M
Loans
Monthly Service Fee
A recurring fee the lender charges every month for administering your loan account — processing payments, sending statements, that sort of thing. The NCA caps it. It's small per month but add it up over 48 or 60 months and you see the real cost.
Usage Examples
"Bongani's Capitec loan had a R69 monthly service fee. Over 48 months, that's R3,312 in fees added to his cost of borrowing. When comparing lenders, he checked service fees carefully — a R10/month difference is R480 over four years."
"Thandi's store card charged R40 monthly maintenance. Over 12 months unpaid, that's R480 just in fees, on top of interest and the original debt. Service fees on accounts you're not using are silent wealth killers."
"Andile took a TymeBank personal loan with no monthly service fee — just the initiation fee and interest. He used to pay Capitec R69/month in service fees, so the TymeBank deal was lekker in comparison."