Verified Practitioner Register

What a record here states, and what it does not

How somebody gets onto this register

By applying and passing an assessment. There is no other route. Nobody is placed on this register because they work somewhere, because their firm is a member, because a partner nominated them, or because they appear in anybody else’s directory. The Association does not import lists.

1. The practitioner applies, stating the role and the models the assessment should cover. That becomes the scope, and the scope appears on the record.
2. The published assessment fee is payable before the work begins. It pays for the assessment whatever the outcome, and a refusal costs what a grant costs.
3. The baseline checks and the applicable role modules are carried out against the evidence supplied and the public record.
4. The decision is written down with reasons and confirmed by the Independent Reviewer before it is published.
5. The status carries a review date and annual surveillance. It does not roll forward on its own.

Membership of the Association is a different thing entirely and produces no status here. See the Member Directory.

Correction, withdrawal and the permanence of the record

1. A factual error — a misspelt name, a wrong date — is corrected promptly on request, by writing to editor@privatelendingassociation.co.za.
2. A granted verification is not deleted on request. A subject may let it lapse, or ask for it to be withdrawn, and the record then reads expired or withdrawn rather than disappearing. A register whose entries vanish when their subject prefers is not a register, and a reader following an old badge needs to find out what happened rather than meet a blank page.
3. Anyone may report a record as inaccurate, free of charge. Where it is wrong it is corrected; where the concern is about conduct, it is handled under complaints and review, which can lead to corrective action, suspension or withdrawal of the verification.
4. Personal information is processed under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013; see the privacy notice.

Checking a practitioner, and checking an arrangement

These are two different checks and the second matters more. A listing says something about where a name appears. It says nothing about where your capital would go.

1. Ask which legal entity would receive the capital, and on what terms.
2. Ask who grants the credit to the borrower, and whether that party holds registration where the National Credit Act applies to the arrangement — then check the number on the National Credit Regulator’s register.
3. If a recommendation or a regulated service is offered, ask under which authorised financial services provider and mandate the person acts, and verify that with the Financial Sector Conduct Authority.
4. Read risk and red flags before the meeting, not after it.

Common questions

Has the Association verified the practitioners in this register?

No practitioner holds a verification status. A listing records that a person appears in a source the Association names, or applied to it directly, on a stated date — their role, where they work and where the information came from. Verification is a separate assessment against the published baseline and the module for their role.

Why is the register empty?

Because appearing in a partner's own directory is not permission to appear here. This is a separate publication, on a different site, with a different purpose, and the Association records a person's permission before publishing them. Entries appear as that permission is recorded.

What is a private-lending practitioner?

An individual who presents private-lending arrangements to the public — explaining how an arrangement works, working through a scenario, and introducing a reader to a platform or provider. A practitioner is usually paid a commission on business placed.

Does a listing authorise someone to give financial advice?

No. A consultant's title, Association membership or directory listing does not authorise the provision of regulated financial advice or intermediary services. If a person makes a recommendation or provides a regulated service, ask under which authorised financial services provider and mandate they act, and verify that information with the FSCA.