- South Africa's overdue loan balances rose R12.7-billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, bringing the total overdue amount to R224-billion.
- South African seniors took 840,000 new loans in 2025's fourth quarter, a 15% jump, even as their defaults keep climbing.
More South Africans borrowed money in the last three months of 2025, but millions are falling behind on repayments.
Research firm Eighty20 and Xpert Decision Systems (XDS) released the Credit Stress Report for the fourth quarter of 2025. The number of open loans grew by roughly one million during the quarter, reaching 55.1 million. Total loan balances rose 1.7% to R2.7-trillion.
But overdue balances also climbed, rising R12.7-billion to reach R224-billion. That means 8.4% of all loan balances are now overdue, up from 8.1% the previous quarter.
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More than 18.3 million loans, 33.2% of all open loans, were at least one month behind on payments. Eighty20 said this was the first increase in that proportion since early 2023.
Car loans drove much of the overdue increase. Vehicle finance arrears jumped by R3.7-billion, personal loan arrears grew by R3-billion and home loan arrears by R1.2-billion.
The report raised concerns about older South Africans. Senior citizens took out 840,000 new loans in the quarter, a 15% jump.
Eighty20 tracks two groups: comfortable retirees with savings, and humble elders who rely on Sassa pensions or family support.
Both groups are struggling, with defaults among seniors growing sharply over six quarters.
"While the total number of defaulters across the general population has declined nearly every quarter since mid-2023, seniors have moved sharply in the opposite direction," Eighty20 said.
Comfortable retirees saw the biggest rise in overdue balances, growing faster than any other group. Humble elders are now moving the same way. Eighty20 said both trends are getting worse, not stabilising.
