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Standard Bank has issued a public warning about Direct Access Finance, calling it a fraudulent entity that is using its information to legitimise illegal activities.
Direct Access Finance claims to be located at the Standard Bank Centre at 5 Simmonds Street in downtown Johannesburg, where it purports to provide consumers with credit solutions.
But Standard Bank said in a statement on Friday that this is false.
Direct Access Finance also appears to be a play on the name of FirstRand-owned DirectAxis, which provides personal loans and debt consolidation loans. FirstRand said it had no direct or indirect association with "the said entity of a similar name, Direct Access".
News24 attempted to contact Direct Access Finance on the two numbers listed on its website, but both went to voicemail. The company's website also boasts a National Credit Regulator (NCR) registration number, but Standard Bank says this is fake.
"The website attempts to garner legitimacy by associating its physical address with that of Standard Bank and links itself to one of Standard Bank's subsidiaries, Blue Granite 2," Standard Bank said.
"Direct Access Finance is not registered with the NCR and has no legal mandate to advise on or provide financial credit."
Standard Bank said it had no direct or indirect association with Direct Access Finance or its website whatsoever and urged consumers not to confuse it with other legitimate financial services providers that may have closely related names.
The bank added that it had reported the issue to regulators and was seeking to have what it called an "illegal website" taken down.
"We encourage the public to always ensure that they are dealing with registered financial services providers to avoid falling victim to scams of this nature," said Standard Bank. "Lenders registered under National Credit Act will never charge an upfront fee to for consumers to borrow money."
Standard Bank and other lenders do, however, charge consumers initiation fees when extending certain types of credit, such as overdrafts, for example.
* This story has been updated with FirstRand's comments saying it has no association with Direct Access.
