Relief supplies and aid workers on Sunday poured into the earthquake-devastated areas of Java, Indonesia, as the death toll soared to more than 4Â 300 people. Hundreds of soldiers and Red Cross volunteers joined anxious residents combing through the rubble of the estimated 25Â 000 destroyed homes, but only a handful of survivors were discovered.
MasterCard International and Standard Bank this month announced the launch of the pilot of OneSmart MasterCard PayPass at Standard Bank’s head office campus in Johannesburg, South Africa. The PayPass is a "contactless" payment feature that provides card holders with a faster and more convenient way to pay for their purchases.
Absa, South Africa’s largest retail bank, has launched a new product that will rapidly expand access to a range of banking services that have traditionally only been available to the affluent. FlexiSelect, a new concept in banking, promises to usher millions of South Africans into the financial mainstream.
The South African economy is still braced for robust growth in 2006 and the trend could well be sustained and even improved in the next year, says Absa economist Ridle Markus. He adds that the domestic economy will continue to be powered by growth in consumer spending.
With stringent limits now applying to the Road Accident Fund to limit how much one can claim in injuries from a negligent driver, it may be good idea to take out additional insurance cover in case one is seriously injured in a road accident. The public should be concerned about several changes within the Road Accident Fund Amendment Bill.
Funded by FinMark Trust and DFID, a new information leaflet and corresponding web page for people in the United Kingdom sending money home to family in South Africa was launched at an event at South Africa House at the beginning of May. A booklet for people working in South Africa who wish to send money to Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique or Swaziland was also unveiled.
The corporate world may be letting younger blood through the revolving doors but South Africa’s large corporates continue to choose relatively older, more experienced employees to fill their top jobs, especially those at exco (executive committee) level.
Over the next few months, South African banks will begin to replace plain, magnetic-stripe credit cards with chip-enabled smart cards. The exact timing of the launch is still up in the air as the banks sort out last-minute details and technologies, but Absa and Standard Bank appear to be the front-runners.
Bank fees, we are told by a recent voluminous report for the Competition Commission, have little to do with costs. They also appear to have little to do with service, as you can pay a lot or almost nothing for exactly the same facility. Most consumers know that shopping around for the most competitive home loan can lead to substantial savings.
Ten-year-old Hossam Abu Hashish smiles proudly as he lays out a pile of rusted steel shrapnel on the floor of his single-room home in northern Gaza. "I have a good collection," he says. "But it’s not the best in the village. My uncle’s is bigger."
He holds up a piece of twisted metal the length of his forearm. It has edges sharp enough to cut glass.