High cost-of-living forces South Africans to use debt for daily expenses

South African short-term lender Wonga says its new study indicates that the number of South Africans borrowing from informal lenders has more than doubled from the 15 percent it recorded in a similar survey in 2025. The study shows how the cost-of-living crisis is increasingly forcing consumers to access dangerous, illegal lenders – often to pay for daily essentials. Matshidiso Lencoasa, public finance analyst and member of the Budget Justice Coalition as we look at the issue of cost-of-living in SA that has reportedly seen many turn to informal lenders for survival. For more news, visit sabcnews.com and #SABCNews on all Social Media platforms.