DebiCheck and debit orders explained
DebiCheck is the South African system that requires you to authenticate a debit order mandate before a company can collect from your account. For loans it is now standard, and it is the reason a lender asks you to approve something in your banking app before the money is paid out.
What you need to know
The mandate specifies the maximum amount and the collection date. A collection outside those parameters should not go through — which is precisely the protection DebiCheck was introduced to provide.
It also means the loan cannot pay out until you approve. If you are waiting on money and nothing has arrived, this is the first thing to check: an unapproved mandate sitting in your banking app is the most common self-inflicted delay in the process.
Ask for the collection date to fall immediately after your pay date. A debit order that lands before your salary bounces, and a bounced debit order costs a default fee and marks your payment profile.
If a debit order you never authorised appears, dispute it with your bank. Under the DebiCheck framework you have a defined right to reverse an unauthenticated collection, and the bank must handle the dispute.
Related
Sources and last checked
- National Credit Act 34 of 2005 and its regulations — Government, as at 10 August 2026.
Page last checked 10 August 2026. Statutory caps and lender terms change — confirm anything you intend to rely on with the provider or the National Credit Regulator. Found something wrong? Tell us and we will correct it.