Nathalie Burrows, Editor at EBnet

One of the common threads running through this year’s FSCA Conference was the concept of financial health – linking to the Authority’s intention for a sustainable financial sector, where financial consumers are treated fairly. Financial health is an evolution of financial wellbeing. And, as was strongly advocated by one of the speakers, “Considering an individual’s financial situation without considering their income or other macro’s, like inflation, is a waste of time”.

So, what then, as an outcomes focused sector should we be aiming for?

The conversation has moved on (and expanded) from traditional and subjective state of financial wellbeing – which is essentially about how people feel about their money (the degree of control they have, confidence and peace of mind they experience) – to financial health – which focuses on the objective condition of their finances at a point in time (savings, debt, insurance, budget).

Financial health is typically measured using indicators such as income stability, savings buffers, debt levels, insurance cover and the ability to meet financial obligations as they fall due. At the conference, references to “financial health” were often linked to the resilience of households in the face of shocks, and whether they can absorb unexpected expenses without defaulting or turning to high-cost credit.

This framing aligns with international work that treats financial health as something that can be diagnosed and tracked with data, similar to a balance sheet and cashflow test for consumers. And the FSCA is urging the financial sector to move toward outcomes that reflect whether customers can actually live more financially secure and dignified lives.

As we navigate a supervisory world where the financial health of consumers is the measured outcome, regulating the inputs seems unnecessary. Let’s bring that back to yesterday’s conversation around AI. Should we be considering AI/technology/digital specific regulation, or does SA’s current regulatory framework appropriately cover AI? The Regulator is leaning toward the latter. But I don’t think this is the end of this conversation.

Digital innovation and big tech entering finance was voted by 62% of conference attendees as the biggest changing impacting the financial sector. But a recent survey referenced by Jonathan Dixon in his fireside chat with Farzana Badat, found that when asked whether digital innovation has significantly improved outcomes for financial customers, the majority of industry associations vote an unequivocal yes. The consumer bodies, however, flag a number of risks.

So we think digital and tech is a big lever – but it’s not moving us closer to the desired outcome. So then what is?

Consumer outcomes are without a doubt impacted by education and advice. And keep in mind the effective date of Conduct Standard 1 of 2025 on financial education is next week – 26 March 2026. Enter the modern finfluencer. Whist the FSCA did not mention whether it would be considering specific legislation for these financial influencers, it was agreed that these online personalities do guide some consumers’ behaviour.

The audience was challenged (by a very successful finfluencer in South Africa) with the notion that the financial environment has left very fertile ground for these influencers – and thus require a long hard look at ourselves. Masking promotion with education by, for example, paying celebrities to endorse products, thereby playing on consumers’ vulnerabilities or feeding their cognitive biases, is perhaps not the ideal fair treatment of customers.
Be that as it may, finfluencers do represent an opportunity to the financial sector – by growing awareness of all things money-related, does grow the market, or the coverage, of the sector itself.

Digital fraud was also raised as an alarming trend. In 2024, the banking sector recorded 97 000 instances of digital banking fraud, with potential losses of R1,86 billion. In 2025, this had grown to 110 000 instances, with a R2,4 billion potential loss. (89% of these via banking app’s.)

The three most common techniques used by fraudsters:

1. AI driven realism – is scaling rapidly
2. Accessibility and automation – did you know that you can purchase a plug & play scam kit?
3. Behaviour manipulation – exploiting fear, urgency, authority, greet and trust

The Regulator described digital fraud as one of the biggest risks of our lifetimes.

Disappointing to me, was that in the audience survey I referred to earlier, only 2.3% of the conference attendees voted climate risk and sustainability as the biggest change impacting the financial sector. I don’t have enough space in this article to work through all the research (pro tip: go watch our podcast series Heatwave Horizons) but the panel discussion including Eric Kane, Director of ESG Research at Bloomberg Intelligence, pointed to the fact that what gets measured gets managed.

This is a common line I hear when it comes to climate or ESG investing. And it feels like the lack of standardised measurement is an easy excuse for asset owners and asset managers. Perhaps the new line should be: what gets regulated gets managed? But that’s a conversation for another day.

Finally, the conference wrapped up with a panel update on progress over the past year and what we can expect in the coming months:

• Trustee toolkit compliance – around 300 trustees have not completed the toolkit. The FSCA has issued 100 removal letters, with the balance going out before the end of March.

• Arrear contributions – the FSCA has deliberately deepened engagement with the authorities, like SARS, the public protector, etc, and will be monitoring board action on arrear contributions more closely.

• A watchlist of funds has been put together – those funds with heighted regulatory and conduct risks (like outstanding statutory returns, outstanding contributions, high levels of unclaimed benefits and/or Pension Fund Adjudicator complaints).

• This concept of a watchlist will be extended to a watchlist of administrators.

• The FSCA will be closely monitoring costs and fees – and will be publishing findings in the upcoming year on this.

• They will continue to monitor the impact of two-pot – specifically from a consumer point of view.

In summary, the 2026 FSCA Conference was rich with global and local insights into real challenges faced by South Africa’s financial sector right now. The FSCA demonstrates a deep understanding of these issues and consults other jurisdictions to pick up any learnings that may apply to our context. Their willingness to engage the industry is evident and I’m sure we can expect refinements as their SupTech capabilities roll out.

ENDS

Ed’s note: Read my reflections on Day 1 of the 2026 FSCA Conference here.