samaf, through Government Notice 877, 22 August 2008, has the mandate to register and regulate all Financial Services Co-operatives in SA.
Registration Process
Step 1: A FSC will apply to samaf once it has met all the registration requirements of both the Registrar of Cooperatives and the samaf Regulator of FSCs.
Step 2: samaf RRSS committee, upon satisfaction that the FSC has met all the requirements for registration, will forward the application to the registrar of Cooperatives, with a recommendation for registration.
Step 3: Once the registration certificate has been issued by the Registrar of Cooperatives, the application will then be forwarded back to the samaf: Regulator who will issue the deposit taking license
Application to Register a FSC
A FSC must first meet all the requirements of the Cooperatives Act of 2005
A FSC will be required to meet the samaf rules, published as “practice notes” by the samaf and Registrar of Cooperatives which deals with FSC rules, registration and prudential standard;
The intermediary completes the application forms (as per attachment 2- sam001) with the assistance of the samaf Provincial office or an external service provider;
The application form is submitted to the Provincial office (Outreach Co-ordinator) who will verify that it is completed in full
The application, upon verification will then be forwarded to the samaf: Regulator;
The samaf: Regulator will prepare the applications for submission to the RRSS Committee who will consider the application and make recommendation.
If approved, the samaf: Regulator will issue a depositing taking licence, on condition that the FSC application is approved by the Registrar of Cooperatives.
All the appropriate documentation will be forwarded to the Registrar of Cooperatives, with a covering letter stating the RRSS committee recommendation.
Upon approval of the application by the Registrar of Cooperatives, s/he will issue the FSC with a registration certificate
Upon registration with the Registrar of Cooperatives, the samaf will issue a “samaf registered Financial Services Cooperative” certificate and letter to trade valid for one year and renewable annually, pending continued compliance.
If rejected, notification as to the reasons for rejection will be provided to the Provincial office and the applicant. The applicant may reapply for registration to the samaf: Regulator.
All registered FSC will be appear on the samaf website.
