National Credit Regulator (NCR) is a

South African government The Republic of South Africa is a parliamentary republic with three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a parliamentary system. Legislative authority is held by the Parliament of South Africa. Executive authority ...

agency that regulates the credit industry in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. The NCR was established under National Credit Act 34 of 2005 (the Act). The NCRt is tasked with carrying out education, research, policy development, registration of industry participants, investigation of complaints, and ensuring enforcement of the Act. The Act requires the NCR to promote an accessible credit market, particularly to address the needs of historically disadvantaged persons, low income persons, and remote, isolated or low density communities. The NCR is also tasked with the registration of credit providers,

credit bureaus A credit bureau is a data collection agency that gathers account information from various creditors and provides that information to a consumer reporting agency in the United States, a credit reference agency in the United Kingdom, a credit report ...

and debt counsellors; and enforcement of compliance with the Act. It is active in promoting

financial inclusion Financial inclusion is defined as the availability and equality of opportunities to access financial services. It refers to a process by which individuals and businesses can access appropriate, affordable, and timely financial products and service ...

policy and a member of the

Alliance for Financial Inclusion The Alliance for Financial Inclusion, or AFI, is a policy leadership alliance owned and led by member central banks and financial regulatory institutions with the common objective of advancing financial inclusion at the country, regional and inte ...

The role of the National Credit Regulator

The National Credit Regulator has to * Register credit providers, credit bureau and debt counsellors, and monitor the conduct of these parties; * Educate and create awareness of the protection which the Act offers; * Research the credit market and monitor access to credit and the cost of credit to identify factors that may undermine access to credit, competitiveness and consumer protection; * Advise government on policy and legislation; * Receive and investigate complaints and ensure that

consumer rights Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...

are protected, and refer these to the correct agencies and; * Enforce the Act and take action against contravening institutions. The NCR also registers Payment Distribution Agencies (known as PDAs) - who handle money on behalf of consumers under debt review and help distribute their funds to credit providers; as well as

Alternative Dispute Resolution Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or external dispute resolution (EDR), typically denotes a wide range of dispute resolution processes and techniques that parties can use to settle disputes with the help of a third party. They are used for ...

Agents (known as ADRs) - who assist resolve consumer disputes with credit providers.

The National Consumer Tribunal

The National Consumer Tribunal (known as the NCT) hears cases on non compliance with the Act, issues fines and provides redress to consumers. Consumers, Payment Distribution Agencies, Alternative Dispute Resolution Agents, Debt Counsellors and credit providers may appeal to the Tribunal against any decision of the NCR . The Tribunal is a separate institution that is independent of the National Credit Regulator. The Tribunal currently consists of a Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson and 15 Tribunal Members. The NCT is overseen by the Department of Trade Industry and Competition (the dtic)

References

National Consumer Tribunal

Sources

Debtfree DIGI - SA's Debt Counselling and Debt Review industry magazine

National Credit Regulator

Debt Counselling SA

The National Debt Review CenterThe National Consumer TribunalSandton Debt Counselling
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Credit Regulator Credit scoring Financial regulatory authorities of South Africa