/ 10 February 2011

Prepaid card will assist funeral policyholders

The unbanked will have easy access to benefit payout funds.

Unbanked South Africans have often struggled to claim funeral policies, and Channel Life, a division of Sanlam, has partnered with Absa to launch a prepaid card that will assist with claims payments.

How this works is that the benefit payout funds are loaded on to the prepaid card and claimants can use this to either withdraw funds from an Absa ATM or use it at points of sale in retail outlets to pay for goods or services. Claimants won’t have to wait for a cheque to clear, nor will they lose out because they don’t have bank accounts into which the funds can be transferred.

Hendus Venter, head of transactional banking at Absa Business Bank, says the prepaid card will also ease the administrative burden of making cash payouts to clients. To receive funds, a claimant just has to submit his/her claim form with relevant documents to Channel Life Group Benefits and receive a prepaid card. Once the claim has been approved, the policyholder will receive an SMS to confirm the funds have been loaded on to the card.

Remember, though, that approval will take anything from 24 to 48 hours. After that short delay, the card can be used immediately, meaning that consumers won’t have to wait that long to make all the necessary arrangements for a funeral. And that should give clients peace of mind.

Read more news, blogs, tips and Q&As in our Smart Money section. Post questions on the site for independent and researched information