The average South African Internet user has good access to credit with over 60% of them owning a credit card. More than half of the respondents with monthly household incomes greater than R12 000 have credit cards. This figure increases to around 75% when monthly household incomes are above R16 000.
Internet banking is also very popular with 77% of users having used this service. As users earn more they are more likely to use Internet banking but even from a monthly household income of R12 000 we see over 70% of respondents use the service.
Surprisingly few respondents have researched or applied for financial services online, with 55% of respondents stating they have not used the Internet to research or apply for a home loan, vehicle finance, a bank account, a credit card, a personal loan or overdraft. Researching or applying for bank accounts or credit cards was the most favoured when it came to this activity, at 23% and 20% respectively.
Cash and debit cards are the most popular way to pay for everyday in-store grocery purchases with cash at 63% and debit cards at 60%. More than 75% of people with a household income under R9 000 prefer to pay cash when purchasing grocery items in store.
Boys definitely like their toys with males being 90% more likely than females to have researched or applied for vehicle finance online. Women also keep the store account stereotype going by being 57% more likely than their male counterparts to purchase an everyday in-store grocery item using a store card or account.
Insurance is definitely the necessary evil with about 25% of respondents not owning any form of vehicle, household or life/disability/income protection insurance. That said, over 60% of respondents who have a monthly household income above R6 000 do have some form of insurance. This figure increases to over 80% when monthly household income increases to R16 000.
Home loans are evidently still hard to come by, with only 36% of respondents having home loans. However, more than half of the respondents with household incomes greater than R30| 000 a month have home loans which is evidence of the fact that you still need to earn significantly more than the South African average to have a good chance of securing a loan.
For more information contact the DMMA on az.oc.ammd@ofni.
Table 1 below shows the data and questions asked.
| Do you have and use any of the following credit services in your personal capacity? | Total | Male | Female |
| Home Loan | 36% | 40% | 31% |
| Vehicle Finance | 33% | 36% | 29% |
| Credit Card | 60% | 63% | 56% |
| Personal Loan | 26% | 27% | 24% |
| Overdraft | 27% | 30% | 23% |
| None of the above | 26% | 23% | 29% |
| . | . | . | . |
| Have you ever used the Internet to research or applied for any of the following items online in your personal capacity? | Total | Male | Female |
| A home loan | 18% | 20% | 15% |
| Vehicle Finance | 19% | 24% | 13% |
| A bank account | 23% | 24% | 21% |
| A credit card | 20% | 22% | 17% |
| A personal loan | 17% | 15% | 19% |
| Overdraft | 7% | 8% | 5% |
| None of the above | 55% | 52% | 59% |
| . | . | . | . |
| Do you use Internet banking? | Total | Male | Female |
| Yes, via my computer | 54% | 52% | 57% |
| Yes, via my cell phone | 16% | 16% | 15% |
| Yes, I use both | 24% | 27% | 20% |
| No | 23% | 23% | 23% |
| . | . | . | . |
| Do you have any of the following insurance types in your personal capacity? | Total | Male | Female |
| Vehicle insurance | 61% | 66% | 55% |
| Household insurance | 52% | 58% | 45% |
| Life insurance/disability insurance/salary protection insurance | 61% | 68% | 53% |
| No | 23% | 20% | 27% |
| . | . | . | . |
| How do you usually pay for your everyday in-store grocery purchases? | Total | Male | Female |
| Cash | 63% | 67% | 58% |
| Credit card | 31% | 35% | 25% |
| Store card or store account | 9% | 7% | 11% |
| Debit card | 60% | 57% | 63% |
