There is no South African lender trading as Acadia Finance. The business people are looking for is Arcadia Finance, at arcadiafinance.co.za, and the spelling without the r is a common slip.
The second thing to know matters more. Arcadia states on its own site that it is not a credit provider. It is an online loan comparison tool that passes your application to lenders, and it publishes no telephone number and no email address anywhere on its website.
Official contact channels
- Website: arcadiafinance.co.za
- Contact is through the online application form only
- No telephone number is published on the site
- No email address is published on the site
- The company states it partners with Myloan.co.za and works only with NCR-registered credit providers
Because there is no published number, treat any phone number attributed to Arcadia Finance on a third-party listing with suspicion. If someone rings you claiming to be from a loan comparison service, they have your details because you submitted them somewhere, and you should verify who they actually are before discussing anything.
What this organisation provides
- A comparison service that sends one application to multiple banks and lenders
- Access to a panel of lenders, from which you receive offers to compare
- Personal loans, with published terms ranging from 6 to 72 months
- The service is stated to be free of charge to consumers and non-binding
- The same brand operates in several other countries under local names
Its published representative example is worth reading before you apply: a loan of R30 000 over 36 months at a maximum annual rate of 28% works out at about R1 360 a month including the initiation fee and monthly service fees, with rates that may start as low as 11%.
Address and operating information
- The service operates online; no physical branch or office address is published for South Africa
- The maximum rate quoted, 28% a year, reflects the cap set under the National Credit Act
- Initiation and monthly service fees are charged in addition to interest and are also capped by regulation
- Any actual credit agreement is with the lender, not with Arcadia
- The comparison service does not decide whether you are approved
Read whose name is on the agreement before signing. The comparison site introduces you; the credit agreement, the interest rate and every obligation sit with the lender whose paperwork you sign, and that is the party you will deal with for the life of the loan.
Support and escalation routes
- For anything about an actual loan, contact the credit provider that granted it, not the comparison site
- Verify any lender on the National Credit Regulator register of registrants before signing; the NCR is on 0860 627 627
- Complaints about a credit agreement go to the National Financial Ombud on 0860 800 900
- Never pay an upfront fee to secure a loan; a registered credit provider does not ask for one, and advance-fee demands are the commonest loan scam in South Africa
- Unwanted marketing calls or messages after an application are a POPIA matter for the Information Regulator
Submitting one comparison application can result in contact from several lenders and brokers. That is how the model works, but it also means your details are shared, so keep a note of when and where you applied. It is the only way to tell a legitimate follow-up from a cold approach later.
Sources
- Arcadia Finance website disclosures and about page, arcadiafinance.co.za, read 4 September 2026