Are there credit cards for blacklisted people are on offer in South Africa? Yes there are solutions available if you have been declined a card application from the bank. It will depend how bad your credit record is. And how low your score is on your personal credit profile. These cards are not the normal solution that offer you a credit limit depending on your financial affordability.
Prepaid Credit Cards for Blacklisted People
Banks in South Africa that offer prepaid credit cards to blacklisted clients from MasterCard and VISA include:
- Absa bank
- FNB
- Capitec
- Standard Bank
- African Bank
- Nedbank
Please note: We’re talking about prepaid cards here. The major South African banks we mention do not offer normal credit cards for people who are blacklisted.
You may have a bad financial record often through no fault of your own. If you are one of these people, there is no shame and do not despair you are by no means alone.
This may also interest you: Use Free Blacklist Credit Checks to see if you’re Creditworthy
Having said that, if you have been “blacklisted” by a company. At some point you will realise just how difficult, if not impossible it is to get approval for a new credit card with your bad credit record.
This can be frustrating as we don’t want to carry cash in our pockets all the time. Not to mention it being dangerous with the high rate of theft in our country.
Expenses such as groceries, petrol and clothing are much easier to pay for with the swipe of a card these days. Also many of us want to buy products online which cannot be done with cash.
More often than not you pay online merchants by credit card. With the consumer having to provide his/her card number as well as a few other personal details.
The Solution
So is there a solution to this problem? Is there any way a person can qualify for a credit card when blacklisted?
Yes there is… But…
The only type of card available to you with a bad credit record will be in the form of a prepaid credit card.
Which means you will be spending your own money and not somebody else’s.
Both MasterCard and VISA are the main prepaid cards that most retailers accept in SA.
You can find out more about MasterCard here: https://www.mastercard.co.za/en-za/personal/find-a-card.html
And get information about the VISA prepaid cards here: https://www.visa.co.za/pay-with-visa/find-a-card/prepaid.html
Prepaid Credit Cards For Blacklisted People in South Africa
The prepaid credit cards for blacklisted people look the same as any other in South Africa. With a number, expiry date and security code except it’s not linked to a bank account.
Therefore the card will not provide the owner with a line of credit (money to borrow and pay back).
Instead you pre-load it with a set amount of cash. And depending on the kind of card you get can either top it up or not.
So if you use your pre-paid credit card and it does allow you the option to top up with cash when funds are running low you can do just that. The prepaid card that you cannot top up has only the amount you pre-load it with.
Once you have spent that the card becomes worthless. This kind actually makes a nice gift for somebody.
There is some useful information on how a prepaid credit card works on this website: https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/042315/how-do-prepaid-debit-cards-work.asp
They are available from most banks and some retailers. You can use them just about everywhere you would use a standard credit card. As well as being safer than carrying cash and more convenient.
If you are planning a trip overseas this can also be a good solution. You will not need to worry about carrying cash into another country. Or on you while you travel.
In addition the prepaid credit cards will help you to build your credit record. Because no bad reports go to South African credit bureaus.
Pre-loaded Credit for Blacklisted
If you plan on doing a lot of online shopping then the pre-loadable card is probably the one to go for. Paying for goods on a merchant’s secure website will be exactly the same as you would pay with a standard credit card.
Some Points to Consider:
- Entering your card number, expiry date and security code etc. You will have limits by the amount of money that you have loaded on the card.
- You can usually apply for a VISA card. Just take along your ID to your nearest branch and speak to a consultant.
- If you are blacklisted it is the only solution to owning a credit card. But it’s a good one to use for shopping on the Internet.
In Summary
To summarize, with this information we have learnt that you can still get credit cards if you are blacklisted in South Africa.
Absa, Nedbank, Standard Bank, FNB, Capitec and African Bank all offer prepaid credit cards in some form to South Africans.
So you can use the cards to do your online shopping, travel and just about anything else you need to pay for. Especially when you cannot or do not want to pay with cash.
For information on South Africa credit records and to get your personal credit score you can visit this website: https://www.clearscore.com/za/