An immersive event reveals what happens after a motor vehicle accident and why the amount a claimant keeps matters as much as the settlement awarded. The crash makes the headlines but the journey that follows rarely does. Through a series of staged scenes at its media event held at its headquarters in Randburg, RoadCover brought that journey into focus. The event demonstrated to journalists and the media at large how a Road Accident Fund (RAF) claim unfolds, what goes into reaching a settlement and how claims management can ease the burden on accident victims and their families. The experience took a complex process off the page and put a human story at its centre: someone whose life has changed, whose income may have stopped and whose family now faces an uncertain future. “For many people, a road accident is only the beginning of the trauma,” says Amanda Rogaly, CEO of RoadCover. “Then come the questions: How will I earn a living? What happens to my family? Where do I start with a claim? With this event, we wanted the media to see the person behind the paperwork,” she added. A settlement is more than a headline figure The event highlights a question RoadCover believes deserves greater attention: How much of a successful settlement actually reaches the claimant? Compensation can be critical to rebuilding a life after an accident. Legal fees and expenses deducted from a settlement can reduce the money available to the injured person or grieving family. RoadCover’s membership model starts at just R29 per month and means no fees or expenses are deducted from a successful claimant’s RAF settlement. The claimant receives 100% of their settlement. RoadCover supports a broad range of road users who may have a valid RAF claim following an accident including passengers, pedestrians, cyclists and drivers who meet the relevant requirements. “A settlement is money someone may need to live on, support their children or rebuild their future,” says …
How Digital Payout Solutions Are Helping Manufacturers Improve Workforce Engagement
Manufacturers are adopting smarter payout technologies to streamline incentives, improve operational efficiency, and support workforce performance. South Africa’s manufacturing sector continues to operate under significant pressure as businesses balance productivity targets, workforce management, rising costs, and evolving operational demands. In this highly competitive environment, manufacturers are increasingly looking for practical ways to improve efficiency, strengthen workforce engagement, and simplify administrative processes without adding unnecessary complexity to operations. One area receiving growing attention is workforce payments and incentive management. Traditional cash-based systems and manual payment processes can create administrative burdens, increase security risks, and make it difficult for organisations to manage incentive programmes consistently across shifts, production facilities, and operational teams. Modernising processes while improving visibility and control Digital payout solutions are helping manufacturers modernise these processes while improving visibility and control. Lesaka Payouts offers a range of physical and digital prepaid payout solutions that support multiple manufacturing use cases, including safety incentives, production incentives, overtime payments, commissions, bonus payouts, and employee recognition programmes. By digitising these payments, manufacturers can distribute funds quickly and securely while reducing reliance on manual cash handling and paper-based systems. “Manufacturers are under continuous pressure to improve productivity while maintaining strong workforce engagement and operational efficiency,” says Amelia Williams, Head of Lesaka Payouts. “Digital payout solutions provide businesses with a more streamlined and transparent way to manage incentives, rewards, and workforce-related payments,” says Williams. The flexibility of prepaid payout products also allows businesses to tailor …
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What Employers Can Do to Relieve Employee Stress in 2027
HR and finance teams are signing off 2027 benefits budgets just as employees absorb a repo rate hike, petrol above R30 a litre and medical aid increases of around 8% from January. The question for employers is whether the benefits they renew will make any of that easier. As the year comes to a close, HR and finance teams are preparing to sign off on their benefits budgets for 2027. Most medical aids are mulling premium increases of between 7.4% and 8.9%, while the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) has suggested an increase of just 3.8%. The increases, irrespective of their size, will begin on January 1. Adding to the pressure on the medical scheme industry is Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi’s recent decision to allow pharmaceutical companies to increase prices for a second time this year, forcing the industry to look for ways to manage the additional R1bn in medicine expenditure next year, according to Business Day. No matter how the industry deals with this, medical aid members will be feeling it in their first pay cheques of 2027. And this is not even a full list of their financial obligations. The petrol