09 Jul 2020

WhatsApp stokvels: Liberalise informal banking sector to fuel growth

Mpiyakhe Dhlamini

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In WhatsApp stokvels, members also contribute monthly, but the contributions are only similar in the beginning. Based on the amount of debt they have taken on, some members will also be liable for interest and therefore higher monthly payments. Picture: iStock/ Gutaper

VOICES

South Africa does not lack for banks. As Zakhele Mthembu, a regular contributor to the Freemarket Foundation and to the Rational Standard has persuasively argued, the popular stokvel model of one member receiving a payout each month, has all the features of a bank.

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