Compliance the foundation for sustainable growth in finance
For many financial institutions in South Africa, compliance has long been treated as a cost of doing business, a necessary function to satisfy auditors and regulators, and to avoid penalties. But that mindset no longer holds up, writes Pienaar Zietsman, chief...
Hidden ownership turns tax crime into an AI challenge
Tax evasion goes far beyond legal tax avoidance. It is the practice of illegally hiding income or profits to avoid paying tax, costing countries over $500-billion a year. In many cases tax evasion depends on opaque ownership structures that hide who really owns...
SA could leapfrog the world in EV adoption
Often perceived to be lagging behind the developed world, South Africa has a unique opportunity to not only catch up, but to leapfrog established markets like Europe and the USA in the long-term adoption of New Energy Vehicles (NEVs). By Linda Cele, products head key...
RelyComply backs FSCA’s call for ecosystem-wide fraud action
According to the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (sabric), banking fraud losses in South Africa totalled more than R2.7 billion in 2024, with digital banking fraud accounting for nearly R1,9-billion. By Bradley Elliott, CEO of RelyComply RelyComply...
SearchWorks and Voca empower SA law firms
SearchWorks together with its compliance platform Voca, has announced new initiatives to support attorneys in navigating increasingly complex compliance requirements. Regulatory standards set by the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) continue to raise the bar for...
NEC XON aligns with ISO 27701:2019 privacy standard
NEC XON has extended its ISO 27001:2022 based Information Security Management System to include and align with the requirements of ISO 27701:2019, a global benchmark for Privacy Information Management. This milestone builds on the company’s ISO 27001:2022...
Electronic service brings foreign persons within SA regulatory reach
The Pretoria High Court's landmark judgment in Financial Sector Conduct Authority v Financial Services Tribunal and Others[1] fundamentally transforms how South African regulators can pursue foreign persons whose conduct impacts domestic financial markets. Lenee...
Forward-thinking enterprises turn regulatory requirements into strategic assets
The regulatory landscape is evolving at breakneck speed. From FSCA requirements to POPIA rulings and stricter PCI-DSS guidelines, South African businesses are often faced with compliance challenges. By Monica Peethum-Nanoo, risk and compliance manager at Altron...
Sustainability, resilience matter more important in ESG backlash
We are at a pivotal moment in the evolution of the global sustainability agenda, writes Stephan Jooste, MD: sustainability, Africa at Zutari. ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance), once heralded as a pragmatic framework for embedding long-term resilience into...
What financial institutions need to know about the COFI Bill
Once enacted, the much-anticipated Conduct of Financial Institutions Bill (COFI) will introduce a significant shift in the legislative and regulatory landscape of South Africa’s financial services sector. It forms a key component of the country’s Twin Peaks regulatory...
DMARC becomes non-negotiable for SA businesses
Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) is becoming non-negotiable for South African businesses as major global email providers move to tighten authentication requirements. This is according to Jones Mayekiso, technical solutions...
The role of tech in SA’s FATF judgment day
In June this year, the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) Strasbourg Plenary deemed South Africa successful in “substantially completing” its 22-item Action Plan for removal from the FATF greylist. This has set the stage for an authorised onsite visit in October...