What it means to be registered with the Credit Ombud
Our brand is known for buying and selling quality second-hand household items of value, but it was only with the arrival of the National Credit Act that we branched into the micro-lending sphere.
“When the NCA came into being, we moved into pawn broking – or what we call “Cash Advance”. This is when a customer brings us an item of value and exchanges it for cash in hand – there and then. We store the item safely and securely for the period of the loan term – up to 30 days, and when the customer comes back to collect their item, they pay us the loan amount, interest and fees (as per the Act), and take their item home,” explains our Group Marketing Manager, Nicole Thomson.
We also do a SMART loan, where we transact with a customer who wants an unsecured loan – this is a loan against a salary. A customer will bring in their documentation, and we will score them for affordability. If the loan is granted, we put money onto what we call a Cashies™ Card – which works just like a debit card. We deduct the total amount repayable from the customer’s bank account via a DebiCheck mandate after their next salary run.
This means that every Cash Converters store is a registered credit provider with the National Credit Regulator. As such, we comply with the National Credit Act, to ensure that transaction is ethical, legal and above board.
In 2021, the NCR and the Credit Ombud signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which would help them reach all the objectives of the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 through constant cooperation and collaboration.
This co-op would help resolve and investigate any disputes between traditional money-lenders such as ourselves, credit bureaus and consumers.
We are happy to announce that Cash Converters is an official registered member of the Credit Ombud. The Credit Ombud resolves complaints between consumers and credit providers and always acts honestly, independently, and fairly.
