Report
Q1 2026 Industry Insights
South African Credit Trends Diverge as Consumers Navigate Affordability Pressures in Q1 2026
Q1 2026 Report highlights include:
- Personal loans markets continue to split in opposing directions, highlighting clear contrasts between bank and non-bank portfolios
- Credit cards reflect growing reliance on credit, alongside increasing signs of repayment pressure
- Vehicle asset finance remains resilient, with momentum shifting toward new vehicles purchases
South African consumers are reshaping how they access and use credit as affordability pressures persist, according to TransUnion’s Q1 2026 South Africa Industry Insights Report. The report’s findings show that credit demand remained resilient, but diverging risk dynamics are increasingly evident across products and providers. Consumers are relying more heavily on existing credit facilities while also shifting toward more accessible lending options that are typically employed by higher risk borrowers to manage short-term liquidity needs.
Q1 2026 Metrics for Consumer Credit Products
“South Africa’s Q1 2026 insights highlight a credit landscape that remains active but increasingly segmented. While demand for credit persists, affordability constraints are reshaping how consumers borrow, with greater reliance on short-term liquidity and higher-risk products. These trends underscore the need for lenders to balance growth with prudent risk management while supporting sustainable access to credit across the market.”
Ayesha Hatea, director of research and consulting at TransUnion
About the South Africa Industry Insights Report
TransUnion’s quarterly South Africa Industry Insights Report provides in-depth, statistical information drawn from its national consumer credit database, aggregated across virtually every active credit file on record. Each file contains hundreds of credit variables that illustrate consumer credit usage and performance. Entities across industries can subscribe to and leverage the Industry Insights Report to analyse market dynamics throughout an entire business cycle, helping them understand consumer behaviour over time.
The report looks at major consumer lending categories: credit cards, personal loans, home loans, vehicle and asset finance (VAF), and clothing, focusing primarily on three dimensions across these categories: originations (new accounts opened), balances (outstanding total and average lending balances) and delinquencies (accounts in payment arrears).
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