Keep your hard-earned cash safe with the StokFella App

You have saved up so much money throughout the year, do not risk it by carrying a lot of cash as criminals are on the prowl.

It is estimated that about R60bn is generated through stokvels every year in SA.

This is hard-earned money people save through groups with people they trust. Do not risk losing your savings by withdrawing large sums of money or keeping the savings in your homes.

This is where the StokFella App comes in.

Founder and CEO Tshepo Moloi said StokFella currently has 3,000 groups which are actively using the platform, which has more than R200m invested through it.

“The safety and security features of what is essentially an online stokvel is also central to the increasing interest in our StokFella App. December not only signals the start of the festive season, but also stokvel pay-out season, bringing with it concerns around the safety of stokvel members who receive cash disbursements,” Moloi said.

He said transactions can be made safely on a cellphone and on their website.

“We’d urge people to exercise caution during this time of year, to not carry or withdraw large amounts of cash, thereby risking losing income which they’ve so diligently saved up all year. We rather advise stokvels to pay-out their members with vouchers, plus its intrinsic value can be transferred from a member to their immediate family. This is one of the features on the StokFella App where members can choose vouchers instead of cash.”

What are the fees involved?

• ​For stokvel groups with less than five members, it’s a free monthly subscription for solving their admin burden and transparency pain points. For groups of more than five members, we charge a monthly subscription fee. The more members in a stokvel, the smaller subscription fee we charge.

What kind of accounts can stokvels open and what is the difference?

• ​Nala savings account and Nala 32-day notice account. The difference with the two is that with a 32 days notice account you earn more interest, however, your stokvel claims or withdrawals get paid only after the notice period of 32 days has passed.

How do stokvels make payments and when are they processed?

• Stokvels can make payments via EFT, retail stores and bank card;
• EFT payments are free and may take one to three working days to reflect on our app; and
• Retail stores and card payments reflect immediately, however, this comes at an extra charge.