Aside from personal loans, credit cards in South Africa are quite popular. Banks and many alternative lenders offer a variety of credit cards to South African that suitable for your specific needs.
What is a Credit Card?
A credit card is a form of financial product that lets you borrow money from a line of credit. There’s a limit on how much you can borrow and this limit depends on your credit rating and the type of card you’re holding.
There are many different types of credit cards available in South Africa.
- Prepaid Credit Card
This is also called a debit card because you don’t have a credit line to use in your transactions. Instead, you get a reloadable card which can help control spending. This card, like the usual credit card, still allows you to transact with Visa and Mastercard partners.
- Virtual Credit Card
This form of South African credit card is specially made for online transactions. You won’t have the physical plastic card on your hand but you’ll get instead a virtual credit card you can top up anytime.
- Student Credit Card
This credit card for students is meant to help university students build a credit history at a young age. It has no service fee but it requires you to have a certain amount of monthly allowance to qualify for the credit card debt.
South African credit cards for foreigners may be more challenging to acquire because they don’t have a credit record in the country. They’ll have to build up your credit score first to get a good rating on their record.
However, there won’t be issues if they use any existing credit card they have since these cards are usually accepted worldwide.
How Does a Credit Card Work?
Credit cards are basically unsecured loans since the creditor extends a credit line you can use. It’s somewhat similar to overdrafts but it’s more convenient and affordable to use.
You can borrow money from the credit line up to a certain limit and do cashless transactions wherever credit cards are accepted. After the transaction, you’ll have a credit card debt you have to repay over a period of time.
Creditors require a minimum payment you must comply with on a set deadline. After this period, any outstanding balance you have on your credit card will be charged with interest.
Virtual credit cards like those offered by VCpay work the same way as ordinary credit cards except for its limited use in online transactions.
How to Get a Credit Card in South Africa?
You can get credit cards in South Africa from the leading banks in the country. You can do this either by submitting an online application form, calling the bank through phone, or visiting any of their branches personally.
If you’re looking for credit cards for people with bad credit records, there are alternative providers aside from banks. Credit card application for those with bad credit in South Africa are handled by lesser-known lenders like New Blacklisted Finance, Get a Card, and Get Loans.
Applying for Credit Card
Applying for a credit card is easy as long as you satisfy the following requirements:
- You should be at least 18 years old
- You’re a South African citizen with an ID book
- You should be earning a certain amount per month, depending on the type of card you’re applying for
- You should have a good credit standing
You need to satisfy the minimum monthly salary requirement for specific card types. The bigger the limit of the South African credit card, the greater the annual salary required.
Banks will require you to submit the following documents along with the application form:
- Copy of your ID book
- 3 months’ worth of bank statements
- Most recent payslips
- Proof of residence
A slightly different set of requirements is given to applicants of credit cards for students. On the other hand, stricter rules are enforced on those applying for credit cards for blacklisted individuals in South Africa.
To apply for a virtual credit card, you may have to download a mobile app and register an account with the credit provider. After this, the next step is to load the card with money you can use for online transactions.
Top Service Providers of Credit Card in South Africa
The biggest banks in South Africa are the best providers of credit cards. Here’s a comparison of the credit cards available in the country:
| Credit Provider | Card Type | Initiation Fees | Monthly Fees | Minimum Monthly Salary |
| ABSA | Student Credit | R160 | R25 | R800 |
| Transact Credit | R160 | R35 | R2 000 | |
| Gold Credit | R160 | R40 | R4 000 | |
| Platinum Credit | R160 | R68 | R25 000 | |
| Capitec | Global One Credit | R100 | R50 | None |
| FNB | Gold Credit | R188 | R46 | R6 700 |
| Premier Credit | R165 | R76 | R29 000 | |
| Private Clients Credit | R165 | R170 | R62 000 | |
| Private Wealth Credit | R165 | R200 | R125 000 | |
| Nedbank | Classic Credit | R188 | R37 | R3 000 |
| Gold Credit | R165 | R43 | R8 300 | |
| Platinum Credit | R188 | R68 | R29 000 | |
| Standard Bank | Gold Credit | R165 | R45 | R5 000 |
| Titanium Credit | R165 | R67 | R25 000 | |
| Platinum Credit | R165 | R67 | R58 000 |