Six tips to withdraw your stokvel contributions safely during the holiday season

Stokvel-related robberies and thefts are most prevalent at this time of year.

Stock image

WHILE many residents are looking forward to splitting their stokvel dividends ahead of the holiday season, fraudsters are also eagerly waiting and looking for ways to scam members of their stokvel contributions.

ALSO READ: ‘Don’t carry large sums of cash’ – warns KZN SAPS

Stokvel-related robberies and thefts are most prevalent at this time of year, and the bank encourages stokvel clubs to adopt reasonable safety measures when withdrawing and sharing their money to avoid becoming victims of crime.

Growth manager for FNB Cash Investments, Sifiso Nkosi said the year 2020 hasn’t been an easy year for many households but stokvel groups remained resilient and continued to save for their group goals.

“Stokvel members are excited of the work they have put in throughout the year to save for their various needs. We therefore encourage them to be cautious when withdrawing during the busy withdrawal season,” said Nkosi.

Six tips to withdraw your stokvel contributions safely during the holiday season:

Arrange for the club’s pay-out to be electronically transferred into each club member’s personal bank account or accounts of their choice instead of collecting cash contributions.
Avoid making cash withdrawals of club members’ contributions on high risk days such as Mondays and month ends.
The person assigned to withdraw the contributions must be accompanied by another club member to avoid handling the funds alone or falling victim of robbery.
Avoid withdrawing large amounts of money at an ATM, especially after hours or at congested places where criminals are waiting to pounce.
Do not withdraw all the funds at the same time. Consider staggering the withdrawals into different days to ensure that your contributions are safe.
Don’t announce the stokvel withdrawal plans on social media or share pictures of the cash as you might open yourselves to being targeted and defrauded.

Nkosi urged people to exercise extreme caution with their money and always remember that there are safer ways to do transactions, such as internet transfers or mobile banking, instead of carrying large amounts of cash.

“Lastly, we encourage members to save a portion of their pay-out to help them survive the long coming and dreaded January in the new year,” he added.

Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting

Dear reader, As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19. Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za). At the time of going to press, the contents of this feature mirrored South Africa’s lockdown regulations.

Do you want to receive alerts regarding this and other Highway community news via Telegram? Send us a Telegram message (not an SMS) with your name and surname (ONLY) to 060 532 5409. You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Telegram number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts. Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple.