Reference
Financial glossary
Plain-English definitions of banking, tax, retirement, insurance and business-finance terms used in South Africa.
Definitions reviewed 29 October 2026. An acronym such as PMB opens the same entry as the full name. A short definition stays on this page. A longer note has its own page.
225 definitions
Annual percentage rate
Also called APR
Credit
A way of expressing the yearly price of credit. South African quotations more often show the interest rate, the fees and the total payable separately.
Do not assume an advertised APR includes every initiation fee, service fee and credit-life premium. Read the quotation. A merchant cash advance factor is not an APR.
Nominal interest rate
Savings
The stated annual rate before you account for how often interest is added.
A nominal 12% compounded monthly is a higher effective annual rate than 12% paid once at the end. Ask which figure the advert uses.
Effective annual rate
Also called EAR
Savings
The yearly rate after compounding. It lets you compare products that add interest at different intervals.
Compound interest
Savings
Interest earned on interest that has already been added.
Simple interest
Savings
Interest earned only on the original amount, not on earlier interest.
Principal
Credit
The amount borrowed, before interest and fees.
Instalment
Credit
The regular repayment, usually collected by debit order.
Balloon payment
Also called Residual value
Credit
A lump sum still owed at the end of vehicle finance. It lowers the monthly instalment and does not make the car cheaper.
Deposit
Banking
Money you pay in. On a loan it reduces what you borrow. In a bank account it is money the bank owes you, if it is a real deposit.
Credit score
Credit
A bureau's model of your credit record. There is no single national score.
Credit bureau
Credit
A company that stores information about your credit agreements.
Debt review
Credit
The National Credit Act process, through a registered debt counsellor, for a consumer who is over-indebted.
Debt counsellor
Credit
A person registered with the National Credit Regulator to conduct debt review. An unregistered helper is not one.
Affordability assessment
Credit
The check a credit provider must make, under the National Credit Act, before granting covered consumer credit.
A calculator that uses a percentage of salary is not that assessment and is not an approval.
National Credit Act
Also called NCA
Regulation
The statute that governs much consumer credit in South Africa, including disclosure, fees and reckless lending.
It does not apply in the same way to every loan to a company. Thresholds for juristic persons matter.
National Credit Regulator
Also called NCR
Regulation
The regulator for consumer credit providers and debt counsellors.
Registration is checked on the regulator's own channels. A logo in an advert is not the register.
Reckless credit
Credit
Credit granted without the assessment the National Credit Act requires, or in circumstances the Act calls reckless. A court decides. A website does not.
Initiation fee
Credit
A fee at the start of a credit agreement. The Act caps it on covered agreements. The cap changes, so this glossary does not print a rand cap.
Monthly service fee
Credit
A monthly fee on a credit agreement, separate from interest.
Credit life
Insurance
Insurance that can settle a credit agreement on events such as death or disability. The premium is part of the monthly cost.
Bond
Credit
In everyday speech, a home loan. Strictly, the mortgage registered over the property as security.
Home loan
Credit
Credit used to buy or refinance a home, usually secured by a mortgage bond.
Transfer duty
Tax
Tax on the transfer of property that is not a VAT sale. WiT Money uses the SARS scale in its tax file.
Prime rate
Banking
A benchmark lending rate commercial banks publish. Home-loan rates are often a margin above or below it. This glossary does not state today's prime.
Repo rate
Banking
The rate at which the Reserve Bank lends to commercial banks. It influences prime. It is not your home-loan rate.
Variable interest rate
Credit
A rate that can move, often with prime. The instalment moves with it.
Fixed interest rate
Credit
A rate that stays the same for the period the contract states. Breaking it can cost a penalty.
Electronic funds transfer
Also called EFT
Payments
A payment you send from your account to another account.
PayShap
Payments
An instant-payment option offered through participating banks. It is not free at every bank, and it is not the same as a next-day EFT.
Limits and fees are in the bank's own guide. WiT Money does not publish a universal PayShap tariff.
Debit order
Payments
An authority for a company to collect an amount from your account.
Stop order
Payments
An instruction you give your bank to pay someone. You start it. A debit order is the other way around.
Debit card
Banking
A card that spends money in the account, or an overdraft if the bank allows one.
Credit card
Credit
A revolving credit limit. Interest follows if you do not pay the statement in full.
Overdraft
Banking
A limit that lets the account go negative. It is credit, often repayable on demand, not a savings balance.
FICA
Also called Financial Intelligence Centre Act
Regulation
The Financial Intelligence Centre Act. Banks and other firms must identify customers.
