Which documents do I need for a loan application?

Most South African lenders ask for the same four things: a valid South African ID, recent proof of income, details of a bank account in your own name and an honest picture of your monthly expenses. Each lender tells you exactly what it needs and how to send it. Having them ready before you apply can save days.

Your identity document

A lender has to confirm who you are. A green barcoded ID book or a smart ID card is normally accepted. Whichever you have, it must be valid and readable, and your name on it must match the name on your bank account.

• For a smart ID card, you will usually need clear pictures of both sides.
• Take photos in good light, flat on a table, with all four corners showing.
• If your ID is lost or damaged, apply for a replacement at Home Affairs before you apply for credit. A temporary ID certificate may not be accepted.

Proof of income

The National Credit Act requires lenders to check that a loan is affordable for you. To do that they need to see what you earn. Recent payslips, bank statements showing your salary coming in, or both are the usual proof.

No single fixed number of payslips applies to every lender. A regulation that once spelled out three months of payslips or bank statements was set aside, so each lender decides what it accepts, as long as it still assesses your income and expenses properly. Ask before you start: it is better to send the right documents once than the wrong ones three times.

If your income is irregular, from several jobs or from self-employment, say so up front and ask what the lender accepts. Our requirements page explains what RandLeaf looks for.

Getting your bank statements

Download statements as PDF files from your banking app or internet banking. These are official documents. Screenshots of your balance are usually not enough, and a statement that has been edited in any way can be treated as fraud.

Some lenders offer to check your income directly with your bank, with your permission, instead of asking for statements. If you are offered this, read who runs the service and what it will see before you agree. How bank verification works at RandLeaf. Whatever the method, you should never have to tell a person your banking password or a one-time PIN.

A bank account in your own name

The loan is paid into this account and the repayments are collected from it, so it has to be yours. Lenders run an account verification that matches the account holder’s name and ID number with your application. An account belonging to a partner, a parent or a friend won’t pass, even with their permission.

A realistic list of your expenses

Lenders must consider what you spend as well as what you earn. Before you apply, write down your monthly costs:

• Rent or bond, rates, electricity and water
• Food and household basics
• Transport to work and school
• School fees, childcare and money you send to family
• Airtime, data and insurance premiums
• Every repayment you already make on other credit

Be accurate. Leaving costs out doesn’t help you: it can lead to a loan you can’t comfortably repay.

Contact details that are yours

Your quote, agreement and one-time PINs for signing are usually sent to your cellphone and email. Use a number and address that only you control. If you share a phone, or your email is managed by someone else, sort that out first.

If you don’t have everything yet

Gaps are common, and most have a simple fix. Tell the lender about them before you apply rather than hoping they won’t matter.

• New job, no payslip yet. Ask whether a signed employment contract or a letter from your employer will do until your first payslip arrives. Some lenders will want to wait.
• Salary paid into someone else’s account. Open an account in your own name and have your salary paid into it first. Lenders need to see your income arriving in your own account.
• You recently changed banks. Statements from both the old and new account may be needed to cover the period the lender asks for.
• Your name has changed. Make sure your ID, bank account and payslips all show the same name, or have the document that links them ready.

Sending documents safely

Send documents only through the lender’s official application service, reached by typing its address yourself or following a link from its official website. RandLeaf’s own online application service isn’t open yet. Until it is, the Apply online button takes you to a partner’s application through the LeadGid affiliate network. How the partner route works. This website itself never asks for or collects documents.

Don’t send documents to a personal WhatsApp number, a free email address or an “agent” who contacted you first. Under the Protection of Personal Information Act a lender must protect what you give it, but that protection only helps if the documents reach the real lender.

Never send any of these, to anyone:

• Your bank card PIN or internet banking password
• One-time PINs (OTPs) sent to your phone
• Your full card number with the expiry date and the three digits on the back
• Photos of your bank card

Your checklist

• Valid green barcoded ID book or smart ID card, readable on both sides
• Recent payslips or bank statements, as the lender asks, downloaded as PDF
• Details of a bank account in your own name
• A written list of your monthly income and expenses
• A cellphone number and email address that only you use

For the documents RandLeaf asks for and how to send them, see documents for your application.