Report
Q2 2026 Industry Insights
Affordability Reshapes South Africa's Credit Market in Q2 2026
Q2 2026 Report highlights include:
- Retail credit originations declined across clothing, revolving and instalment products, with each segment showing increasingly distinct consumer behaviours
- Despite significant growth in new vehicle sales during the quarter, vehicle asset finance growth slowed as consumers shifted focus to long-term affordability rather than simply accessing credit
- Bank and non-bank personal loan markets continued to grow, with distinct performance outcomes
As many South Africans continue to feel the pressure of rising living costs, affordability is affecting popular credit products in diverse ways as consumers adapt their borrowing strategies rather than stepping away from credit altogether. The latest TransUnion Q2 2026 South Africa Industry Insights Report shows that households are becoming more selective about how they borrow, with consumers prioritising products that align with their needs while carefully managing affordability.
Q2 2026 Metrics for Consumer Credit Products
“For lenders, sustainable growth will depend on looking beyond volume to the affordability, risk and repayment capacity behind each credit decision. Those that can identify where consumers have the capacity to take on credit responsibly, while responding early to emerging stress, will be best positioned to grow without compromising portfolio quality.”
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).
GET THE REPORT
The submission has failed.