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South African money questions our assistant answers most
Straight answers to the South African money questions readers ask most — two-pot withdrawals, prime rate, credit scores, medical aid waiting periods, PayShap and stokvels — plus how the MoneyWise AI assistant works and where its answers come from.
Grounded answers
Replies come from the MoneyWise knowledge base — our comparisons, scores and guides.
Information, not advice
We're a comparison service, not an FSP. Confirm terms with the provider before you sign.
No personal data needed
Never share ID, card or banking details in chat. You don't need them to get a useful answer.
Using the assistant
- What is the MoneyWise assistant?
- It's an AI chat assistant built into MoneyWise.co.za. It answers questions about South African banking, insurance, medical aid, loans, credit and savings using our own comparison data, provider research and editorial guides — then points you to the page that goes deeper.
- How do I open the chat?
- Tap the round chat button in the bottom-right corner of any page. On a phone the panel fills the screen; on desktop it opens as a side panel so you can keep reading the page behind it.
- What kinds of questions can it actually answer?
- Practical comparison questions: which bank has the lowest monthly fees, what a medical aid waiting period means, how much life cover a family typically needs, what documents a home loan application requires, or how two providers differ on excess and claims service.
- Can it tell me which product is best for me personally?
- It can narrow options based on what you describe — budget, family size, vehicle, income band — but it cannot recommend a product as suitable advice for your circumstances. For a personalised shortlist use our Match tool, or speak to an FSCA-licensed adviser.
- Does it know current prices and premiums?
- It knows the indicative premium ranges and fee structures published on our comparison pages, which we review regularly. It does not have a live feed from insurers or banks, so always confirm the exact price on a quote before you sign.
- Why did it say it doesn't know something?
- The assistant only answers from the MoneyWise knowledge base. If a topic isn't covered yet it will say so and link you to the closest relevant page rather than invent an answer. That's deliberate — a confident wrong answer about money is worse than no answer.
- Does my conversation stay when I move to another page?
- Yes. Your conversation is kept in your own browser so it survives page navigation and reloads. Use the reset icon in the chat header to clear it and start fresh.
- Can I use it on my phone?
- Yes. The panel is built mobile-first — long answers scroll inside the panel, and links inside answers open in the same tab so you never lose your place.
Accuracy and trust
- Where do the answers come from?
- From the MoneyWise knowledge base: our category comparisons, provider scorecards, methodology and guides. It is the same research that powers our published pages, not a general web scrape.
- Is this financial advice?
- No. MoneyWise is an information and comparison service, not a financial services provider. Nothing the assistant says is financial, tax or legal advice, and no adviser–client relationship is created by using it.
- Can the AI be wrong?
- Yes. AI can misread a question or summarise a nuance badly. Treat answers as a starting point, check the linked page, and confirm rates, exclusions and terms directly with the provider before committing.
- Are providers paying to be recommended in chat?
- No. Rankings and verdicts are scored by our editorial team before any commercial conversation, and the assistant answers from those same scores. Where we earn a commission on a click or lead we disclose it on the page.
- How often is the knowledge base updated?
- We refresh category data and provider scores on a rolling schedule and republish the knowledge base with them, so the assistant reflects the same information as the live comparison pages.
- Can it help me claim, cancel or complain?
- It can explain the general process and who to escalate to — for example the relevant ombudsman for short-term insurance, long-term insurance or banking. It cannot lodge, track or settle anything on your behalf.
South African money questions
- How does the two-pot retirement system work in South Africa?
- Since 1 September 2024 new retirement contributions split one-third into a savings component you may withdraw from once per tax year (minimum R2 000) and two-thirds into a retirement component locked until retirement. Withdrawals from the savings pot are taxed at your marginal income tax rate and SARS first deducts any tax you owe, so the cash you receive is usually far less than the amount you request. Balances built up before September 2024 stay in the vested component under the old rules.
- What is the prime lending rate and how does it affect my repayments?
- Prime is the benchmark rate South African banks charge their lowest-risk clients, set at the repo rate plus a fixed margin (currently 3.5 percentage points). Most home loans, vehicle finance and personal loans are quoted as 'prime plus X%', so when the Reserve Bank's MPC moves the repo rate your linked instalment moves with it. On a R1 million, 20-year bond, a 0.25% rate change shifts the monthly repayment by roughly R160.
- What is a good credit score in South Africa?
- On the common bureau scales (TransUnion, Experian, Compuscan) roughly 670 and above is considered good and 740+ excellent, while below 610 usually means declines or high interest. You are entitled to one free credit report per year from each registered bureau. Scores improve by paying every account on time, keeping card balances below about 35% of the limit, and not opening several new accounts at once.
