RainFin

Whether you’re thinking of selling now or in the future, home renovations can be an excellent way of capitalizing on your assets. By executing a carefully thought out renovation, extension or home i...

RainFin, SME

SMEs are set to be responsible for creating 90% of jobs in South Africa by 2030, however, with one of the major hurdles to growth being access to funds, it will require an evolution in the finance ind...

RainFin, SME

Being your own boss is a life-long dream for many people: seeing your idea through from start to finish, answering only to yourself, dictating your own hours and doing things exactly how you like them...

RainFin, SME

A recent study has shown that SMEs have the power to positively change the economic landscape in South Africa. That may sound like a bold statement but projections show that by 2030 approximately 90% ...

RainFin, SME

2015 was a difficult year for energy in South Africa. If you experienced the power cuts, we’re sure you’ll agree. This ‘load-shedding’ is bad for business and it’s bad for our home lives too...

RainFin, SME

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.                                                                                                 ...

RainFin, SME

It’s something that many an individual and business owner has faced. You need access to money to make an essential purchase… Maybe you want to extend your house to make room for a new family membe...

RainFin, SME

It’s difficult to find a service that meets your needs exactly, that understands your history, that is there for you in the present and believes in your future. The missing piece in your puzzle; you...

RainFin, SME

Life isn’t cheap. Whether you’re trying to pursue further education, renovating your house, starting a family, or trying to grow your business – you’re likely to need access to finance at some...

RainFin, SME

Businesses need finance. There is no escaping it. Unless you are in a convenient position with a goldmine of capital to support you; you are likely to need access to extra funds at some point on your ...

RainFin, SME

On paper RainFin may seem too good to be true…However, as our many happy customers would attest, what you see really is what you get… I successfully applied for a loan this week and it was auction...

RainFin, SME

South Africa’s Leading Credit Marketplace Announce Partnership with ABSA SMEs given access to working capital loans within 48hrs at pricing equivalent to traditional banks Cape Town, 16th February 2...

RainFin, SME

Sustainable growth is essential for any SME and to achieve it, you need to have a strong team around you. Are you spending your evenings and weekends working? Are you falling behind on your punctualit...

Entrepreneur, RainFin, SME

If you run a business you’ll know how frustrating it is to pass up opportunities because you aren’t in the right position to capitalise on them. Sometimes, even if you’re running a profitable bu...

Business Finance, Entrepreneur, RainFin

Investing money into a big business purchase is often an essential step in expansion. While your business may be doing well at its current size and capacity, new equipment, new locations or moving int...

Entrepreneur, RainFin

Knowing how consumers behave at different times of the year can help you appeal to them more efficiently. That means knowing who to communicate with, where to communicate with them and how and where y...

Entrepreneur, RainFin, SME

Debt can be good for a business. There are times when borrowing money to buy equipment, hiring a new staff member or taking out a bridging loan can be an important step towards seeing significant busi...

Entrepreneur, RainFin, SME

When you look forward to 2016, what do you see? Your business growing and increasing its profits? Your income remaining steady throughout the year? Taking a hit to replace some old equipment that you ...

Evolution, FinTech, Infographic

From the advent of the cash machine to P2P lending platforms, FinTech has radically changed the way we live our lives and how businesses do business. Can you remember a time when you didn’t have a m...

If you’re looking at the title of this blog and wondering ‘What is cashflow and why does it matter to my business?’ Then first of all, pat yourself on the back for asking the right q...

From the wheel to the wrangle, from to the tractor to television – technology is created to make our lives easier. So why is it that sometimes, when you’re running your own SME it just causes you ...

Entrepreneur, Geek, Success, Technology

The rise of the geek; how technology became the driving force of cool Once upon a time, the term geek was used as a slang term for loser. It was hurled across playgrounds in taunts. It was delivered s...

How To Save, Money, Personal Finance, Savings, Tips

How to save money and keep track of your finances Money! We spend half of our lives trying to make it. But once you’ve got it, do you know how to hold on to it? Learning how to keep track of your pe...

Awards, Business Woman, Business Women, Entrepreneur, South Africa

“Celebrating yourself is a healthy habit, reflecting on what you’ve achieved is not only a way to fight self-doubt, but to gain clarity around how you have used your time and energy, pavin...

