South Africans earning money through freelance projects, short-term contracts and digital platforms may face a challenge when applying for financial products: proving that they can manage their money without a regular monthly salary.
According to the 2026 UASA South African Employment Report, a growing share of labour market participation is taking place through self-employment, casual work and other non-standard forms of employment.
Digital platforms have created more opportunities to earn outside conventional salaried jobs. However, the way financial providers assess income has not necessarily kept pace.
For freelancers and gig workers, income may arrive from several clients or platforms at different times and in varying amounts. This can make their financial circumstances more difficult to assess than those of someone receiving a fixed salary.
South African research using nationally representative FinScope data found that irregular income was associated with greater difficulty accessing formal credit among informal-sector entrepreneurs.
Richard Eberlein, Executive for Growth and Engagement at Weaver Fintech, says earning outside a conventional salary should not automatically count against consumers.
“Earning differently shouldn’t automatically mean you’re seen as higher risk. If you’re freelancing, driving, delivering, consulting or earning from a few different sources, the challenge is usually just showing the story of how you earn and manage your money,” says Eberlein.
He shares five ways gig workers and freelancers can build a clearer financial record.
1. Keep a clear record of your income
If you earn money from several clients, keep your invoices, payment confirmations and bank statements together.
These records can help you understand how much you typically earn and provide a clearer picture of your income over time.
Even when payments do not arrive as a single monthly salary, an organised income trail can help show how you earn.
2. Build a consistent payment history
Keep your existing reported accounts and contracts up to date, and make payments on time.
There is no need to take on unnecessary debt simply to create activity on your credit profile.
Instead, focus on demonstrating how consistently you manage the financial commitments you already have.
3. Budget around your quieter months
Irregular income requires a different approach to budgeting.
Rather than using an unusually strong month as the basis for a new financial commitment, review your earnings over several months.
This can help you identify what a typical or quieter month looks like and assess what you can comfortably afford.
Planning around lower-income periods can also create room for repayments and other regular expenses without relying on the next project or payment arriving at a particular time.
4. Track your existing financial commitments
When payments arrive at different times, keeping track of upcoming expenses can become more difficult.
Insurance premiums, repayments and other recurring commitments should all form part of your budget.
Apps and digital tools can help by bringing repayments, spending limits and premiums into one place.
Having a clearer view of what is already due can help you assess whether you have room for another commitment.
5. Understand how Buy Now Pay Later affects your credit record
Interest-free Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services provide a repayment schedule upfront, allowing consumers to see what they owe and when payments are due.
However, those repayments still need to fit comfortably within a budget.
According to an official communiqué issued by the National Credit Regulator (NCR), BNPL data must be reported to and reflected by registered credit bureaus from 1 February 2027.
PayJustNow has already been submitting customer data through SACRRA since April 2026.
As BNPL reporting becomes standard across the industry, consumers’ repayment behaviour can contribute to their broader credit profiles.
Within Weaver Fintech, PayJustNow repayment behaviour is already considered when assessing eligible customers for insurance and longer-term Finchoice credit products.
Eberlein says managing these smaller financial commitments responsibly can have benefits beyond an individual purchase.
“That is why paying on time can have value beyond the purchase in front of you. A stronger financial record gives providers more information to work with when you genuinely need financial options later,” says Eberlein.
Financial records matter, even without a payslip
For South Africans earning through freelance work, consulting, deliveries or multiple digital platforms, the challenge is not necessarily how responsibly they manage their money.
It is whether financial providers have enough information to understand their income and payment behaviour.
Keeping organised income records, budgeting for quieter periods and managing existing commitments can help create a clearer picture.
A conventional monthly payslip may not be part of every worker’s financial life, but a consistent record of earning, paying and budgeting can still tell an important story.
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