A request for documents is normal. A fee paid to a private account to 'clear FICA' is not.
POPIA
Also called Protection of Personal Information Act
Regulation
The Protection of Personal Information Act. It governs how personal information is collected and used.
South African Reserve Bank
Also called SARB
Regulation
The central bank. It includes the Prudential Authority.
Financial Sector Conduct Authority
Also called FSCA
Regulation
The conduct regulator for financial institutions and FAIS licences.
A licence covers specified activities. It is not a promise that a product will rise, and it is not approval of every product a brand sells.
FAIS Act
Also called FAIS
Regulation
The Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act. Advice and intermediary services on financial products need a licence.
Corporation for Deposit Insurance
Also called CODI
Banking
The Reserve Bank subsidiary that can cover qualifying depositors if a member bank is placed in resolution.
Cover is up to R100 000 per qualifying depositor per bank, on qualifying products. It is not per account. It does not cover unit trusts, RSA Retail Savings Bonds, shares or crypto.
Qualifying deposit
Banking
A deposit CODI's rules can cover. Not every product a bank sells is one.
Transactional account
Banking
The account used for salary, cards and debit orders. It is not automatically the best place for long-term savings.
Savings account
Savings
A deposit account aimed at money you are not spending immediately.
Fixed deposit
Savings
A deposit for an agreed term and rate. Early withdrawal follows the bank's rule.
Notice deposit
Savings
A deposit you can withdraw after giving the stated notice, such as 32 days.
Call account
Savings
A deposit you can usually withdraw without a long notice period. The rate is often lower because of that.
Money market account
Savings
A name banks use for some deposits. It is not the same thing as a money market unit trust.
Money market fund
Investing
A collective investment in short-term instruments. The price can move. It is not a CODI deposit.
Unit trust
Investing
A collective investment scheme portfolio. You buy units from the manager. It is not a bank deposit.
Exchange traded fund
Also called ETF
Investing
A fund listed on an exchange. You buy it through a broker. The price moves.
Index fund
Investing
A fund that aims to follow a market index. Following a market is not a guarantee.
Total expense ratio
Also called TER
Investing
A fund's annual cost ratio from its disclosures. It is not every cost you pay.
Total investment charge
Also called TIC
Investing
A wider fund-cost figure than the TER. It still may not include brokerage or advice.
Platform fee
Investing
A fee charged by the account that holds the investment, separate from the fund's own fee.
Brokerage
Trading
The fee a broker charges to buy or sell. A zero commission can still leave a spread and statutory charges.
Bid-offer spread
Also called Spread
Trading
The gap between the price a buyer is bidding and the price a seller is offering. Crossing it is a cost.
Market order
Trading
An order to deal at the best price then available. The price can move while you submit it.
Limit order
Trading
An order to deal only at your price or better. It might not trade.
JSE
Also called Johannesburg Stock Exchange
Investing
The licensed exchange where many South African shares and ETFs are listed.
Real estate investment trust
Also called REIT
Investing
A listed property vehicle. Distributions are not taxed exactly like ordinary company dividends.
Dividend
Investing
A distribution of company profits. Many South African dividends are subject to 20% dividends tax in the site tax file.
Dividends tax
Tax
A withholding tax on many dividends. The rate stored for calculators is 20%. REIT distributions differ.
Capital gain
Tax
The proceeds of an asset minus its base cost, when the amount is actually capital and not income.
Capital gains tax
Also called CGT
Tax
Tax on a taxable capital gain. For individuals in the 2027 file, R50 000 a year is excluded and 40% of the rest is included.
The maximum effective rate stored beside that rule is 18%. A primary residence has a further exclusion the calculator does not apply. Frequent trading can be income instead.
Base cost
Tax
What an asset cost you for capital-gains purposes, including some costs SARS allows. This glossary does not calculate it.
Tax-free savings account
Also called TFSA, Tax-free investment
Tax
A tax-free investment. From 1 March 2026 the annual limit in the tax file is R46 000 and the lifetime limit is R500 000.
Withdrawals do not restore contribution room. A contribution above the limit can attract a 40% penalty. It is not a UK ISA.
Interest exemption
Tax
An annual exemption on South African interest. The savings comparison records R23 800 under 65 and R34 500 from age 65 for the 2027 year of assessment.
Checked on 28 October 2026. The 25 February 2026 budget left those amounts unchanged, according to that page. Foreign interest is not automatically the same.
PAYE
Also called Employees' tax
Tax
Pay-as-you-earn employees' tax, withheld by an employer.
