The high cost of living is forcing many South Africans to turn to their banks for extra credit.

A TransUnion report on the second quarter of this year says that there have been significant increases to new credit activity in the country. This is despite many opting to cut back on spending.

The report says that the higher consumer demand for credit has been noticed amongst the younger generations.

Economist, Dr Azar Jammine says that this shows that consumers are struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living.

The Reserve Bank is expected to announce a further interest rate hike today, consumers will be under further pressure. The repo rate stands at 6.25% while the prime lending rate sits at 9.75%.