Southern African Fraud Prevention Service

What Southern African Fraud Prevention Service does

Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) is a South African non-profit company established in 2000 and headquartered in Johannesburg that operates a centralized fraud prevention and detection infrastructure for the Southern African economy. The organization maintains a fraud database that aggregates fraud incident data, trends, hotspots, and modus operandi information contributed by its 50+ corporate members, and it offers biometric verification (voice, fingerprint, facial) for customer validation, application fraud detection, an employee application fraud database, and a Cash in Transit (CIT) employee search portal. SAFPS serves two distinct customer segments: individual South African consumers, who access free services such as Protective Registration, Fraud Victim Registration, and the Yima Scam Prevention Toolbox for scam reporting and education, and enterprise member organizations (all major South African banks, leading retailers, telecommunications companies, insurers, automotive financiers, and government entities including SARS and the FSCA), which pay recurring membership fees for access to the fraud database, biometric services, and collaborative fraud intelligence. The organization is sustained by membership fees rather than public funding or investment capital, has no disclosed parent company or external shareholders, and is led by CEO Manie van Schalkwyk. Its stated ambition includes expansion into the rest of Africa, building on its 20+ year track record of fraud loss prevention across the South African economy.

Name

Southern African Fraud Prevention Service

Legal name

Southern African Fraud Prevention Service

Website

https://safps.org.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) is a Johannesburg-based non-profit that operates a centralized fraud prevention database and biometric verification services for 50+ corporate members across South African banking, retail, telecom, insurance, and government sectors, while offering free Protective Registration and the Yima scam-prevention platform to consumers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fraud Prevention Services

NAICS

Investigation and Personal Background Check Services (561611), Investigation and Security Services (5616)

SIC

Services-Consumer Credit Reporting, Collection Agencies (7320)

akta.pro primary industry

Fraud Detection & Prevention (payments fraud, account takeover, scams) (FSAGAFAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Fraud Investigations & Claims Support (Insurance/Financial) (BPAKAEAD), Consumer Identity Verification (KYC) & Fraud Risk for Credit (FSAKAKAD), Fraud Detection & Transaction Monitoring (FSAMALAA)

Keywords

• Fraud prevention services
• Identity protection
• Centralized fraud database
• Scam reporting platform
• Biometric verification

Headquarters

HQ city

Gauteng

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Business Membership Fees: SAFPS operates as a not-for-profit organization with membership fees paid by business and corporate organizations. Members include banks, retailers, insurers, telecommunications companies, and other financial institutions that pay for access to the fraud prevention database, biometric services, and collaborative fraud detection benefits.
2. Consumer Services (Free): Protective Registration and Fraud Victim Registration are provided free of charge to consumers. This free service drives consumer engagement and populates the fraud database with valuable identity protection data that benefits member organizations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

SAFPS operates a centralized fraud prevention database and member collaboration network that helps South African businesses detect fraudulent applications and verify customer identities. It provides free consumer services including Protective Registration and the Yima Scam Prevention Toolbox, while business members — banks, retailers, insurers, telecoms, and government entities — subscribe to access the fraud database, biometric verification, fraud trend analysis, and syndicate monitoring.

Product overview

SAFPS operates a platform-plus-services model consisting of Protective Registration as the core consumer-facing product (free service alerting member organizations to verify individuals' identities), the centralized SAFPS Fraud Database enabling member businesses to detect and prevent fraudulent applications, Yima Scam Prevention Toolbox for public scam reporting and website scanning, Biometric Services (voice, fingerprint, facial) for customer validation, Application Fraud Detection, and Employee Fraud Database. The organization also runs the Just Say Goodbye awareness campaign and maintains a Cash in Transit Employee Search portal for employers. All consumer services are provided at no cost, while business members gain access to the fraud database, validation tools, and fraud detection dashboards.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Yima: A dedicated scam prevention toolbox platform that allows South Africans to report scams, scan websites for vulnerabilities, and educate themselves on how to identify scams.
• Just Say Goodbye

Products and services

• Protective Registration Free consumer service that lists individuals with SAFPS so member organizations are alerted to apply extra verification before processing applications in their name. Targets South African consumers concerned about identity theft and impersonation.
• Yima Scam Prevention Toolbox Free public-facing online platform enabling South African consumers to report scams, scan websites for vulnerabilities, and learn how to identify common scams. Targets individual consumers seeking scam awareness and reporting tools.
• SAFPS Fraud Database Membership Service Subscription membership service providing business members access to a centralized fraud prevention and detection database for identifying potentially fraudulent applications, monitoring fraud trends/hotspots, and validating customer identities. Targets banks, retailers, insurers, telecoms, and government entities in South Africa.
• Biometric Verification Services Biometric-based verification service offering voice biometrics, fingerprint biometrics, and facial biometrics to validate consumers and identify fraudsters. Used by member businesses for KYC and customer authentication and offered to consumers for protection.
• Application Fraud Detection Detection service that allows member organizations to assess new applications against the SAFPS fraud database to flag potential identity theft or impersonation before accounts, credit, or services are issued. Targets member banks, retailers, and other creditors.
• Employee Application Fraud Database Database of fraudulent employment applicants used by member employers to identify professional fraudsters during hiring and prevent employee-side fraud. Targets member organizations performing pre-employment screening.
• Cash in Transit (CIT) Employee Search Secure web portal at cit.safps.org.za that lets employers screen cash in transit employees against SAFPS records to prevent hiring of individuals linked to cash in transit crime. Targets employers in the cash-in-transit and security sector.