UIF
Also called Unemployment Insurance Fund
Tax
The Unemployment Insurance Fund contribution. The employee pays 1% of monthly remuneration and the employer pays a matching 1%. SARS still publishes a monthly earnings ceiling of R17 712, effective 1 June 2021. The salary calculator applies that ceiling to the employee share.
Skills development levy
Also called SDL
Tax
A 1% levy on an employer's remuneration. The Budget 2026 tax guide says employers whose annual remuneration is less than R500 000 are exempt. The salary calculator does not calculate SDL, because it is an employer levy.
VAT
Also called Value-added tax
Tax
Value-added tax. The standard rate in the tax file is 15%. Not every supply is standard-rated.
Compulsory registration in the tax file is R2.3 million of taxable supplies in twelve months. Voluntary registration can be considered from R120 000.
South African Revenue Service
Also called SARS
Regulation
The revenue authority. A calculator on this site is not an assessment.
CIPC
Also called Companies and Intellectual Property Commission
Regulation
The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission, which registers companies.
Tax directive
Tax
An instruction SARS issues, often via the fund, for the tax on a retirement or savings-component withdrawal. The fund applies. You do not invent the rate.
Retirement annuity
Also called RA
Retirement
A retirement fund for personal contributions. Deductible within SARS limits. Not an emergency fund.
Pension fund
Retirement
An employer retirement fund. Cash at retirement is limited by the fund rules and the tax law, including vested rights.
Provident fund
Retirement
An employer retirement fund. Older vested rights can still differ from newer contributions. Do not assume the whole benefit is cash.
Preservation fund
Retirement
A retirement fund that holds a benefit you moved when you left an employer.
Two-pot retirement system
Retirement
The split, from 1 September 2024, of new contributions into a savings component and a retirement component.
Many members also have a vested component. A savings-component withdrawal is taxed. It is not tax-free, and this site does not print a minimum.
Savings component
Retirement
The part of new retirement contributions a member may be able to withdraw before retirement, subject to tax and fund rules.
Retirement component
Retirement
The part of new contributions that stays for retirement and generally has to provide an income. It is not a cash pot.
Vested component
Retirement
Retirement rights that built up before the two-pot change, kept under the rules that applied to them.
Living annuity
Retirement
A post-retirement income drawn from capital that stays invested. The capital can run out.
Guaranteed life annuity
Also called Life annuity
Retirement
An income an insurer pays on the policy's terms. You typically give up the capital.
Regulation 28
Retirement
The asset-class limits that apply to retirement funds, including a limit on offshore exposure.
Section 37C
Retirement
The Pension Funds Act rule on death benefits. Trustees consider dependants. A nomination form helps and is not always the final word.
A will does not automatically override the fund.
Retirement lump sum
Tax
A lump sum at retirement, taxed on the retirement table in the tax file. For 2027 that table starts with R550 000 at 0%. Earlier lump sums are aggregated.
This is not the tax on a two-pot savings-component withdrawal.
Excess
Insurance
The amount of a claim you carry. It does not mean the claim is approved.
Sum insured
Insurance
The maximum the policy is written for. If it is below the real value, average clauses can cut even a partial claim.
Underinsurance
Insurance
Insuring for less than the replacement value. Many policies then pay only a proportion of a claim.
Underwriting
Insurance
The insurer's decision on whether to cover you, and on what terms. Non-disclosure can undo a later claim.
Exclusion
Insurance
An event or cause the policy does not pay. Wear and tear is a common one. The schedule is the list that matters.
SASRIA
Insurance
The state-owned insurer for special risks such as riots. A motor policy does not automatically include it.
Funeral cover
Insurance
A policy that pays a benefit when a covered person dies, often after a waiting period. It does not settle a bond.
Waiting period
Insurance
A time at the start of a policy when some claims are not paid. Funeral cover and medical schemes both use the idea, under different laws.
Life cover
Insurance
A benefit paid if the insured person dies. The amount is a needs question, not a multiple printed by this site.
Income protection
Insurance
A policy that can pay a monthly amount if you cannot work, on the definition in the contract.
Disability cover
Insurance
A benefit, often a lump sum, if you meet the policy's definition of disability. The definition is the product.
Critical illness cover
Insurance
A benefit if you are diagnosed with a condition on the policy's list. A condition off the list is not covered by the name alone.
Medical scheme
Medical
A scheme registered under the Medical Schemes Act. This is what people mean by medical aid.