- What is debt review and should I go under it?
- Debt review (debt counselling) is a National Credit Act process where a registered debt counsellor restructures your instalments into one reduced monthly payment and your creditors may not take legal action while you comply. The trade-off is that you cannot take new credit until you receive a clearance certificate, and the flag sits on your bureau record for the duration. It suits over-indebted consumers who still have income; it does not write off debt.
- What is prescribed debt and when does debt expire?
- Most unsecured consumer debt in South Africa prescribes after three years if the creditor took no legal steps and you did not acknowledge or pay towards it in that time. Mortgage bonds, judgment debt and money owed to SARS have longer periods. Making any payment or admitting the debt restarts the clock, so never pay towards a debt you believe has prescribed without advice.
- What are medical aid waiting periods and PMBs?
- Schemes may apply a three-month general waiting period and a 12-month condition-specific waiting period for pre-existing conditions when you join. Prescribed Minimum Benefits (PMBs) are 271 conditions plus 27 chronic conditions and emergencies that every registered scheme must cover in full at a designated service provider, regardless of your plan — although waiting periods can still delay access for a new member.
- What is gap cover and do I need it?
- Gap cover is a short-term insurance product that pays the shortfall when a specialist charges more than your medical aid's scheme rate — commonly three to five times that rate for in-hospital procedures. It costs a few hundred rand a month, is capped by regulation at roughly R190 000 per person per year, and only pays alongside a registered medical scheme, never instead of one.
- What is a stokvel and is stokvel money taxed?
- A stokvel is a rotating savings club where members contribute a fixed amount and take turns receiving the pool. Contributions come from already-taxed income, so the payout itself is not taxed, but interest earned in the stokvel's bank account is subject to income tax. Registering with NASASA and banking the funds in a dedicated stokvel account protects members far better than keeping cash with a treasurer.
- What is PayShap and how much does it cost?
- PayShap is South Africa's real-time low-value payment service, letting you send money instantly between participating banks using a ShapID (usually a cellphone number) instead of account details. Most banks send payments up to R100 or R1 000 free depending on the bank, with small fees above that, and the per-transaction ceiling is R50 000.
- How much does a tax-free savings account allow me to save?
- You may contribute up to R36 000 per tax year and R500 000 over your lifetime across all TFSA accounts combined. All interest, dividends and capital growth are tax free, but contributions above the limits are penalised at 40% of the excess, and withdrawing does not restore contribution room.
- How much car insurance excess should I choose?
- Excess is the first amount you pay on a claim. A higher voluntary excess lowers your monthly premium but raises the out-of-pocket cost at claim time, so choose an excess you could pay tomorrow without borrowing. Watch for add-on excesses — young or inexperienced driver excess, unnamed driver excess and after-hours excess can stack on the same claim.
- Does my personal car insurance cover e-hailing or business use?
- No. A standard private-use policy generally excludes carrying passengers for reward, so Uber, Bolt and delivery driving need a commercial or e-hailing policy. Declaring the correct use is the single most common reason South African motor claims are rejected.
- What does it cost to buy a house in South Africa beyond the deposit?
- Budget for transfer duty (nothing below R1.1 million, then a sliding scale), conveyancer transfer fees, bond registration costs, initiation and monthly service fees on the loan, plus rates and levy clearance. On a R1.5 million purchase the once-off costs commonly total R70 000 to R90 000 before you move in.
- What is black tax and how do I budget for it?
- Black tax describes the ongoing financial support many South Africans give parents and extended family. It is a real recurring expense, so treat it as a budget line with an agreed monthly cap rather than ad-hoc transfers, and protect your own emergency fund, retirement contributions and life or funeral cover first — dependants lose far more if your own finances collapse.
Privacy and safety
- Do I need to give personal details to chat?
- No. The assistant does not ask for your ID number, banking details, card numbers or passwords, and you should never type them into any chat window. General details like 'I'm 34 and drive a hatchback in Cape Town' are enough for it to be useful.
- Will chatting sign me up for anything?
- No. Chatting doesn't create an account, a quote request or a newsletter subscription. Those only happen when you deliberately submit one of our forms.
- Will a broker phone me because I used the chat?
- Only if you choose to submit a quote request or use a lead funnel and give consent there. A chat conversation on its own is never passed to a provider or broker.
- How do I delete my conversation?
- Press the reset icon in the chat header. That clears the conversation from your browser immediately and starts a new one.
- What should I do if an answer looks wrong?
- Don't act on it — check the linked comparison page or provider terms, and tell us through the contact details on our about page so we can correct the underlying knowledge base.
Still have a question?
Open the assistant with the chat button in the bottom-right corner of any page, or browse the research it answers from.