We’ve reached that point of the year where business is in full swing (despite everyone taking a week off…) and regulators are running with their plans. There’s plenty happening so read on and keep up to date once you’ve figured out how to fix your VAT problem that probably shouldn’t have happened.
THE FINANCIAL SECTOR CONDUCT AUTHORITY (FSCA)
Warnings
As we are now simply accustomed to, the FSCA has issued a series of warnings.
The public have been warned about Alpatoken and Gugu Sbahle Mdabe who are soliciting funds ostensibly for investment purposes and are offering unrealistic returns. Members are recruited through WhatsApp groups.
The FSCA also warned the public about J532-NBSG Stock Discussion Group purporting to be associated with Nedbank Limited and Nedgroup Private Wealth Stockbrokers (Pty) Ltd via Facebook and WhatsApp. Members of the group were provided with share trading ideas and tips on block trades and were offered a 10% discount on trading shares in blocks. Nedbank and Nedbank Stockbrokers denied any association or relationship with this group.
Jacques Adriaan Jordaan featured in another warning. His modus operandi is to open personal trading accounts with various brokers, then request clients to deposit funds into these trading accounts promising unrealistic returns. Jordaan then promises clients that he will trade on their behalf to generate the promised returns. Jordaan has failed to pay the expected returns and is now unreachable.
Another caution was issued regarding cybercriminals and fraudsters who are falsely claiming to be agents or representatives of 10X Investments (Pty) Ltd. The culprits are on Telegram and WhatsApp and use stolen identities of 10X Investments staff members to solicit funds from the public by promising large returns from “investing in bitcoin”.
An individual, identifying himself as Mr Makhanya, is presenting himself telephonically as a representative of Compsure Insurance Consultants (Pty) Ltd and contacting individuals regarding Forex trading. Compsure has never appointed or had any dealings with a Mr Makhanya.
A caution to the public regarding a website impersonating Viviers Brokers CC was reported to the public. The individuals behind the website are unlawfully using the details of Viviers Brokers to solicit funds from members of the public. Members of the public who access ww.viviersbrokers.com are presented with the opportunity to invest in retirement annuities and unit trusts. There is also a trading platform, where members of the public can trade in currency pairs, commodities, and indices. Viviers Brokers has confirmed that it is not associated with the website or the registrant of the website. It has confirmed that it does not own a website, nor does it make use of a website to market its services.
Regulatory actions
The FSCA took regulatory action against Hernell Funerals (Pty) Ltd as well as its operators Shaun and Carol-Ann Peterson.
Hernell Funerals and the Petersons were found to have offered funeral cover, which is a financial product, without authorisation to act as an insurer. The company was fined R4.4 million and the Petersons debarred for five (Shaun Peterson) and ten years (Carol-Ann Peterson).
The FSCA imposed a penalty on African Bank for misleading advertising in contravention of Conduct Standard 3 for Banks. African Bank was fined R700,000 for a festive season advertising campaign that incorrectly positioned a loan as an investment.
Financial education initiatives
The FSCA has released Conduct Standard 1 of 2025 which provides the guidelines for financial institutions providing financial education.
The intention is clearly to prevent financial institutions from using consumer financial education as an opportunity to market products and services.
Short sales disclosures
The FSCA’s draft Conduct Standard on the requirements for the public disclosure of short sales was released on 28 March. The FSCA intends to close the gap created by the lack of a regulatory framework by developing a legal framework which prescribes the reporting and disclosure requirements for short sales that is consistent with international best practices.
A revised Conduct Standard will be issued for public comment.
Complaints management industry review
The FSCA released a review of the complaints lodged in the financial services industry. The research focused on assessing the effectiveness, timeliness, and accessibility of complaints handling by the financial institutions.
The review found that the majority of the reviewed financial institutions display commitment to developing and maintaining complaints management processes. Although broad commitments are made, not all financial institutions have clearly documented complaints management processes and procedures.
Although not all institutions have documented timelines for resolving complaints, sampled entities indicated that every effort is made to resolve complaints at first level, within the set turnaround times. Complaints are frequently handled by lower-level staff rather than senior personnel.
