Does FICA or POPIA apply to your business?
Most people aren’t sure. Five questions about what your business does and whose details it keeps, and you’ll have a plain answer with the reason underneath it. It takes about a minute, and nothing you tick leaves your browser.
- 01 Your work
- 02 What you keep
- 03 The plan
- 04 Training
- 05 Personal data
What does your business actually do?
FICA
FICA applies to the businesses listed in Schedule 1 — law firms, estate agents, credit providers, crypto platforms and about twenty categories in all. If you’re on that list you need a written plan for spotting dirty money (FICA calls it an RMCP), client checks you can prove you carried out, and staff who know what to look for. Anti-money laundering work, in short.
What the AML work involves →POPIA
POPIA applies the moment you hold anyone’s personal details — clients, staff, the people who fill in your contact form. In practice that’s nearly every business in South Africa, and there is no small-business exemption. Someone in the business is legally answerable for it, whether or not it has ever been discussed.
What POPIA asks of you →