Medical aid
Medical
Everyday language for medical scheme membership. Not gap cover and not health insurance.
Gap cover
Medical
Short-term insurance for specified shortfalls on a medical scheme. It needs the scheme and does not pay every unpaid bill.
Health insurance
Medical
An insurance policy with capped benefits. It is not a medical scheme and does not provide prescribed minimum benefits.
Prescribed minimum benefits
Also called PMB, Prescribed minimum benefit
Medical
The hospital, emergency and chronic benefits a medical scheme must cover.
A PMB is not a promise of any private hospital or any specialist's full fee. Designated service providers still apply.
Designated service provider
Also called DSP
Medical
A hospital or doctor the scheme requires you to use for some benefits. Going elsewhere can leave a co-payment.
Co-payment
Medical
An amount the scheme rules leave for you to pay, even when the treatment is covered.
Chronic disease list
Also called CDL
Medical
The list of chronic conditions tied to prescribed minimum benefits. A condition off the list is not automatically a PMB.
Late-joiner penalty
Medical
A contribution loading when you join a scheme after a long time without credible cover. It can last.
Medical savings account
Medical
A portion of your own medical scheme contribution, used for day-to-day claims. When it is empty, those claims are yours.
Medical scheme fees tax credit
Tax
A monthly tax credit for people on a registered medical scheme. For 2027 the tax file uses R376 and R254.
It depends on how many people are on the scheme, not on the size of the contribution. A health-insurance premium is not a scheme contribution.
Council for Medical Schemes
Also called CMS
Regulation
The regulator of medical schemes. It does not regulate health-insurance policies.
Open medical scheme
Medical
A scheme that can accept members from the public, subject to waiting periods and late-joiner penalties.
Restricted medical scheme
Medical
A scheme only for a defined group, such as an employer.
Scheme administrator
Medical
The firm that runs the cards and the calls. It is not the medical scheme.
Business loan
Business
Credit to a firm. It may fall outside parts of the National Credit Act. A surety can still bind the owner.
Surety
Business
A personal promise to pay the business debt if the firm does not. It can reach assets in your own name.
Invoice finance
Business
An advance against a customer invoice. With recourse, you may repay it if the customer does not pay.
Invoice discounting
Business
Invoice finance where you often keep collecting and the customer may not be told.
Factoring
Business
Invoice finance where the financier often collects from the customer.
Purchase order finance
Business
Funding against a confirmed order, before you invoice.
Asset finance
Business
Credit used to buy a specific asset, often with the asset as security.
Equipment finance
Business
Asset finance for equipment. Miss the instalments and the equipment can be taken.
Merchant cash advance
Business
A lump sum repaid from a share of card sales. The fee is not an annual percentage rate.
Factor rate
Business
A multiple used on some advances, such as repay R1.30 per rand advanced. It is not an APR.
Working capital
Business
The money a firm needs to run between paying suppliers and being paid by customers.
Cash flow
Business
Money in and money out over time. A profit on paper can still run out of cash.
Turnover
Business
Sales, before costs. It is not profit.
Gross profit
Business
Sales minus the direct cost of those sales. Overheads are still to come.
Net profit
Business
What is left after the costs the accounts include. It is not the cash in the bank.
Payment gateway
Payments
The service that takes a card payment online. It is not a bank.
Card machine
Payments
The device or app that takes an in-person card payment. Rental and the percentage fee are separate lines.
Point of sale
Also called POS
Payments
The system that records a sale in the shop. It is not SARS and it is not the bank.
SMME
Also called SME
Business
A small, medium or micro enterprise. The label does not decide which credit law applies.
Sole proprietor
Business
A person trading in their own name. Business and personal debts are not neatly separated.
Juristic person
Business
A company or similar body. National Credit Act cover depends on thresholds, not on the word 'business' alone.
Recourse
Business
The financier can claim the advance back from you if the customer does not pay.
Non-recourse
Business
The financier's claim is against the invoice, not automatically against you. Read the contract. Do not assume a facility is non-recourse.
Payroll
Business
The calculation and payment of wages, PAYE, UIF and other deductions. Software does not submit the money to SARS by itself.
Payslip
Tax
The record of gross pay, deductions and net pay. Lenders ask for it. It is not a credit approval.
Gross income
Tax
Income before the deductions the tax rules allow. On a payslip, gross pay is before PAYE and UIF.
Taxable income
Tax
The amount tax is worked out on, after allowable deductions. It is not the same as net pay.
Marginal tax rate
Tax
The rate on the next rand of taxable income. It is not the rate on every rand you earn.
