Earlier this year, saw the determination by Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies, of a new threshold of NIL (0) for the purpose of determining whether a credit provider is required to be registered with the National Credit Regulator (NCR) in terms of the National Credit Act (NCA).
“The previous threshold, in terms of which a person or entity was compelled to be registered only if the value of that person or entity’s credit agreements amounted to R500 000 or if that person or entity concluded 100 credit agreements, has been effectively repealed,” stated Nthupang Magolego, senior legal advisor at the NCR.
The implication of this threshold is that as of 11 May 2016, “any person or entity that is involved in the provision of credit is now required to register irrespective of the number of agreements and/or the value of the principal debt,” stated Magolepo.
Consumers are subsequently encouraged to strictly obtain credit from these registered entities. This will in turn advance their rights as per the NCA. “Consumers who are in doubt about the registration status of any entity can contact the NCR for verification,” added Magolego.
The NCA also requires registered entities to renew their registration yearly and this then allows the NCR to keep track of and charge late penalties for any late renewals.
“Whilst the NCR sends the notices of annual renewal of registration, it remains the responsibility of each registrant to monitor due dates of renewal and comply with this provision timeously,” concluded Magolego.