The caring does not stop - iMasFinance celebrates 86 years as a caring financial co-operative

Banie van Vollenhoven, iMasFinance Group CEO

This year, iMasFinance celebrated 86 years as a community focused financial solutions provider. Its humble beginnings started at the Iscor Pretoria Works in Pretoria offering Iscor employees benefits in the form of food coupons.

From there, iMasFinance evolved into a financial services co-operative that offers its clients, who then become its members, a variety of financial and insurance products and solutions so that they can live financially well.

The world may look different from 86 years ago, but iMasFinance has been a caring financial wellness partner during the good and difficult times, not only by giving access to financial and insurance products but also through its financial wellness initiatives, helping individuals to make informed financial decisions. “A co-operative is a legal corporation owned by a community who share a common need, such as financial services. Interestingly, history reveals that co-operatives show more resilience in periods of crisis, the most recent evidence being the aftermath of the financial crisis in 2008. Because co-operatives emerge to fulfil essential needs that both market and state fail to address, it comes as no surprise that co-operatives' history is tightly linked to economic downturns and crises. “In our co-operative, every member - every one of our community - is important; we believe that they deserve to make informed financial decisions, live financially well and enjoy financial freedom” says Banie van Vollenhoven, iMasFinance Group CEO.

Financial co-operatives are different from other financial institutions in that those who take up its products become a part of the organisation through profit share and having a say in the running of the co-operative. “At iMasFinance you're not just a customer; you're an integral part of the family. As a member, you share in our profits through iMasRewards and you have a say in our business at our Annual General Meeting (AGM),” says Van Vollenhoven.

In addition to iMasRewards, iMasFinance’s loyalty programme where members earn cashbacks, members also earn interest on a special savings fund, known as a Reserve Fund. “Our members are at the heart of what we do, that is why we give members sound financial advice, access to affordable financial products and give them the opportunity to share in our profits and have a say in how we run our organisation,” says Van Vollenhoven.

This year marks the 28th iMasFinance AGM since officially becoming a co-operative, which took place on the 31st of October 2023. An AGM of a co-operative is an important event on the corporate calendar as the meeting provides the ideal opportunity for management to share insight into the strategies, past performance and future business of the Co-operative and gives members the opportunity to express their views or ask questions to board members and senior management of the Co-operative in order to better understand the operations of the Co-operative. It is now our third year since we last held an in-person AGM. We have learned that many of our members prefer participating virtually. So, we have decided to continue offering our members the opportunity to attend the annual general meeting virtually from their smartphones, tablets, and desktop devices.

“Through online financial wellness assessments and increased product uptake, members can get more cashback benefits. iMasFinance allocates a percentage of the rewards in a member’s reserve fund which grows with competitive interest rates. iMasFinance members can be assured that we have their best interests at heart” concludes Van Vollenhoven.