It depends entirely on the credit provider. Most registered lenders require a regular verifiable income and set their own rules on which income types they accept, and many do not lend against grant income alone. Under the National Credit Act every lender must still complete an affordability assessment before granting credit.
There is no single rule that covers every lender. Each registered credit provider sets its own criteria on which income types it will assess, and grant income is treated differently from a salary by many of them. Some will not consider it at all. Nobody can promise you an approval on grant income, and any advert that does should be treated as a warning sign.
What the law requires is the same in every case: an affordability assessment before credit is granted. A lender that skips it is lending recklessly.
SASSA is a grant agency, not a lender. It does not offer personal loans, and it never charges you to apply for a grant. Any service claiming to arrange a SASSA loan for a fee is not acting for SASSA.
Grant income attracts predatory operators. Registered credit providers do not work this way, and none of the following is legal:
Check that the lender is registered with the National Credit Regulator — the NCR publishes the register and it is free to search. Insist on the written agreement showing the instalment, the term and the total you will repay. If someone asks for your card or PIN, walk away and report it to the NCR.
If you earn alongside a grant — a salary, regular self-employed income or another verifiable source paid into an account in your own name — that income can be assessed. MCB Manco refers applications to FinChoice, which applies its own criteria and makes every decision.
It depends on the credit provider. Each registered lender sets its own criteria on which income types it accepts and many do not lend against grant income alone. Every lender must still complete an affordability assessment under the National Credit Act.
No. SASSA administers social grants and is not a credit provider. It does not offer personal loans and never charges a fee to apply for a grant.
No. No lender may hold your SASSA card, ID document or PIN as security for a loan. If this is asked of you, do not hand them over and report it to the National Credit Regulator.
No. Registered credit providers do not charge an upfront fee to process or release a loan. An upfront payment request is one of the clearest signs of a loan scam.
The National Credit Regulator maintains a public register of credit providers that you can search at no cost. If a lender is not on it, do not sign anything.
