The state of data protection laws in Africa
Data protection is no longer a niche concern; it’s a fundamental part of the digital age. With businesses, governments, and individuals increasingly relying on digital platforms, the issue of personal data security has never been more critical. By Oluwakemi Ola,...
Politically exposed clients the minefield Zondo flagged before the FATF
Accountable institutions face crippling penalties if their KYC screening fails to flag a client as a politically exposed person (PEP). As the nation fights to escape its greylisting, technology can identify PEPs without hoping they’ll be kindly forthcoming in...
Fast-track compliance to incoming plastics legislation
SAP is urging South African companies to prepare for incoming plastic legislation to protect profit and the planet. According to a new report launched in partnership with research consultancy Earth Action, business that fail to scale their plastic data management...
New Regulations usher in a new dispensation for electronic services
The long-awaited regulations introducing a general business-to-business (B2B) exclusion (although in this case a business-to-registered vendor exclusion) for the electronic services supplied from outside South Africa to specified recipients within the country were...
Poor audits can lead to costly non-compliance
South African businesses have suffered massive financial setbacks due to inadequate auditing, with cumulative losses from poor audits and compliance failures running into billions. Through its material irregularities process, the Auditor-General of South Africa...
What Budget 2025 means for FICA compliance and accountable institutions
The 2025 Budget Speech held on 12 March 2025, made it clear that financial crime enforcement and compliance are top priorities for the government, writes By Sameer Kumandan, MD of SearchWorks360. Increased funding for forensic investigations, regulatory oversight, and...
Greylisting an opportunity to renew focus on secure financial institutions
The Budget Speech 2025 highlighted the need for reforms and infrastructural development that will revive economic growth. The country’s potential delisting from the FATF greylist in October 2025 will greatly contribute to this by positioning the country as a secure...
C-suite must adapt to new regulatory accountability
The C-suite has long left data resilience and cybersecurity in the hands of security and IT teams, writes Rick Vanover, vice-president of product strategy at Veeam. It’s been a case of ‘leave it to the experts’, and for a long time, that made sense. But as...
Tech-driven AML efforts strengthen compliance amid US policy shifts
The US Treasury Department has announced the immediate suspension of the Corporate Transparency Act, which took effect on 1 January 2024, under the Joe Biden administration. By Bradley Elliott, CEO of anti-money laundering (AML) platform RelyComply This key piece of...
Tighten controls ahead of PCI DSS v4.0.1
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) has long been a cornerstone of payment security, ensuring that organisations handling cardholder data protect it against the ever-evolving threat landscape. By Simeon Tassev, MD and qualified security assessor...
SA’s e-commerce on track for 1bn transactions in 2025
E-commerce has become an everyday necessity for South Africans, writes Jonathan De Matteis, head of sales at Pay@. Initially, only a niche audience was willing to see past some of the technology’s growing pains, such as purchases being limited to card transactions and...
Advanced regulatory technology crucial for SA’s fight against financial crime
Advanced technology solutions are playing a crucial role in strengthening South Africa’s fight against financial crime. Real-time data access, enhanced screening and alerting systems, and artificial intelligence-driven AML tools are enabling financial institutions to...