LoanRating.co.za

How We Rate Lenders

LoanRating.co.za is an independent comparison site for South African personal loans. We do not accept payment for higher rankings. Our ratings are based on a transparent, repeatable methodology applied to every lender we list.

Who we are

We are a small independent team of personal finance journalists and credit compliance specialists based in South Africa. Our editorial team is led by Naledi Khumalo, and our published content is reviewed for legal and regulatory accuracy by Dr. Marcus Pretorius. We exist to help South African borrowers compare loan products honestly, understand the true cost of credit, and avoid predatory lending.

Our scoring framework

Each lender on LoanRating.co.za receives a score out of 10 based on five weighted factors:

  • Customer reviews (35%). We aggregate verified user reviews from independent third-party sources, including HelloPeter and other public review platforms. We weight both volume and recency, and we look at how lenders respond to complaints.
  • Loan terms & cost (25%). Interest rates, fees, total cost of credit, repayment flexibility, and whether the lender offers any first-loan discounts or promotional rates. We convert all rates to a comparable basis where possible.
  • Transparency (15%). How clearly the lender discloses fees, interest, repayment schedules, and consequences of late payment on its public website and loan documentation.
  • NCR registration & compliance (15%). Whether the lender is registered with the National Credit Regulator, complies with the National Credit Act, conducts proper affordability assessments, and follows DebiCheck and POPIA requirements.
  • Customer support (10%). Availability of contact channels (phone, email, branches), response times, and the quality of post-loan support reported by borrowers.

Editorial independence

Some lenders on this site are affiliate partners, and we may earn a commission when you successfully apply through one of our links. This never influences our scores, our rankings, or our written reviews. Affiliate partners are clearly marked with an Get a Loan button, and we evaluate them against the same criteria as non-partner lenders. If a partner performs poorly on customer reviews or compliance, their score reflects that.

How we keep ratings up to date

We re-fetch verified customer reviews on a regular basis and recalculate scores when new data is available. Loan terms (amounts, rates, repayment periods) are reviewed periodically against each lender's public website. If you spot outdated information, please let us know and we'll investigate.