Public registers
Partners and the partner register
Partners are the organisations that fund, host and support the Association's work. That is all a tier records. It is not a listing, not an assessment and not a recommendation — the open register of who operates in this market is separate, and free.
Publishing costs money. The education, the registers, the standards and the complaints route are free to read and free to appear in, and something has to pay for them. Partners are what pays for them — organisations that contribute financially, technically or educationally, in exchange for a tier recorded here and nothing else.
Three things are deliberately kept apart, and confusing them is the failure mode this page exists to prevent. A listing in the organisation register is free to apply to for anyone operating in this market. Membership is a commitment an organisation makes to the code of conduct. Verification is an assessment the Association completes and publishes. A partnership tier is none of those, produces none of them, and cannot be exchanged for any of them.
Partnership tier
Describes a commercial or strategic relationship with the Association — who supports the work, and how. It is disclosed so a reader can weigh it.
It is not an assessment of anything, and it cannot be used to obtain a verification.
Verification status
Describes whether the Association’s published checks have been completed on a named organisation or person, what was checked, and when.
It is not regulatory approval, and it is not a guarantee about any arrangement.
Membership, partnership and verification are separate
Membership indicates participation in the Association. Partnership indicates support provided to the Association. Verification is a separate evidence-based assessment. None automatically confers the others.
The partner register
Every partner profile carries the same sections, including what has not been checked. This is not the register of the market — that is the organisation register, which is free and much larger.
The partnership tiers
Gold Partner
Gold PartnerThe organisation has a commercial partnership with the Association, disclosed on its partner profile.
It does not mean the organisation has been verified, and it buys no standing in the verification process.
Supporting Partner
Supporting PartnerThe organisation supports the Association's educational or standards work.
It does not mean the organisation has been verified.
Education Partner
Education PartnerThe organisation or institution contributes teaching, research or review capacity to the Association's material.
It does not mean the organisation has been verified, and it does not give it editorial control.
One further tier exists and is not listed here because it cannot be applied for. The Founding Gold Partner tier records the organisation that provided the support required to establish the Association. It is held by one organisation, it may not be shared, duplicated or re-granted, and no tier may be created above it. It is a record of what was done, not a rung on a ladder.
Becoming a partner
Partnership suits an organisation that benefits from this market being better understood and wants to say so publicly. It is open to lenders, funds, platforms, administrators and professional firms, and it is negotiated annually.
- What you get. A tier recorded against your entry, a partner profile written to the same template as every other, and the mark to display under the badge policy.
- What you do not get. Influence over anything published, a verification status, faster or better treatment in an assessment, or any say in a complaint — including one about you. Constitution clause 10.2 makes void any decision a contribution influenced.
- What it costs. An annual contribution, set by the tier. See dues and fees.
Write to info@privatelendingassociation.co.za with what your organisation does and which tier you have in mind. Partnership and membership are separate and may be held together or apart.
The statuses a record can carry, the criteria behind each and the review cycle are set out in the verification methodology. The conduct expected is in the code of conduct, and complaints and review explains what happens when something goes wrong.
Common questions
- What does it mean to be a partner of the Association?
- A partnership tier describes a commercial or strategic relationship with the Association — who supports the work and how. It is disclosed on the partner's profile so that a reader can weigh it. It is not an assessment of the organisation, it is not an endorsement of anything it offers, and it cannot be used to obtain a verification.
- Does paying for a higher tier get you a stronger trust badge?
- No. Partnership tiers and verification statuses are separate systems, maintained separately, and the site is built so that one cannot imply the other. Verification is granted only against the published criteria, and a partner that fails a check is recorded as failing it regardless of tier.
- Is a partner's product approved by the Association?
- No. The Association does not approve, endorse or assess any lending product, arrangement or opportunity. It is not a regulator and does not licence anything. A partner profile describes what an organisation does and what has been checked about the organisation itself.