 · R300 000 · R350 000.
In short
A R500 loan is a microloan: a small, unsecured amount arranged online and repaid within weeks rather than years. Under the National Credit Act it counts as a short term credit transaction, which caps the interest at five percent a month on a first loan and three percent on later ones within the same year. The bigger cost is the fee structure: a once-off initiation fee of up to R165 before VAT and a monthly service fee of up to R60 before VAT, both of which are the same whether you borrow R500 or R5 000.
That is why the practical advice on small loans is always the same. Borrow the exact amount you need, take the shortest term you can genuinely afford, compare offers on the total cost of credit in rand rather than on the advertised percentage, and settle early if you can, because small agreements carry no early settlement penalty. Before you apply at all, check whether a salary advance, an arranged overdraft, a stokvel or simply moving a debit order date would solve the problem for nothing.
If the amount you need is larger, an instalment loan is usually far cheaper per rand borrowed. Through Swiftbanker you complete one free, non-binding application, our partner Myloan.co.za matches you with multiple NCR-licensed lenders, and you choose the offer with the lowest total cost.
Need more than R500?
Compare loan offers from R5 000 upwards
One free application, offers from multiple NCR-licensed lenders, and no obligation to accept any of them. See what you qualify for in minutes.
The application is free and non-binding, and you receive offers from multiple NCR-licensed lenders.