What is the repo rate? The repurchase (repo for short) rate is the rate at which commercial/retail banks borrow money from the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).
What is the prime lending rate? Banks make a profit by lending money to their customers and charging an individual interest rate that is higher than the rate at which they borrow those funds. The prime lending rate is the default/base interest rate that consumers are charged when borrowing money from a financial institution. When applying for a loan or credit product, a bank will quote you a rate: for example, prime plus or less X%. The X-factor here depends on the credit product you’ve applied for, how long it’ll take you to pay it back, and your credit score, credit history and income. This is your personal interest rate.