Tax rebate
Tax
An amount subtracted from the tax on your income. The primary, secondary and tertiary rebates are in the tax file for the 2027 year of assessment.
Provisional tax
Tax
Payments during the year by people who are not fully covered by PAYE, including many self-employed people.
Tax compliance status
Tax
A SARS view of whether a taxpayer is compliant. Lenders and authorised dealers sometimes ask for it. An old PIN is not a permanent pass.
Exchange control
Investing
The rules on moving money offshore, applied by authorised dealers. This site does not print a rand allowance.
Contract for difference
Also called CFD
Trading
A contract that pays the change in a price. You do not own the share.
Leverage
Trading
Using a small deposit to control a larger position. Losses are magnified, and can exceed the deposit.
Margin
Trading
The deposit a leveraged position requires. A margin call is a demand for more money.
Margin call
Trading
A demand to add money or reduce a leveraged position. If you do not, the position can be closed.
Liquidation
Trading
In leveraged trading, the closing of a position when margin is not enough. In company law, it is the winding-up of a firm. The word needs the context.
Custody
Investing
Holding securities for you. A coin left on an exchange is a claim on that firm, not the same thing.
Private key
Trading
The secret that controls a crypto wallet. Anyone who has it has the coins. A bank cannot reset it.
Crypto asset
Trading
A digital token. It is not a bank deposit and it is not covered by CODI. The price can fall to nothing.
Phishing
Banking
A fake message that tries to make you reveal a password, PIN or one-time code.
SIM swap
Banking
Moving your phone number to another SIM so someone else receives your one-time PIN.
One-time PIN
Also called OTP
Banking
A code sent to approve a payment or login. A bank does not need you to read it out.
Financial services provider
Also called FSP
Regulation
A person licensed under FAIS. Check the number on the FSCA register, not on a screenshot.
Ombud
Regulation
An independent complaints scheme. The right one depends on whether the dispute is about advice, a bank, an insurer or a scheme.
National Financial Ombud Scheme
Also called NFO
Regulation
A financial complaints scheme. Use its own site for which disputes it takes.
Average clause
Insurance
A policy rule that reduces a claim when you are underinsured, even if the loss is smaller than the sum insured.
Third-party cover
Insurance
Cover for your liability to other people. It does not repair your own car.
Comprehensive cover
Insurance
Motor cover aimed at your own car as well as your liability, subject to the excess and the exclusions.
Buildings insurance
Insurance
Cover for the structure. The sum insured should track the cost of rebuilding, not the selling price.
Home contents insurance
Insurance
Cover for belongings inside the home. It is a separate sum from the building.
Beneficiary
Insurance
The person named to receive a policy benefit. On a retirement fund, trustees still consider dependants.
Excess contribution
Tax
A tax-free investment contribution above the annual or lifetime limit. SARS can charge 40% of the excess.
Contribution room
Tax
How much you may still contribute to a tax-free investment. A withdrawal does not restore it.
Securities transfer tax
Also called STT
Tax
A tax on the transfer of listed securities. The rate stored for the site is 0.25%. It is not a broker's only charge.
Compounding frequency
Savings
How often interest is added. Monthly compounding and annual payment of the same nominal rate are different products.
Emergency fund
Savings
Cash you can reach when income stops or a bill cannot wait. The number of months is your choice.
Debit order dispute
Payments
A request to the bank to return a collection you say was unauthorised or wrong. It does not cancel the underlying contract.
Bundled bank account
Banking
A monthly fee that includes a list of transactions. Transactions outside the list are extra.
Pay-as-you-use account
Banking
A low or zero monthly fee, with a charge for each transaction. A busy month can cost more than a bundle.
Immediate payment
Payments
A faster transfer than a normal EFT, usually with a fee and a limit. PayShap is one version.
Joint account
Banking
An account more than one person can use. Both people are usually exposed to the debit orders.
Power of attorney
Banking
A document that lets someone else transact for you. Banks have their own forms. It is not a blank right to give away the money.
Bank statement
Banking
The record of what moved through the account. Lenders read it. It is not an approval.
Inflation
Savings
A rise in prices. A savings balance can grow in rand and still buy less.
Margin over prime
Credit
The amount added to, or subtracted from, prime to get a lending rate. Prime plus 2 is not prime.
Settlement amount
Credit
The figure that clears a credit agreement on a given day. Ask for it in writing. A guessed balance can be short.
Early settlement
Credit
Paying a credit agreement off before the last instalment. The quotation and the Act set out which interest and fees can still be charged.