Business Finance

The other day I was waiting for a bus, and at the bus stop were two ladies having a good chat. The one lady was showing the other lady her new shoes that she was wearing. After admiring the shoes, her...

Business Finance

As an entrepreneur, the bad news is, the numbers just aren’t in your favour. Don’t be disheartened though, you are not alone.  The statistics suggest that 90% of startups fail[1].  So, what’s ...

Business Finance

Like every entrepreneur, in embarking on your endeavour to realise your dream, you hope for growth, profit and as few bumps along the proverbial road as possible.  What some of the greener entreprene...

Personal Finance

Millions of South African consumers are blissfully unaware of the content and status of their own credit bureau reports – and to be honest, many still do not even realise that they are listed at the...

INVESTMENTS, Personal Finance

In the American Bank Technology News, it is said that 2014 was a “Gold Rush” year for online marketplace lending. As a result of the industry’s rapid growth and evolution, American Banker (a dai...

INVESTMENTS, Personal Finance

Why is marketplace lending thriving? It’s fairly simple, really. People are realizing that credit cards might be a good way to buy things at point of sale, but they are not a smart way to get credit...

Personal Finance

Track your monthly spending. Many people do not know how much they spend each month on food, clothing, housing, or entertainment. Whether you are paying with cash, a debit card or credit card, total y...

Personal Finance

South African banks ABSA, Standard Bank and Nedbank have released their banking fees which come into effect on 1 January 2015. Detailed in the tables below are a selection of key transaction fees, and...

Business Finance, News

RainFin CEO, Sean Emery, was interviewed by Phakamisa Ndzamela from Business Day recently. In this interterview, Sean was asked about RainFin’s plans for 2015. Sean replied with the following: RainF...

Business Finance, News

In support of Global Entrepreneurship Week (17th-23rd November), our CEO Sean Emery was interviewed by Purely Local, a community online magazine.The interview follows: We chatted to seasoned venture c...

INVESTMENTS

The word savings usually makes me think of a treadmill. Why? Well, it comes down to a couple of experiences I’ve had in my life. Specifically when I save for something in the short to medium term, y...

Personal Finance

So, have you always done what your mother told you to do? Repeat after me: save, save, save. That probably rings a bell doesn’t it? While mom is usually right about most things there a few things we...

Personal Finance

There are many things in life that we have love-hate relationships with. One of the best examples out there is credit card debt, or credit in general. We love to have that divine piece of plastic righ...

INVESTMENTS

Over the last little while a quiet financial revolution has been taking place the world over. Harnessing the power of the people, it has funded over $1 billion in loans and that number is just the beg...

INVESTMENTS

Whenever I’m left thinking about what kind of person would need, or like, something my mind is always drawn back to that classic Lunch Bar advert. The one with the huge Scotsman who is challenged by...

Personal Finance

Every time you hear the petrol price is set to rise (again!), you cringe and wonder: how will I make it to the 30th? Financial stress can be a burden in any household and after a long day at work, a s...

Personal Finance

“It’s not you it’s me.” “I think we should see other people.” “I’m moving to an Ashram in India.” “We’ve just grown apart.” “She just gets me more than you do.” “I’m ga...

INVESTMENTS

Many despaired in July this year when Reserve Bank Governor Gill Marcus announced a repo rate hike of 25 basis points – which effectively raised the South African interest rate to 5.75%. She warned ...

Personal Finance

Tweet, Hashtag, Like, Poke, Comment. Social media has opened the world up to a totally new way of interacting. It is this brave, new world that has brought about a shift in thinking – on every level...

INVESTMENTS

There’s a new way of investing, and it’s about to change the way your money grows. Like clockwork, you’ve been depositing money in your savings account every month, only to be disappointed at th...

Personal Finance

We’ve all been in the unpleasant situation where we’re short of cash, and to make matters worse, pay day is still days – or weeks – away. If you need a short-term loan for a last minute emerg...

Personal Finance

Peer-to-peer lending, also called social lending or P2P lending, has recently arrived in South Africa. But what is it, and is it a good thing? In this article we will take a look at what P2P lending i...

Personal Finance

Acquire a Short Term Loan As a single parent you might not know where to start or have lost complete control of your budgeting tactics. In this case it might be wise to acquire a personal loan. It’s...

