'January is waiting for you': NCR warns indebted South Africans to spend cautiously this Black Friday
As South Africans continue to hit Black Friday sales, the National Credit Regulator has warned that millions who are already over-indebted should spend cautiously.
Image: Leon Lestrade
As South Africans continue to hit Black Friday sales, the National Credit Regulator has warned that millions who are already over-indebted should spend cautiously.
Black Friday is the weekend when most shoppers rush to take advantage of discounted goods. However, NCR's Alfred Matsimbi said that consumers should stick to budgets, prioritise essential purchases, and be wary of credit or buy-now-pay-later schemes to avoid financial trouble.
"So we're strongly encouraging everybody to buy what they have budgeted for. Make sure to also take care of your needs above everything. So the must-have list is important to be prioritised as people are going shopping today," Matsimbi said in an interview with broadcaster Newzroom Afrika.
He warned that if people continue to overspend or rely heavily on credit, they risk worsening financial strain, increasing debt, and even defaulting on repayments. Matsimbi said responsible spending is key to enjoying Black Friday deals without long-term consequences.
According to statistics, over 10 million South Africans are already over-indebted. Of the roughly 27.9 million credit-active consumers, about 36% have impaired credit records, meaning they are behind on payments, have adverse listings, judgments, or administration orders.
"The expenses they're gonna incur today and up until the festivities will be waiting for them in January. And some may end up losing the very same items that we bought because generally, consumers, especially those who did not budget and did not save money for Black Friday, will end up using credit providers," Matsimbi said.
"To acquire those items. And after acquiring those items, some of them may end up even spending money like deposits, et cetera. But if you fail to save the debt, the credit providers have a right to come back to you and even repossess some of those things. Yeah, and they get into a debt spiral".
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