Running an agricultural business is demanding enough without FICA adding to the load. But if your business deals in physical items valued at R100,000 or more, whether it is livestock, tractors, harvesters, drones or any other equipment aimed at the agriculture sector, FICA is now part of the picture and the cost of not getting it right is climbing fast.
Since the December 2022 amendments to the FIC Act brought high-value goods dealers (HVGDs) into the fold as accountable institutions, agribusinesses have found themselves subject to the same compliance framework as banks, attorneys, and financial services providers. The grace period has long passed. The question now isn't whether you need to comply, it's whether your current processes are up to the task.
Getting FICA right doesn't mean hiring a compliance department or drowning your team in paperwork. It means having the right systems, processes, and support in place so that compliance happens seamlessly as part of how you already do business. That starts with understanding what is required.
Under FICA, agricultural HVGDs must:
Read more about the key FICA requirements here.
Most agricultural businesses we speak to have made a start on getting FICA right but know there are gaps, especially around conducting proper customer due diligence, beneficial ownership and keeping records that would stand up to an inspection. The question is whether those gaps will be closed before the FIC finds them.
FICA compliance is challenging for any business new to the regulatory framework, but the agricultural sector faces a particular set of hurdles and if you're still relying on manual processes, there's a good chance they're already slowing you down.
For one, the sheer volume of qualifying transactions makes manual customer due diligence unsustainable. When every transaction over the R100,000 thresholds requiring Customer Due Diligence (CDD) and you're doing dozens a week, paper-based processes simply can't keep up. Documents get lost or misfiled, screening is done inconsistently, and staff aren't always sure what's required for different client types. It works up to a point but the volume eventually catches up.
Then there's the complexity of who you may be selling to. Agricultural transactions often involve fleet buyers or corporate purchasers each with layered beneficial ownership structures that need to be verified and documented. Unpacking who actually owns or controls the entity on the other side of a deal is one of the trickiest parts of FICA, and it's consistently flagged as a weak point during inspections. When you're doing this on paper or in spreadsheets, it takes hours and the risk of getting it wrong is significant.
Many agribusinesses are also navigating all of this without a dedicated compliance team. More often than not, it's a finance manager, an office administrator, or the business owner carrying the load alongside their day job while being held to the same regulatory standard as a licensed financial institution. That's a lot to ask of someone who didn't sign up to be a compliance officer.
nCino KYC Africa was built specifically for the South African compliance environment, and agricultural businesses are already using it to get FICA right without it becoming a massive admin burden.
Here's what that looks like for your business and why others chose us:
Document free FICA that fits into your onboarding process with no delays. Verify clients digitally during the sales process. No photocopying IDs, no chasing documents, no bottlenecks before handover. Our system uses a combination of smart forms and prompts, that enables your client to easily complete their own profile information and upload all required documents onto a secure portal. This means that everything is captured, verified, and stored in one place, giving you a complete audit trail that's ready for any inspection.
Simple enough for your whole team. The system guides your team through what's needed and flags anything that requires attention.
Expert support whenever you need it. Our compliance team is on hand to answer your questions, guide you through tricky scenarios, and make sure you stay on the right side of the law. Not sure how to handle a complex beneficial ownership structure? Unsure whether a transaction needs to be reported? That's what we're here for.
South Africa may be off the FATF grey list, but the next Mutual Evaluation is expected to commence in the first half of 2026 and conclude in October 2027. Businesses that delayed FICA compliance hoping the pressure would ease are now carrying greater risk than ever.
If FICA has been creating more admin than it should, it's worth a quick look at how other businesses in the sector are handling it.
Get in touch with nCino KYC. We'll walk you through what's required and show you how to get it done without disrupting your operations.