To get a Capitec loan you must be 18 or older, hold a valid South African ID document or Smart ID card, have an income, and pass Capitec’s credit and affordability checks. Capitec’s how to qualify for credit page lists the standard documents: your original ID, your latest salary slip and, if your salary is not paid into Capitec, a bank statement showing your latest three consecutive salary deposits.
Capitec’s Personal Loan goes up to R500 000, repaid over 12 to 84 months, at a rate personalised to your credit profile. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee approval: the amount and rate you are offered depend on your credit profile and what you can afford.
Eligibility Requirements at a Glance
- Age: 18 years or older.
- Identity: your original South African ID document or Smart ID card.
- Income: permanently employed, self-employed, earning other income or receiving a pension.
- Credit status: you have not been handed over, sequestered, or placed under debt review or administration.
- Affordability: enough income left after your expenses and existing debt to carry the new instalment.
Capitec publishes the same criteria for public-sector and private-sector workers. Being a Capitec client helps because your salary deposits are already visible to the bank, so you skip the bank statement.
Income and Affordability Requirements
Capitec’s Personal Loan page does not state a minimum salary. The minimum income on its qualification page (R5 000, or R10 000 if you are self-employed) is the figure for a credit card application, so do not assume it applies to a loan. The loan amount is set by an affordability assessment, which the National Credit Act requires every registered credit provider to carry out before granting credit.
Capitec bases its offer on:
- your income, confirmed from your payslip and salary deposits;
- your monthly expenses and existing debt repayments;
- your banking and credit history.
If you are self-employed or have several income streams, Capitec’s multiple income earners page applies. You must be 18 or older and earn more than R5 000 a month for at least six months. If that income is not paid into Capitec, you need your latest six months’ bank statements showing all the income you receive and the amounts. The statement must carry a date stamp no older than 7 days.
Credit and Financial Requirements
Your credit record affects both approval and price. Capitec personalises its interest rate from your risk profile. Its published Personal Loan rates and fees are:
- Interest rate: from 12.50% a year, depending on your profile and term (the published examples run up to 28.00%).
- Initiation fee: R1 207.50, once-off.
- Monthly service fee: R69.
- Credit insurance: compulsory on all Personal Loans, between R2.58 and R4.50 per R1 000. It covers death, permanent or temporary disability, unemployment, inability to earn an income and retrenchment.
- Maximum annual percentage rate: 48.27%, including fees and insurance.
Capitec’s representative example is a R50 000 loan over four years at 22% a year, with a total cost of R84 811.
You can move your credit to Capitec by taking a Personal Loan to consolidate existing loans into one instalment. It only makes sense if the new total cost is lower than what you pay now. If you already have a Capitec loan and are struggling, Capitec offers payment relief, such as restructuring arrears, a temporary reduction in repayments for up to four months, catching up arrears over two to six months, or a payment break assessed case by case. Interest keeps running during a break.
Documents and Verification Required
- Your original South African ID document or Smart ID card
- Your latest salary slip
- A bank statement showing your latest three consecutive salary deposits, only if your salary is not paid into a Capitec account
- If you are self-employed or have several income sources and are not paid into Capitec, your latest six months’ bank statements showing all income
Capitec says no proof of residential address is needed for credit, but you may be asked for supporting documents to complete your application. When you apply online, Capitec also asks identity questions to confirm it is really you.
How to Apply and Improve Approval Readiness
You can apply for a Capitec loan in three ways:
- Online or in the Capitec app: use Capitec’s online credit estimate on its website or the credit estimate feature in the app. You enter the credit you need and your details, answer identity questions, and see the credit options available to you.
- Phone: call Capitec on 0860 66 77 89.
- Branch: visit any Capitec branch with your documents.
Capitec’s Personal Loan page says credit is approved in minutes and the money is available immediately once you accept. Your instalment is worked out from the amount borrowed, the term (12 to 84 months) and your personalised rate, with the service fee and insurance premium added.
To improve your chances before applying:
- Check your credit report (you are entitled to one free report a year from each credit bureau) and fix errors or overdue accounts.
- Pay down or close small accounts you no longer use, so more of your income shows as available.
- Have your salary paid into a Capitec account, or get your three latest salary-deposit statements ready.
- Borrow only what you need. A longer term lowers the instalment but raises the total repayment.
- Read the pre-agreement quote before signing. It shows the rate, fees, insurance and total cost of credit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do I need to get a loan at Capitec?
You need to be 18 or older with an income, your original SA ID, your latest payslip, and a bank statement with three consecutive salary deposits if you are paid into another bank. Capitec then checks your credit record and affordability.
How much must I earn to qualify for a Capitec loan?
Capitec does not publish a minimum salary on its Personal Loan page. The R5 000 minimum (R10 000 if self-employed) is for credit card applications. What you qualify for depends on what is left of your income after expenses and existing debt, so get an online estimate or ask Capitec for a figure based on your own details.
How do I get a Capitec loan estimate online?
Use the personalised credit estimate on Capitec’s website or the credit estimate feature in the app. You enter the credit you need and your details, answer identity questions and see the options available to you. Only Capitec can give figures specific to your profile.
How much do you pay back on a R50 000 loan at Capitec?
It depends on your rate and term. Capitec’s own example of R50 000 over four years at 22% a year costs R84 811 in total, including fees and insurance. A lower rate or shorter term costs less. Check the total cost of credit in your pre-agreement quote before you accept.
Can you move your credit to Capitec?
Yes, by taking a Personal Loan to consolidate your existing loans into one monthly repayment, subject to the usual credit and affordability checks.
Can I get a payment break on my Capitec loan?
Capitec considers payment breaks case by case, mainly after retrenchment, and also offers temporary reduced repayments and arrears restructuring. Contact Capitec before you miss a payment.
Can I get a Capitec loan if I am under debt review?
No. Capitec’s criteria exclude applicants who have been handed over, sequestered or placed under debt review or administration. Its FAQs say it cannot give you credit while you are in the debt review process.
This page is general information, not financial advice. Rates, fees and criteria change, so confirm the current terms with Capitec Bank on its Personal Loan page before applying. See loan requirements and all finance and funding requirements.