Consumers feel that they do not receive adequate feedback on complaints lodged and that sometimes institutions take too long to resolve complaints.
In its recommendations, the FSCA noted that complaints handling should constitute documented processes for receiving, recording, reporting, and responding to customer complaints.
Among the recommendations mentioned were that financial institutions should seek feedback from customers to identify areas for improvement.
Enforcement matters
Much as we keep up to date with the FSCA enforcement matters, we rarely mention them. However, a recent case caught our attention.
On the face of it, the matter between Shaheen Khan and the FSCA seems to be a simple case of trading without being authorised by the FSCA. On this basis, the case was upheld by the Tribunal, but in its decision, it notes that Khan contested that the delays in resolving the issue – some five years to impose a sanction as well as three years and seven months to take administrative action after notification – are “unreasonable”.
It was noted that the FSCA mitigated this by reducing Khan’s debarment period from 15 years to 10 – but it does help if you set the rules.
Revised list of approved qualifications
The FSCA released a revised list of approved qualifications recognised for financial services providers, key individuals, and representatives.
Ensure that anyone considering completing a qualification references the new list before enrolling.
FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE CENTRE (FIC)
Guidance on money transfer providers
Draft Public Compliance Communication (PCC) 118A was released by the FIC to provide guidance regarding money or value transfer providers (MVTS). The PCC notes that such providers are accountable institutions and should register as such with the FIC.
An MVTS provider includes both formal and informal types of persons and entities. Formal cross-border MVTS providers include, but are not limited to, authorised dealers in foreign exchange (such as banks), and authorised dealers in foreign exchange with limited authority. Informal MVTS providers include hawala dealers and cash aggregators but are also not limited to these providers.
Risks of money-laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF) for crypto asset providers
The FIC released a report on 1 April that explored the inherent and residual risks of ML and TF facing crypto asset service providers (CASPs).
The overall inherent risk of ML and TF for the CASP sector in South Africa has been classified as high based on the findings of the risk assessment. However, as a result of the residual risks, CASPs have been classified as medium-high, due to the regulatory controls that have been put in place.
Administrative sanctions
In its capacity as the authority governing FICA, the FSCA issued fines to Adams Chrambanis & Associates CC: FSP 11858, ID Capital (Pty) Ltd: FSP 10953, and Henk Kolver Investment Management Services CC: FSP 5385.
The three entities, in varying degrees, failed to implement and utilise Risk Management and Compliance Programmes, conduct customer due diligence, and conduct targeted financial sanctions screening.
Chrambanis was fined R785 000, of which R300 000 is conditionally suspended for three years; Henk Kolver was fined R300 000, of which R150 000 is conditionally suspended for three years; and ID Capital was fined R200 000, of which R100 000 is conditionally suspended for three years.
PRUDENTIAL AUTHORITY (PA)
PA flavour-of-the-year – third-party risk management
The PA confirmed its “flavour-of-the-year” for 2025 for co-operative banks, market infrastructures, insurers, and banks.
The 2025 flavour-of-the-year topic will be ‘third-party risk management, including strategic partnerships’. The PA will be focusing on this as part of its reviews and discussions with financial institutions.
The PA’s concerns revolve around the risks created by inadequate management of third-parties, including concentration risk, cybersecurity risk, and concerns relating to operational resilience.
The boards of directors are required to provide a presentation on the matter during the onsite engagements with the PA.
As usual, the chief executive officer is required to provide written confirmation of acknowledgement to the PA.
Replacement of quantitative reporting template (QRT) sheet OF2
The PA released Prudential Communication 6 of 2025 informing insurers of a change to the quarterly and annual QRT submissions. It’s a technical change to sheet OF2 Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Basic Own Funds which will need to be implemented. Technical accounting, auditing, and actuarial functions will all be affected and need to ensure they compile the correct format for the submissions.
SOUTH AFRICAN RESERVE BANK (SARB)
Climate change consultation paper
The SARB issue a consultation paper to participants in the national payment system, i.e. banks, money transferral systems, and related entities.
