G N I K N A B F O T S E B MAKING THE Y L E F A S Y E N O M G N AND LENDI L E V K O T S R U O Y N I WITH STOKVELS
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s the stokvel sector continues to move towards becoming more formalised, more and more groups are making use of offerings from banks and other financial service providers, because these are seen as “safe” and a wise means of keeping their hardearned cash secure. Those that continue to keep their cash in hand to avoid bank fee charges and have it easily accessible put themselves at greater risk of theft and loss, and make it considerably more difficult to keep track of monies received and paid out. Fortunately, times are changing. While there will always be stokvels that exist for the primary reason of catering to their members’ basic needs, such as groceries in December, there are an increasing number of stokvels which are realising that they can benefit from researching the financial products and services available to them. These include a variety of investment options for more sophisticated stokvel groups that are keen to grow their wealth. Club savings accounts are the most common vehicle for managing stokvel money, but unfortunately these do not offer much of a return in terms of interest earned, because of increasing inflation. Let’s compare some of the standard savings accounts available from the main banks, and explore some of the best ways for your stokvel to make use of what they are offering, as well as the issue of how to go about safe lending from within your stokvel.
Beating the banking blues – where to start? What to choose? Let’s take a glance at what is on offer from the different main financial institutions, to understand the subtle differences: • At Standard Bank, your stokvel can choose a transaction savings account specifically designed for collective savings, called the Society Scheme. Interest is earned at a rate between 1.76% and 3.56%, depending on the balance held in the account, and you’ll need a minimum of R100 to open an account. For more interestbearing accounts that are liquid, you can opt
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