Quantifiable outcome

• Billions of rand in fraud losses prevented since 2001
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers22 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• First National Bank (FNB)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFNB is a SAFPS member collaborating through fraud data sharing, fraud detection techniques, and financial crime prevention solutions. FNB participates in fraud trend analysis and provides customer validation services.
• Standard BankcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStandard Bank is a SAFPS member sharing fraud incident data and accessing the centralized fraud prevention database for customer verification and fraud detection.
• NedbankcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNedbank participates in SAFPS collaborative fraud prevention efforts, contributing to and benefiting from shared fraud intelligence across the membership network.
• AbsacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAbsa is a SAFPS member utilizing fraud detection services, customer validation, and collaborative fraud data sharing for financial crime prevention.
• Capitec BankcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCapitec Bank participates in SAFPS fraud prevention ecosystem through data sharing and customer verification services.
• Old MutualcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOld Mutual is a SAFPS member accessing fraud prevention database and contributing insurance fraud intelligence to the shared network.
• The Foschini Group (TFG)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTFG participates as SAFPS member for retail fraud prevention, customer validation, and employee application fraud database access.
• MTNcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMTN is a SAFPS member collaborating on cellular fraud prevention, SIM swop fraud detection, and mobile-related financial crime prevention.
• SARS (South African Revenue Service)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSARS participates in SAFPS fraud prevention efforts to combat tax scams and protect taxpayers from SARS impersonation fraud.
• Cifas (UK)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK-based fraud prevention service. Cifas research on money muling is referenced by SAFPS, and Mark Courtney (CPO of Cifas) has addressed SAFPS Fraud Summit conferences on fraud and identity theft.
• Sabric (SA Banking Risk Information Centre)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSabric collaborates with SAFPS on banking fraud prevention. Both organizations work together to combat fraud through shared intelligence and industry coordination.
• Insurance Crime BureaucoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGarth De Klerk (CEO of Insurance Crime Bureau) addresses SAFPS Fraud Summit on digital identity abuse and fraud trends affecting the insurance sector.
• US Secret ServiceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMichael K Burgin (Country Attache/Resident Agent in Charge of the US Secret Service in South Africa) presents at SAFPS Fraud Summit on The Evolution of Cyber Crime.
• National Financial Ombud Scheme (NFO)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe NFO's banking division handles fraud-related complaints from banking customers. SAFPS collaborates with NFO on banking fraud resolution and consumer protection.
• Bullion PR & CommunicationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPublic relations partner for SAFPS press releases and communication campaigns. Contact: Jonathan Faurie, Cell: 079 566 8814.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Regional players

• Sabric (South African Banking Risk Information Centre): South African banking industry body focused on banking crime and fraud prevention; collaborates with SAFPS as a strategic partner, and overlaps on banking sector fraud intelligence but serves a narrower vertical (banks only).
• Insurance Crime Bureau: South African insurance sector fraud investigation body that collaborates with SAFPS via the Fraud Summit and covers overlapping insurance fraud territory, but is sector-specific to insurance.

Broad incumbents

• TransUnion: Global credit bureau and fraud prevention provider competing with SAFPS in identity verification and application fraud detection; operates a broader commercial offering including credit reporting, scoring, and analytics worldwide.
• Equifax: Major global credit reporting and identity verification agency offering fraud prevention and KYC services that overlap with SAFPS's mission; competes at scale across consumer credit bureau, identity verification, and anti-fraud markets.
• Creditsafe: Global business and consumer credit reporting provider offering identity verification and fraud detection services; broader market incumbent competing in similar application fraud and KYC use cases for financial institutions.
• Experian: Global credit bureau and identity verification provider that is also a SAFPS member; offers competing fraud detection, KYC, and identity verification services at scale with deeper technology and analytics capabilities across both consumer and enterprise markets.
• LexisNexis Risk Solutions: Major provider of identity verification, fraud detection, and data analytics also partnered with SAFPS; competes in the same fraud prevention and customer validation space but as part of a much larger global data and analytics portfolio.

Direct peers

• Cifas: UK non-profit fraud prevention service operating a similar National Fraud Database model; SAFPS explicitly references Cifas research on money muling and participates in joint Fraud Summit speaking — the most directly comparable peer globally.

Emerging players

• Contactable: South African identity management and self-sovereign identity firm participating in SAFPS Fraud Summit discussions; emerging player in identity verification focused on consumer-consented data sharing that intersects with SAFPS's identity protection offerings.
• Secure Citizen: South African digital identity and verification platform that participates in SAFPS Fraud Summit panels on self-sovereign identity; an emerging player that could complement or compete with SAFPS in digital identity verification.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SAFPS8672234
• Facebookfacebook.com/SAFraudPrevention
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/south-african-fraud-prevention-service

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Southern African Fraud Prevention Service