price breached R30 per litre for the first time in October, after a hike of R3.33 per litre pushed it to an unprecedented R30.25 per litre. Fuel prices have been on an upward trajectory since the start of the Iran war in February this year, which has resulted in the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% (about 20-million barrels per day) of the world’s petroleum and liquid fuels pass. The resulting mayhem in the oil market has sent the oil price above $100 per barrel. South Africa’s Central Energy Fund data indicates motorists can expect another increase in November. The fuel price hikes are likely to put pressure on the South African Reserve Bank to increase rates to keep inflation in check. And, while stretched employees try to come to terms with these stressors, the January medical aid increase is likely to consume any …
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Financial Stress Is a Retention Problem, but Most Employers Are Still Treating It Like General Wellness
Wellness days, EAPs, flexible hours — employers have spent years building programmes that address issues around health, mental health, work-life balance and more. Everything except the one thing actually keeping people up at night: Money stress. This isn't a story about rising costs or a hard year. Financial stress doesn't wait for the economy to get worse, and it doesn't disappear when it gets better, because it was never really about what things cost. Some of the most financially stressed people we work with are senior leaders on strong salaries who have simply never had the systems to make that salary work for them. That's an expensive blind spot: replacing a senior leader costs far more than replacing junior staff, and the people most likely to leave are often the ones you can least afford to lose. Anyone without the right support can be affected, whatever they earn. The impact? Financial stress creates tension in relationships and eats into sleep and health. At work, it looks like someone running a confident 9am stand-up after spending the commute working out whether their card will go through at the petrol station. Nobody in the room knows. The shame sits right next to the stress. Few people feel comfortable talking about their burgeoning debt, escalating household expenses and mounting bills, especially at work where they want to appear professional and in control. No one does their best work with one eye on their bank balance, Companies see the symptoms of financial stress in lower engagement, higher presenteeism and absenteeism and even greater retention risk. Absenteeism is easier to spot and address as the empty desks are a clear indication that people have not shown up. What has an even greater impact on businesses and is by far harder to track is when employees are physically at work but have “checked out” mentally. The GIBS October Health Workplace Well-Being Report puts a number on unaddressed strain like this: Mental-health-related …
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Dashen Bank and Shebamiles Launch Platinum Co-branded Mastercard Debit Card to Unlock Premium Travel Benefits for Customers in Ethiopia
Dashen Bank and ShebaMiles have launched a Platinum co-branded Mastercard debit card in Ethiopia, combining secure payments, digital access, loyalty benefits and premium travel privileges in one offering. Issued by Dashen Bank and powered by Mastercard, the card is linked to Ethiopian Airlines’ ShebaMiles loyalty program. It enables customers to use one card for everyday and travel-related payments while accessing benefits including airport lounge access, airport fast track and global data roaming, in addition to the miles they earn in the air. The collaboration combines Ethiopian Airlines’ travel network and loyalty program, Dashen Bank’s issuing capabilities, customer reach and Super App, and Mastercard’s global payment network, technology and premium card benefits. Shehryar Ali, senior vice president and country manager for East Africa and Indian Ocean Islands at Mastercard, said: “Travel is increasingly becoming a connected digital experience, and consumers expect the same level of convenience, security and value from the way they pay. This unique collaboration brings together payments, loyalty and premium travel benefits in a single proposition, creating a differentiated experience for travellers while strengthening Ethiopia’s premium travel payments ecosystem.” The card will be available in physical and virtual formats. Customers can access the virtual card through the Dashen Bank Super App, which serves more than 2 million active monthly users. Eligible cardholders will also have access to Mastercard Airport Experiences, which provides entry to a global network of more than 1,600 airport lounges. Ato Asfaw Alemu, CEO of Dashen Bank, said: “Customers today increasingly expect financial services to be more connected, convenient and relevant to the way they live and travel. Our collaboration with Mastercard and Ethiopian Airlines brings together payments, travel and loyalty in a differentiated proposition, while giving customers the flexibility to …
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Two Rate Hikes Have Already Hit Your Wallet. How Much More Will a Third Cost?
