Recent updates to the law have made it much clearer what both banks (credit providers) and everyday customers must do before a loan is approved. In August 2025, the government published new rules under the National Credit Act (NCA) known as Government Notice Regulation 6510 (GN R6510). These updates force lenders to take realistic steps to check how much spare cash a person actually has. A major change is that small businesses are no longer judged by the same “minimum expense” tables (a standard baseline for living costs) as regular people. Instead, they just need to show their realistic business costs, which helps ensure that business lending remains practical.
But honesty is a two-way street. In the case of Boitumelo Tsotetsi v African Bank Ltd, a customer blamed the bank for giving her a reckless loan, arguing they should have double-checked her actual living expenses against her bank statements. The National Consumer Tribunal (NCT)—the special court for consumer credit issues—disagreed. They pointed out that under Section 81(1) of the National Credit Act, customers are legally required to answer all financial questions truthfully. Because the bank used the higher amount between the expenses she declared and the legal baseline, and her budget still showed she could afford the loan, the loan was completely legal. In short: lenders are legally allowed to trust the expenses you formally declare and sign for.