Screen scraping can be used by criminals to steal data, but financial services companies are increasingly making legitimate use of this too. Angelique Ruzicka investigates what the process entails and how consumers can protect themselves. Screen...
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Are banks putting customers first?
Banks were in the spotlight recently with the release of the annual report by the Ombudsman for Banking Services (OBS) and feedback from the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) regarding the banks’ adherence to the Conduct Standard. The draft...
Should women celebrate community of property rights?
There has been much celebration around the protection of women in customary marriages with President Ramaphosa recently signing into law the amended Recognition of Customary Marriages Act. However, are these women fully aware of the implications,...
Five tax myths many employees still believe
Tanya Tosen, Tax and Remuneration Specialist at Remuneration Consultants, addresses five tax myths that have become popular over the years. Many employees don't understand the complex tax calculations that payroll applies to their earnings each...
Relief for struggling restaurants
Soft loans and payment holidays are available for restaurants still battling to survive the pandemic. At the beginning of May, my favourite local coffee shop closed its doors after 20 years of trading. My neighbourhood shopping centre, which caters...
Money and divorce
David Thomson, Senior Legal Adviser at Sanlam Trust, shares some practical tips about the financial side of divorce. The news of Bill and Melinda Gates filing for divorce after 27 years of marriage sent shockwaves through the philanthropic world....
Lack of savings leaves SA vulnerable
A lack of emergency savings left households vulnerable to the economic shock of Covid-19. The last five years have been tough for South African consumers as salaries failed to keep up with inflation, unemployment grew, and debt levels increased....
Beware: fraudsters are everywhere
Ramesh Ramdeen, Head of Fraud at FNB Wealth and Investments and Ashburton Investments outlines some key things to look out for to avoid becoming the victim of fraudsters. Investment and financial fraud is on the rise across the world. Each day...
Inside a cryptocurrency scam
Social media networks are being used to lure people into a cryptocurrency scam. A sophisticated social media network is being used to con South Africans by claiming to generate huge returns through trading. The network is made up of 300 fake...
Can you bag a cheap deal on an overseas holiday?
Taking an overseas holiday is still possible but this can come at great risk to travellers’ pockets, finds Angelique Ruzicka. Differing social distancing rules and travel bans imposed by countries and airlines have done much to disrupt the global...
Previous Articles
Should your small business take a Covid loan?
The Banking Association South Africa recently announced that only R17.84bn of the R200bn Covid-19 Loan Guarantee Scheme for small businesses had been approved by banks. The scheme received 48 366 applications of which 27% were approved by the banks and taken up by...
Surprising increase in household net wealth
South African households’ real net wealth increased by just over R1 trillion since the first quarter of 2020, according to the latest Momentum-Unisa Household Wealth report. Between the start of the second quarter of 2020 (Q2 2020) and the end of the year (Q4 2020),...
The 2021 Budget and your money
Ten ways the Budget affects your personal finances: Your tax rate is not going up! In fact, thanks to an above-inflation adjustment to the tax brackets, personal income tax payers receive back R2.2bn. The R40bn tax measures that were proposed in the 2020 October...
Protect your loved ones from scams
Some of your relatives and loved ones may be getting on in years and may not be as careful with their finances and cards as they were before. Angelique Ruzicka has some suggestions for things you can do to help protect them from scams. Sadly, there are many scams...
Why do electricity costs differ so much?
Electricity is a major household expense for everyone. This will only worsen in April this year when we expect to see an overall 15% increase in the Eskom standard rate. Trying to understand what the “average” household spends in South African is virtually impossible...
10 key tax changes
By Jean du Toit, Tax Consulting SA. President Cyril Ramaphosa has given effect to the 2020 tax proposals by signing three tax Acts into law. On 15 January 2021, the President gave his assent to the Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Act No. 22 of...
Sole proprietor vs private company: which should you choose?
By Ruan van Jaarsveld, Manager at Hobbs Sinclair Advisory. Many South Africans have recently found themselves feeling the need to venture into business outside of the formal, corporate framework. Reasons for this vary, from being retrenched from a salaried position to...
Save on back-to-school essentials
With the planned re-opening of schools some time over the course of January, parents are bracing themselves for the annual grudge purchase of back-to-school essentials. These including stationery, textbooks, sports kit and other required equipment. Respondents to a...
How to negotiate your retrenchment package
The law makes no distinction between voluntary retrenchment and forced retrenchment. This means that the same benefits apply whether you accepted the package voluntarily or were forced to take it. These benefits include a tax exemption of up to R500 000 on your...
Structure your 13th cheque so you receive your full bonus
If you were unpleasantly surprised by the tax bill on your 13th cheque, change the way you structure your salary package so you lessen the tax impact. According to Jetro Malapane, member of the Executive Committee of the South African Payroll Association (SAPA) it is...