Head of National Debt Advisors Sebastien Alexanderson shows what two hikes have added in rands, what a third would cost, and what to do before the Reserve Bank announces its decision. The Reserve Bank raised the repo rate to 7% in May and to 7.25% in September. Prime is now 10.75%, up from 10.25% at the start of the year. For households already stretched by fuel, food and electricity costs, the extra 0.5 percentage points have landed on top of budgets that had no room left. The Monetary Policy Committee announces its next decision on 19 November. Head of National Debt Advisors Sebastien Alexanderson said many households still hadn't worked out what the two hikes cost them. “Most people hear ‘a quarter of a percent’ and think it’s small,” says Alexanderson. “It isn’t, when it comes out of the same salary every month. Two hikes mean the bond and the car loan both cost more, and the money has to come from groceries, school costs, or savings that are already thin.” National Debt Advisors calculated what the two hikes have added to two common loans, assuming both are priced at prime, and the rate rose from 10.25% to 10.75%. What two hikes have added R1 million bond over 20 years: The monthly repayment has gone from R9,816 to R10,152. That is R336 more a month, or about R4,030 a year. R300,000 car loan over 60 months: The monthly repayment has gone from R6,411 to R6,485. That is R74 more a month, or about R890 a year. Both together: R410 more a month, or about R4,900 a year. If the Reserve Bank hikes by another 25 basis points on 19 November, taking prime to 11%, the same bond would cost a further R170 a month and the car loan a further R37. That adds about R2,500 a year across both. “Every hike lands hardest on people who are already close to the edge,” says Alexanderson. “Our analysis of 109,425 clients who have entered debt review since 2014 shows the average client earns R15,737 a month and owes R174,787, and 98% hold at least one …
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RM Capital Maps the Purchase Order Funding Process for Year-End Orders
JOHANNESBURG, October 2026. South African suppliers holding a confirmed order but short of the cash to pay for the stock now have a step-by-step guide from RM Capital. The niche funder, based at Melrose Arch, has set out how a funded deal moves from the day the purchase order arrives to the day the goods reach the customer. The fourth quarter is under way and many buyers want deliveries before the December slowdown, so the firm wants business owners to know how a funded deal works before they have to sign anything. This time of year, orders often get bigger than a supplier's bank balance. A distributor of finished goods might land a contract with a corporate client or a government department and still have to pay its own supplier before it can send an invoice. RM Capital was set up to close that gap. It believes owners hold back from outside funding mainly because they can't see how the process works, and that showing them each step removes most of that worry. How purchase order funding works Purchase Order Funding lets a business pay its supplier for goods it plans to resell or distribute to a customer who has issued a written purchase order. RM Capital also calls this tender order funding. The supplier is paid up front to make or deliver the goods, and the business repays the funding when its own customer settles the account. RM Capital will fund up to 100% of the purchase order costs. Most of these deals are structured as invoice factoring transactions, and factoring is not a loan. RM Capital buys the right to the payment the customer will make, then pays the supplier directly or issues payment guarantees. A growing company can therefore take on larger orders without bank debt and without giving up equity. From order to settlement The full sequence is published on RM Capital's website. This month the firm is pointing to it for businesses that already have year-end orders. The process starts when the business sends in a copy of the purchase order or a …
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The Mental Health Toll of Living Payday to Payday on SA Households
Breadwinner Burnout: The Mental Health Toll of Living Payday to Payday on SA Households With fuel prices, interest rates, electricity costs, and medical aid contributions peaking, Sebastien Alexanderson discusses how living payday to payday is pushing families into debt and mental burnout, and offers warning signs and practical steps to recover. For millions of working South Africans, the end of the month no longer brings relief. Instead, as living costs continue to outstrip income, financial pressure is spilling outside of bank accounts and directly into the home, fuelling marital conflict, disrupting children’s schooling, and driving widespread psychological burnout. This is according to Head of National Debt Advisors Sebastien Alexanderson, who said payday stress was often a month-long reality for many South African households. “Payday used to feel like a fresh start," says Alexanderson. "Now it feels like a temporary rescue that lasts two or three days before debit orders clear. When households spend 