The lengthy document details the SARB’s risk concerns and recommendations on what risks should be assessed. This document is released for consultation and includes a list of issues the regulators would like commentary on. Comments should be addressed to npsdirectives@resbank.co.za by 30 April 2025 using the template.
Cloud computing and data offshoring
The national payment system department issued another consultation paper to industry aimed at obtaining an understanding of the cloud computing structures of national payment system participants. As in the previous article, the document includes a list of issues to guide commentary.
Comments should be addressed to npsdirectives@resbank.co.za using the template by 15 May 2025.
INFORMATION REGULATOR (IR)
The Information Regulator has updated the POPIA regulations, introducing several changes aimed at enhancing data subject rights and compliance clarity. Key amendments include:
- Expanded definitions: New definitions added, including “complainant”, “complaint”, and “relevant bodies”, to better clarify regulatory scope.
- Simplified objections and corrections: Data subjects can now object to data processing and request corrections or deletions of their data via multiple convenient channels (email, WhatsApp, etc.), free of charge.
- Consent for direct marketing: Clear rules now require explicit consent for direct marketing through any unsolicited electronic means.
- Complaints process: The complaint procedure is streamlined, with improved accessibility (including support for multiple languages) and formal recognition of various lodging methods.
- Administrative fines: Flexibility introduced for paying administrative fines via instalment plans based on financial capability.
- Information officer duties: Minor updates include the deletion of redundant sub-regulations and a call for continual improvement of processes.
The changes are intended to improve transparency, user empowerment, and enforcement efficiency.
COUNCIL FOR MEDICAL SCHEMES (CMS)
Demarcation framework
The CMS granted a further two-year extension to insurers conducting the business of a medical scheme. The framework will now be in effect until 31 March 2027.
(Talk about kicking cans… Ed.)
A-PROOFED
Made it to the end? Flip, you deserve a Bar One.
Right. So, if you’re reading this, you’ve either (a) reached the end of the newsletter out of sheer commitment, (b) accidentally scrolled too far, or (c) are genuinely interested in the thrilling world of… proofreading.
Whatever the reason, howzit! Welcome. You’ve slogged through industry updates, compliance reminders, and probably something about FAIS-approved qualifications that made you wish you’d stuck with accounting.
So let’s take a quick break from the heavy stuff and talk about something that quietly holds your reputation together: words.
I’m a proofreader. (Yes, really. Like, on purpose.) I work with financial services clients to make sure that what they send out – whether it’s a client communication, a policy schedule or wording, or a new web page – sounds professional, reads clearly, and doesn’t contain any howlers.
And yes, typos can be expensive. Picture this: your policy schedule refers to an “access waiver” instead of an “excess waiver.” Cue a flurry of broker queries, a confused client who thinks they can skip their deductible, and a claims payout mess that could’ve been avoided with one extra proofread. Not ideal. Not cheap.
Now, you might be thinking: “We’ve got spellcheck. We’re sorted.” But bear in mind that spellcheck is not human! It isn’t going to save you when your TCF summary says “clients’ need’s” (yep, those stray apostrophes sneak in like loadshedding after a botched VAT increase). Or if you refer to “complaint clients.” (We all love compliant clients, but it helps if we’re not calling them complaints.)
That’s where I come in. I’m a real-life, human spellcheck. I offer a fresh set of eyes, an obsession with detail, and a knack for catching those little mistakes that could trip you up in front of your boss, your client, or worse, Bryan from OCS!
So if you’re the kind of person who appreciates a well-placed comma, or wants to avoid a costly whoopsie, I’m the one that you want. I’ve been proofreading for more than a decade, and before that I worked at an HCV underwriter for about the same amount of time (but we won’t talk about that one), so I’d be chuffed to help your team clean up the copy before it heads out into the world.
If nothing else, you’ve made it this far, so clearly, you care about quality. Or you just enjoy a good underdog story about punctuation.
Either way, you know where to find me; I’m here to make your reputation shine.
