Credit that reads a till roll instead of a payslip

The reason a profitable spaza cannot borrow R30 000 is not risk. It is evidence. Traditional underwriting wants twelve months of bank statements, a lease and a guarantor, and a shop that banks its takings in cash produces none of those.

The evidence a payment platform already has

Once a shop is accepting digitally, the till roll is the credit file: daily turnover, seasonality, the shape of a month, refund rates, how often the shop is open. That is a better predictor of whether an advance will be repaid than a payslip is, because it measures the actual business rather than the owner.

Why repayment should be a percentage

A fixed monthly instalment assumes a fixed monthly income. Retail in a township is not that: school holidays, a grant payment date and a rainy week all move the number. Taking a fixed share of each day's settlement means a slow week is automatically a smaller instalment, and there is no debit order to bounce and no penalty fee to charge.

What does not change

None of this exempts anyone from the National Credit Act. Every facility is assessed for affordability, the cost is disclosed in rands before acceptance, and the merchant can settle early without a penalty. Being able to underwrite faster is not a licence to lend recklessly.

Credit products are subject to affordability assessment and approval. Terms and conditions apply.