Households see some relief, but financial resilience remains fragile, Altron FinTech Index shows

SOUTH African households experienced modest financial relief in the first half of 2025, but their overall financial resilience remains under severe strain, according to the latest Altron FinTech Household Resilience Index (AFHRI).

- SIPHELELE DLUDLA

THE index, released on Wednesday, shows a year-on-year improvement of 2.3% in the second quarter, supported largely by May's interest rate cut and stabilising employment trends.

(FREEPIK)

The index, released on Wednesday, shows a year-on-year improvement of 2.3% in the second quarter, supported largely by May’s interest rate cut and stabilising employment trends.

However, despite this short-term uptick, the long-term picture is far less encouraging. Since the beginning of the South African Reserve Bank’s (Sarb) interest rate hiking cycle in late 2021, household financial resilience has improved by an annual average of just 0.2%, effectively stagnating.

The AFHRI report underscores how deeply high borrowing costs have eroded household finances. With population growth averaging 1.4% annually since 2014, the index shows that the real financial position of households has been declining for years.