Debt consolidation
Credit
A new loan that pays old debts. A lower instalment can still cost more in total.
Over-indebtedness
Credit
The National Credit Act test for debt review: when you cannot pay your debts as they fall due, given your means.
Blacklisting
Credit
Informal speech for an adverse credit listing. Accurate information is not deleted because you paid a 'repair' fee.
Judgment debt
Credit
A court order that you owe money. It can appear on a credit report. Spelling it 'judgement' in an advert does not change the order.
Emolument attachment order
Credit
A court order that takes money from wages. It is not the same as a voluntary debit order.
In duplum
Credit
A rule, in the National Credit Act for covered agreements, that limits unpaid interest once it reaches the unpaid principal. It is not a reason to ignore the debt.
VAT vendor
Tax
A person registered for VAT. Registration does not make every sale standard-rated.
Zero-rated supply
Tax
A taxable supply charged at 0%. It is not the same as an exempt supply, because input tax can still matter.
Exempt supply
Tax
A supply outside VAT. It is not the same as zero-rated.
Input tax
Tax
VAT a vendor paid on business purchases and may claim, if the purchase qualifies. A personal expense is not input tax.
Output tax
Tax
VAT a vendor charges on taxable supplies.
Taxable supply
Tax
A supply that is standard-rated or zero-rated. The R2.3 million VAT threshold is measured on these, not on every rand of turnover.
Drawdown
Retirement
The percentage of a living annuity paid out as income. A higher percentage can exhaust the capital.
Annuitisation
Retirement
The requirement to use part of a retirement benefit to buy an income, rather than taking all of it as cash.
Beneficiary nomination
Retirement
The form that tells a retirement fund who you would like to receive a death benefit. Trustees still consider dependants.
Effective annual cost
Also called EAC
Retirement
A disclosure of the charges on a retirement product. Ask for it. A small percentage compounds for decades.
Fund fact sheet
Investing
The document that states what a fund holds, the fee and the past performance. Past performance is a history.
Collective investment scheme
Investing
A pool, such as a unit trust, regulated as a scheme. It is not a bank deposit.
Feeder fund
Investing
A local fund that holds a foreign fund. You buy it in rand. It is not the same as a foreign brokerage account.
Rand hedge
Investing
An asset that may rise in rand when the rand weakens. It can also fall when the rand strengthens. It is not a hedge you can count on.
Liquidity
Trading
How easily you can buy or sell without moving the price. A thin share can gap.
Volatility
Trading
How much a price moves. High volatility is not the same thing as a high expected profit.
Counterparty risk
Trading
The risk that the firm on the other side of a contract does not pay. A CFD has it. A share in your own name has a different custody risk.
Stop-loss
Trading
An order that tries to close a position at a chosen price. In a fast market it may fill at a worse price, or not at all.
Overnight financing
Trading
A charge for holding a leveraged position overnight. It can matter more than the commission.
Securities
Investing
Shares, bonds and similar instruments. A crypto token is not automatically one of them.
Government bond
Investing
A loan to the government, traded at a price. An RSA Retail Savings Bond is a retail product and is not a CODI deposit. It is also not your home-loan bond.
RSA Retail Savings Bond
Savings
A retail bond from National Treasury. It is not a bank deposit and it is not covered by CODI.
Levy
Insurance
A charge added to some policies, or a body corporate charge on a home. Read which one the document means. On a sectional title, levies are not the bond instalment.
Body corporate
Credit
The body that runs a sectional-title scheme. Its levies are a monthly cost beside the bond.
Rates and taxes
Credit
Municipal property charges. They are not transfer duty and they are not the bond.
Sectional title
Credit
Ownership of a unit in a scheme, plus a share of the common property. You pay levies as well as the bond.
Conveyancer
Credit
The attorney who registers a property transfer. Their fee is a quote, not the SARS transfer-duty table.
Deeds Office
Credit
The registry of property and mortgage bonds. Its charges are not transfer duty.
Mortgage
Credit
The security over a property. People also use the word for the home loan itself.
Loan to value
Credit
The loan as a percentage of the property value. A higher percentage is a smaller deposit. It is not an approval.
Pre-agreement statement
Credit
The disclosure a credit provider must give before you sign a covered consumer agreement. Read the total payable.
Credit quotation
Credit
The offer that states the cost of a credit agreement. An illustration on this website is not one.
Fee cap
Credit
A maximum the National Credit Act sets for certain fees and interest. The numbers change. This glossary does not freeze an old cap.