30 days doing mental math just to survive, the exhaustion is carried into homes, workplaces, hugely impacting the mental health of the entire family.” Analysis by National Debt Advisors of 109,425 clients who have entered debt review since 2014 shows the average client earns R15,737 a month before deductions and owes R174,787, equivalent to 92.6% of annual gross income. Additionally, almost all of the debt is unsecured. Of NDA’s clients, 98% hold at least one unsecured agreement. Clients earning under R5,000 a month spend about two thirds of their gross income on living expenses, compared with under half for those earning above R30,000. “Many South African households run out of money before the month ends, with a 2024 Standard Bank analysis of more than 402,000 salary earners finding that on the day before payday, 49% were in overdraft, in the red, or down to R1,000 or less,” said Alexanderson. To bridge the gap, Old Mutual’s 2026 Savings and …
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BankBrokers Launches Instant Pay Check as PayShap and Tap-On-Phone Reshape How South African Small Traders Get Paid
JOHANNESBURG - BankBrokers, an independent merchant-services advisory based in Sandton, has launched Instant Pay Check, a new service that helps South African small businesses and informal traders decide how they should take payments as instant and phone-based options move into the mainstream. For most of the last decade a small business owner had two real choices: take cash, or rent a card machine. In 2026 that choice has widened. PayShap, the instant interbank payment rail built under the South African Reserve Bank's Rapid Payments Programme, is now focused on merchant payments, with request-to-pay letting a trader send a payment request straight to a customer's banking app. At the same time, ordinary smartphones can now accept contactless card taps without any extra hardware. "Every one of these options looks cheap on one line of the brochure and expensive on another," said a BankBrokers spokesperson. "A spaza owner in Soshanguve, a braider working from a car boot in Bellville and a mobile mechanic in Polokwane will each get a different right answer. The only way to find it is to run their real ticket sizes through all of the options side by side." Instant Pay Check takes two months of a business's sales, from a bank statement, a till export or even a handwritten book, and prices four paths: a card machine, tap-on-phone, a PayShap request or QR code, and cash with a deposit run. Each path is measured on the same five points: cost per sale at the owner's real average ticket, when the money lands, what happens during load-shedding or in weak signal areas, which phone is needed, and how disputes and refunds work. Owners receive a single plain-English decision sheet within five working days. The service is aimed at owner-run businesses turning over roughly R20,000 to R600,000 a month, including spaza and tuck shops, weekend market traders, salons, small medical practices and trades people who are paid on site. BankBrokers does not sell terminals or take …
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The Gold Avenue Flags the 91.67% Krugerrand Seller Mistake
Before a Krugerrand ever reaches a buyer's counter, many South African sellers have already shortchanged themselves on paper, and The Gold Avenue wants that to stop. The Illovo company, which buys gold, diamonds, luxury watches and Krugerrands, is using October to highlight a common miscalculation. A large number of Krugerrand holders estimate their coin's value by taking 91.67 percent of the gold price, reasoning that the coin is 22 carat gold. The logic seems sound, but it is mistaken, and it leaves the seller expecting about 8 percent less than the gold in a full ounce Krugerrand is really worth. The season makes this especially relevant. Spring has arrived in Gauteng, and in The Gold Avenue's experience selling follows a seasonal rhythm, with summer reliably busier than winter. As more people consider cashing in Krugerrands they bought long ago or inherited from relatives, the company would like them to walk in with an accurate starting figure, not one they have mistakenly lowered at the kitchen table. The source of the error Krugerrands are struck from 22 carat gold, an alloy of 91.67 percent gold and 8.33 percent copper. Seeing that percentage, many sellers conclude that a one ounce coin must hold 91.67 percent of an ounce of gold, so they multiply the gold price by 0.9167. In fact the coin was built in reverse. A one ounce Krugerrand contains a full troy ounce of fine gold, with the copper added on top instead of being blended into a set weight. That explains why the coin weighs 33.930 grams gross, compared with the 31.103 grams of a troy ounce. Its owner does not have 91.67 percent of an ounce of gold. They have an entire ounce of gold together with a little copper. For a full ounce Krugerrand, then, the right multiplier is 1.0 rather than 0.9167. The smaller coins work the same way: a half ounce contains exactly half an ounce of fine gold, a quarter contains a quarter and a tenth contains a tenth. How 8 percent adds up A shortfall of around 8 …