Business
FICO Survey Shows South Africans Will Bend the Truth to Access Credit
JOHANNESBURG, October 01, 2025--FICO (NYSE: FICO):
About this update from Fair Isaac Corporation
[{"type":"text","content":"Consumers are increasingly comfortable with faking data when applying for credit, but still expect strong fraud protection from institutions","length":140,"tagName":"p","attribs":{}},{"type":"text","content":"JOHANNESBURG, October 01, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FICO (NYSE: FICO):","length":67,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"Global analytics software leader FICO has announced its findings from the 2025 FICO Consumer Survey: Fraud, Identity and Digital Banking South Africa, which show a rising trend in financial dishonesty among consumers under pressure. Twenty-six percent of South Africans say it’s acceptable in some circumstances to exaggerate income on a loan application, while 22% say inflating income for a mobile phone contract is considered normal.","length":436,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"This behaviour reflects increasing financial strain felt by consumers, but also raises concerns about the growing normalisation of first-party fraud – fraud committed by the consumer themselves, using their own identity – in the South African credit environment.","length":262,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"More information: https://www.fico.com/en/latest-thinking/ebook/2025-consumer-survey-south-africa-fraud-identity-and-digital-banking","length":132,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":""Consumers are falsifying information in applications to gain credit, not understanding how much these loans could stretch their finances and risk leaving them unable to repay, or even facing the consequences of committing fraud," said James Roche, principal consultant at FICO. "Banks are up against a constant challenge to prevent fraud and lend responsibly. While checks during applications may feel frustrating, they are there to protect the customer."","length":476,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"Strong fraud protection drives bank selection","length":45,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"While some consumers are willing to misrepresent their financial circumstances to access credit, most still expect institutions to offer robust fraud protection when they are the potential victim. In fact, 25% of respondents ranked good fraud protection as their primary consideration when selecting a financial services provider, and two-thirds of respondents ranked it as one of their top three priorities."...