Following a press release from the National Credit Regulator, Net 1 UEPS Technologies has issued the following statement:
Net 1 UEPS Technologies has responded to the press release issued by the South African National Credit Regulator (NCR) on September 22, 2014. In its release, the NCR announced that it had applied to the National Consumer Tribunal (Tribunal) to cancel the registration of Net1’s subsidiary Moneyline Financial Services for breach of the South African National Credit Act (NCA) based on an investigation concluded by it.
The NCR’s press release alleges, among other things, that Moneyline contravened the NCA by including child support grants and foster child grants in the affordability assessments performed by Moneyline prior to granting credit to these borrowers, and that the procedures followed and documentation maintained by Moneyline are not in accordance with the NCA.
The company has now received a copy of the NCR’s application to the Tribunal and believes that it is riddled with factual inaccuracies.
The company is perplexed by the NCR’s decision to issue a press release containing inflammatory allegations without first informing Net1 of the conclusions reached by the NCR following its investigation, which we believe was concluded months ago and before allowing Moneyline a fair opportunity to formally respond these allegations.
“We strongly deny any contravention of the NCA and will oppose the NCR’s application. As a South African and US-listed public company, we adhere to stringent internal controls and compliance procedures and we are subjected to regular internal and external audits all of which are documented and accessible for review by any regulator,” says Dr Serge Belamant, chairman and CEO of Net1.
“We reiterate our commitment to provide affordable, responsible financial inclusion services to all citizens of South Africa, especially those who have no other access to formal financial services and often require short term credit to improve the lives of their family units,” he concludes.