Banks raised interest rates this week by one percentage point to 16 percent. This means that rates have increased by three percentage points since the beginning of this year.
Increasing food prices and a weaker currency have been driving up inflation, and this led the South African Reserve Bank to increase the repurchase rate (the rate at which banks borrow money from the Reserve Bank) on Thursday.
The banks automatically followed the Reserve Bank's lead and adjusted their lending rates by the same amount.
The latest increase means that you will be paying more for any loans, including overdraft facilities, vehicle finance and home loans.
The last time interest rates were at this level was in October 1999, when rates dropped from 16.5 percent to 15.5 percent, after peaking at 25 percent in September 1998.