Personal Finance

So, you’ve reached the point where you are seriously questioning whether spending 8 hours a day in a cubicle under fluorescent lighting is good for your health and whether it’s normal to cultivate...

INVESTMENTS

There are two worlds at the moment. One that is steadfast in its old ways, where bacon can only be fried in a pan. Then we have the other – the one that throws it into the microwave between paper pl...

Personal Finance

We consumers are finally free. No longer forced to follow the traditional path of banking, we are now armed with the tools to creatively control our own credit. Quite simply, we are now offered more f...

Personal Finance

When RainFin first approached me to write this column it was a dark financial day in my life. We’ve all had those days (or months) where a few extra hidden expenses suddenly jump out of the woodwork...

Personal Finance

It feels like this year has flown by. Tax season has come and gone, and now it’s the countdown to the end of the year and hopefully a festive holiday period. Around this time its always a good idea ...

Personal Finance

How do you know whether personal loans are good idea and what other alternatives should you consider? These are some of the questions you should ask yourself when you need to get your hands on some ca...

Personal Finance

With all the paperwork, cross-checks, back-checks and red tape, applying for finance can often feel like navigating an obstacle course. However, if you’re a freelancer, or self-employed, these same ...

Personal Finance

Ever been to the bank and been declined a loan because of your credit score? Well, here are some easy tips on how to improve your credit score. What is This Credit Score? Your credit history is a reco...

Personal Finance

When it rains, it pours. We all know that feeling when something breaks, the rest are sure to follow. So, if you are at all like me, you don’t have a pile of cash stashed away for that rainy day whe...

Personal Finance

Ever wanted to open a credit card or take out a loan that the bank refused on the account of your credit score? What is My Credit Score? Let’s start off by talking about what a credit score is. A cr...

Personal Finance

Your current financial status might seem unredeemable, but luckily the battle isn’t lost. There are numerous options for debt settlement and debt consolidation options to suit your status. As the sa...

Personal Finance

Ever had that “when I win the lotto” idyllic moment? Taken a little time constructing your new lifestyle with a massively increased budget? While, in theory, your proposed budget for your winnings...

INVESTMENTS

Ever wondered how Lending Club or Kickstarter work? Quite simply through the power of peer-to-peer lending. While the success is there for all to see, this relatively new form of investing has its dou...

INVESTMENTS

Ever swiped your credit card for something as simple as petrol? Or that pair of boots from your favourite online clothing store? What about that Mauritius vacation you have always wanted to go on? No ...

INVESTMENTS

Ever wondered what the deal is with the new trend of peer-to-peer lending and funding sweeping the globe? Take a look… The Global Trend Thanks to the growth of the world wide web, connecting people ...

Personal Finance

Blackberry, Samsung Galaxy, iPhone 5, iPad, Notebook, mobile apps: In recent years it seems as if there has been an explosion of mobile technology. Our cell phones have become more than just devices w...

Personal Finance

It’s no secret that banks charge their customers a heap of fees for pretty much any and every service available. There is enough debate and confusion on the issue of bank charges to warrant a compar...

Personal Finance

This article is a comparison of the rewards programmes offered by two of South Africa’s biggest supermarkets; Woolworths and Pick ‘n Pay. Woolworths Summary of benefits: Woolworths offers cardhold...

Personal Finance

It’s no secret that banks charge their customers a heap of fees for pretty much any and every service available. As a follow-up to our previous infographic comparing savings accounts from the 5 majo...

Personal Finance

Virtually everywhere one looks nowadays, it seems as if there’s another store franchise offering a rewards card and benefits programme, bidding for your loyalty and ultimately your cash. With so man...

Personal Finance

MTN is offering a one day R50 uncapped Internet special that sounds, possibly, too good to be true. The deal is simple: you purchase your R50 worth of MTN data. This can be done either online, by USSD...

Personal Finance

The Standard Bank loyalty offering was falling behind those of the other large banks, as was evident in our comparison of the loyalty programs of the big 4 banks recently. However, Standard Bank has r...

Personal Finance

When it comes to making the most out of one’s spending, loyalty (rewards) programs have become a popular way for people to derive added value from their favourite retail franchises. In the past, the...

Personal Finance

If you have a bank account you’re most likely aware of the bank fees that your bank is charging you for just about any and every transaction you make.From cash withdrawals and deposits to debit orde...