Accounts
Bank how and when you choose to, with the low fees or extra benefits you want.
Credit cards
Shop online or instore and earn rewards for it, with up to 55 days interest-free credit.
Personal loans
Personalised interest rates for affordable loans from R2,000 to R300,000.
Home loans
Loan up to 100% of the property value or up to 105% if you are a first-time buyer.
Accounts
-
Everyday banking
Safety, convenience and rewards
-
Youth banking
For under 16s, or under 25s
-
Private Clients
For a professional banking experience
-
Digital wallet
Your phone is your bank account
-
Private Wealth
The globally integrated account
-
Goal saving
Easy access to interest earned
- Refugees and asylum seekers
Credit cards
Rewards
Ways to bank
Accounts
-
On demand
Money available at any time
-
In 24 hours
Cash in your hand the next day
-
In 32 days
Funds ready within a month
-
End of term
Investments left until maturity
Personal loans
Home loans
Student loans
Overdrafts
Blog
Talk to us
Find us
- Login & Register
- Online Banking
- Online Share Trading
- NetBank Business
- NedFleet
- Nedbank Greenbacks
- Register for Nedbank ID
- Accounts
- Everyday banking
- Youth banking
- Private Clients
- Digital wallet
- Private Wealth
- Goal saving
- Refugees and asylum seekers
- See all accounts
- Get help choosing
- FAQ
- How-to guides
- Everyday banking
- Savvy Bundle Platinum
- Savvy Plus Gold
- Pay-as-you-use
- Youth banking
- Nedbank4Me
- Unlocked.Me
- Private Clients
- Pay-as-you-use
- Young Professionals
- Private Bundle and Private One
- Digital wallet
- MobiMoney
- Private Wealth
- Private Wealth Bundle
- Goal saving
- MyPocket
- Refugees and asylum seekers
- American Express
- Amex Gold
- Amex Platinum
- Rewards
- Ways to bank
- Save & Invest
- Accounts
- On demand
- Club
- Money Market
- Stokvel
- In 24 hours
- JustInvest
- PlatinumInvest
- Tax-free Savings
- MoneyTrader
- Tax-free Fixed Deposit
- EasyAccess Fixed Deposit
- PrimeSelect
- In 32 days
- Electronic 32Day Notice
- 32Day Notice
- End of term
- Electronic Fixed Deposit
- Electronic Optimum Plus
- Platinum Fixed Deposit
- Fixed Deposit
- OptimumPlus
- Personal loans
- Consolidation loan
- Secondhand car loan
- Home improvement loan
- Exclusive short-term loan offers
- Explore loans
- FAQ
- How to guides
- Consolidation loan
- Secondhand car loan
- Home improvement loan
- Exclusive short-term loan offers
- Home loans
- Building loan
- Switching home loan
- Repossessed properties
- Start your home buying journey
- Solar Energy Finance
- Explore home loans
- FAQ
- How to guides
- Track application
- Building loan
- Switching home loan
- Repossessed properties
- Start your home buying journey
- Solar Energy Finance
- Student loans
- Explore student loans
- Overdrafts
- Learn
- Blog
- Blog
- Contact us
- Talk to us
- Find us
- Talk to us
- Find us
3 steps to a good credit score
3 steps to a good credit score
Staff writer
Posted 03/12/2021 Updated 16/03/2022 3 mins
A bad credit score isn’t the end of the world. You can rebuild it to get credit in future, and better interest rates.
Your credit score is a lot like a school report card: it reflects how disciplined you’ve been. Academic marks reflect a commitment to studying, while a credit record shows a commitment to paying off debt. And like school reports, credit scores improve with good behaviour.
Be wise: prioritise your repayments
The first step to a good credit score is to make sure you pay your accounts on time. A missed payment or a failed debit order will reflect on your record.
If you see you’re going to struggle to pay a bill, reach out to those you owe it to. You may be able to negotiate new terms to pay your debt over a longer period, so that your monthly payment is reduced.
Or you could consolidate different loans into a single loan that’s easier to manage. If you do this as soon as you know there’s a problem, you may be able to avoid missing that payment or debit order, and the resulting damage to your credit record.
If you have any court judgments for non-payment, then taking care of these is your first priority. Because if you don’t do this, it will always reflect on your credit record.
Here’s a pro tip: you can improve your credit score by keeping your accounts up to date and using less than half of the credit you have available.
Play the long game with your credit
Managing accounts with stores or creditors for a longer time – 1 year and longer – also helps to improve your credit score. A longer history of on-time payments suggests you’re more dependable.
Be careful of making too many applications for accounts or credit, though. This could be a sign of someone taking on a lot of debt that could be difficult to manage down the line, so some rating agencies will lower your score as a result.
Pay off your accounts
While there are no shortcuts to improving your credit score, you can speed up the process by settling all your outstanding accounts – even those like store or credit cards that you could still pay off in several months of instalments.
Remember, court judgements will remain on your credit record for as long as 5 years. Having this on your record doesn’t mean you won’t get any credit, but some lenders might believe you’re a higher-risk client. If you are given credit, the perceived risk could make your interest higher.
A good credit record will make your life much simpler, and allow you to use credit wisely so that it adds value, not stress, to your life.