South Africans are taking more credit to fund their lifestyles

The 2024 year has been one of the most financially strained years for South Africans with interest rates being high for most of the year and the cost of living constantly increasing. 

With high interest rates, over-indebted South Africans, especially those with a greater proportion of expensive, unsecured credit, are likely to become more indebted as their debt servicing costs remain high, alongside soaring living costs, Tej Desai, chief executive officer of Alefbet Collections & Recoveries.

This has been reflected in how consumers manage their debt and how they continue to take out new credit products in the latter half of 2024.

TransUnion’s new insights report found that South Africans are continuing to take more credit in order to fund their lifestyles and meet their obligations. 

The report found that new originations in credit cards, personal loans, and retail revolving lines have increased exponentially.

The research said that originations grew by 14.4% year-over-year (YoY) in quarter 3 (Q3) of  2024.

The data showed that retail revolving credit experienced the highest new growth among all major products, up by 21.9% YoY, and average new credit limits assigned rose by 13.3% year over year.

Another TransUnion survey found that South African consumers do not prioritise their retirement planning.

The Q3 Consumer Pulse Survey found that 13% of consumers surveyed cut back on savings for retirement, potentially leading to more disposable income.

The research further illustrated that 25% of consumers (higher by three percentage points compared to Q2 of 2024) responded that their household income is not keeping up with the rate of inflation.

“As inflation dropped below the South African Reserve Bank’s target range in October 2024, the market anticipates further interest rate cuts, which may help in alleviating the high cost of living and borrowing,” the survey said.

South Africans are buying cars 

The data from TransUnion found that for the first time since 2022, there was growth in debt secured for a new vehicle. 

TransUnion noted that the vehicle finance market has experienced a significant slowdown since Q3 of 2022, given the high cost of vehicles and cost of borrowing pressures.

South African consumers have preferred to buy used vehicles over new vehicles to manage affordability pressures.

Q3 of 2024 showed a significant shift in the vehicle finance industry, with a YoY growth of 1.1% in vehicle loan originations, the first quarter of growth observed in two years.

Gen Z is looking to be more mobile 

A TransUnion study of South African consumers showed that the share of new vehicle loans opened by Gen Z consumers increased from 13.7% during Q3 of 2023 to 16.6% in Q3 of 2024, while other generation tiers declined in share.

The data found that Gen Z consumers are dominating the market,

Gen Z accounted for 30% of these first-time buyer loans in Q3 of 2024 and this was up from 25% in the same quarter of 2023, and 18% in the same quarter of 2022.

If you are in-debt, work with your creditors 

Desai said that the most important step for any indebted consumer who is struggling to make their debt repayments is to proactively engage with their credit providers.

"Ignoring the debt or calls from collections agents will not make the debt go away and there are long-term repercussions in terms of their financial inclusion and access to credit in future," he said.

"Many people are oblivious to the impact of unpaid debt on their credit score and their ability to access credit, severely hindering their future ability to acquire finance for buying a home, vehicle or other big-ticket essentials,” Desai noted.

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