Century: loan details and how to apply

What Century is

Century Financial Services (Pty) Ltd, called Century FS on its site, is a South African online lender registered with the National Credit Regulator under number NCRCP20790 (company registration 2023/140135/07). It is a credit provider, not a comparison service: it assesses your application, issues the loan agreement and collects the repayment. The service is available at creditza.co.za, where the pages carry the Century Financial Services name and details. The domain name and the company name differ, but the site header, footer, policies and contact details all refer to the same company.

Loan conditions at a glance

The site states that the calculator is for reference only and that an offer is made only after your affordability has been assessed.

What you need to apply

• A cellphone number.
• A South African ID number.
• Bank account details.
• Your latest 3 months of bank statements showing your most recent three salary deposits, shared through TruID or Gathr, or uploaded through the secure web form.

How to apply

1. Register once with your full name, ID number, mobile number and email address.
2. Choose the loan amount and repayment term on the calculator.
3. Submit your bank statements; the company assesses affordability and sends an initial offer.
4. Sign the loan agreement electronically with a one-time PIN and authenticate the DebiCheck mandate with your bank.
5. Receive the funds in your bank account. The company aims to approve and pay out on the same day.

What a loan can cost

The calculator on the site shows an example: R1,700 over 5 days gives a repayable amount of R1,991.23, and R1,700 over 10 days gives R2,072.31. These figures include the interest, initiation fee and service fee and are only an illustration. Your own offer depends on your affordability assessment.

Advantages and drawbacks

• Registered credit provider with NCR number and physical address published.
• Flexible terms from 5 days up to 6 months.
• Lower daily interest of 0.1% on later loans, and early settlement at no extra fee, according to the FAQ.
• Future offers may increase as your borrowing history grows, subject to affordability.

• Initiation and service fees are added to interest, and on small short loans they make up a large part of the cost.
• Bank statements are required for every application.
• Unpaid amounts are reported to credit bureaus, and interest continues to accrue on arrears.
• Approval is not guaranteed.

Borrow responsibly

Century states that it grants loans only where it reasonably believes you can meet the repayments. Borrow only what fits your budget, and contact the lender early if you expect trouble paying.