v:verza
verza / docs / nca-loan-check-api

NCA credit agreement lawfulness API

Regulation 42 of the National Credit Act caps the interest rate on every category of South African credit agreement. The cap is a fixed margin over the repo rate, and it is fixed at the repo rate in force on the date the agreement was concluded, not today's rate. Getting that date wrong is the most common way a lawfulness check goes wrong.

verza returns a verdict rather than a table: lawful or unlawful, the exact cap that applies to that credit type on that date, any excess, and the full workings with citations. It is priced as a verdict because being wrong about it costs a great deal more than the call does.

Endpoints

GET /v1/loan-check

Independent lawfulness check of a South African credit agreement's interest rate against the National Credit Act (NCA) Regulation 42 maximum rate caps, the statutory interest rate cap that replaced the old usury limits: the maximum rate is fixed at the repo rate on the date the agreement was concluded. Covers every Reg 42 credit type including mortgage agreements, credit facilities, unsecured credit, short-term credit and developmental credit. Verdict, exact cap, excess and full workings, from daily-audited SARB and gazette data, for credit providers, compliance teams and the interest-rate limb of a reckless-lending or affordability review. Covers every agreement under the current Regulation 42 table (concluded 2016-05-06 or later).

$0.25 per call · example: /v1/loan-check?credit_type=unsecured&annual_rate_percent=28.5&date_concluded=2024-03-15 · also callable as /v1/loan-check/{credit_type}/{annual_rate_percent}/{date_concluded}

How agents pay

No accounts and no API keys. A paid endpoint replies HTTP 402 with the exact payment requirements; an x402 client pays USDC on Base (about two seconds to settle) and retries automatically. Invalid input is rejected with a free 400 before any payment is challenged, so an agent never pays to learn it made a typo.

Questions

What is the maximum legal interest rate in South Africa?
It depends on the credit type and the date. Regulation 42 Table A sets fixed margins over the repo rate: mortgage agreements repo plus 12 percent, credit facilities repo plus 14, unsecured credit repo plus 21, developmental credit repo plus 27 and other agreements repo plus 17, all per year. Short-term and incidental credit are capped per month instead.
Which repo rate applies to an agreement signed years ago?
The one in force on the date it was concluded. The cap is set at inception and does not move with later MPC decisions. Pass the conclusion date and verza uses the repo rate that actually applied then, from audited historical data.
What does the response contain?
A lawful or unlawful verdict, the applicable cap, the rate charged, any excess in percentage points, the repo rate used with its effective date, and the citations behind it. Enough for a human to check the working, not just a boolean.
How far back does coverage go?
The current Regulation 42 table applies to agreements concluded on or after 6 May 2016. For dates before verza's verified coverage it refuses honestly and free of charge rather than guessing at a historical rate.
Is this a reckless lending assessment?
No. It verifies the interest rate limb only. A reckless lending enquiry also covers affordability assessment and the consumer's understanding of the agreement, which this endpoint does not attempt.

Related

South African ID number validation API South African VAT number validation API South African KYB and onboarding API zaref: NCA maximum interest rates