"You trusted me to captain the South African team at the 2002 Soccer World Cup, you can trust me with this." – Lucas Radebe
About R4.5 billion in unclaimed dividends is held by South African companies. Many people miss out on funds that are rightfully theirs due to old contact details, closed bank accounts or deceased estates. This could be you, a friend, or a family member.
It takes one click to score the winning goal.
✅ Changes in banking account details - FICA details may also be required/outstanding
✅ Changes in contact details - FICA details may also be required/outstanding
✅ Death of a family member who may have been a shareholder
✅ Award of shareholding you may not be aware of – such as an Initial Public Offer (IPO) or BEE Scheme
✅ Shareholder not having an active credit record and is untraceable
Are you wondering if you have unclaimed dividends waiting for you? The good news is that checking and claiming is a simple and straightforward process!
Follow the link: To start, click here to access our dedicated service for checking unclaimed dividends.
Provide personal details: You will be prompted to enter some personal information, including your ID number, full name, address, and other necessary details. This information helps us verify your identity and locate any dividends that may belong to you.
Instant results: Once you've submitted your information, you will receive immediate results regarding any unclaimed dividends associated with your profile.
Complete your application: If there is a potential match, you’ll be guided to complete your application. This involves securely uploading any supporting documentation. We provide a secure link or QR code for this purpose, ensuring your information remains protected throughout the process.
If you have any questions or require further information, our Contact Centre is here to help! You can reach us at 086 140 1105 or +2710 491 5349. Our lines are open from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays).
Search results will only identify unclaimed dividends/funds for participating companies (issuers). Current or historic shareholding information (i.e. shares held in a company) with participating issuers is not included in Claim It.
Vuyo Lee, Director of Marketing and Corporate Affairs at the JSE sits down with our esteemed host, Gugulethu Mfuphi to discuss #ClaimIt, our nation-wide initiative aimed at connecting unclaimed dividends with their rightful shareholders.
If a dividend is declared, the amount you would receive depends on the number of shares you hold because all dividends are paid on a “per share basis”.
Remember, companies can choose the level to pay, which can be anything from more than the year's profit, (if they have accumulated and retained previous year's profit), or it could be nothing at all.
Dividends are how a company rewards or pays out a portion of its profits to shareholders/investors. It is important to note that not all companies pay dividends, even if they are profitable.
They can choose to do several things with the profit made such as:
There are three important dates relating to dividends:
For equities (apart from listed property companies), you will incur dividend withholding tax (DWT) on the dividend income that is paid out.
DWT of 20% is held back from your dividends before they are paid out or reinvested. Note the DWT is payable only on dividends paid out by the company and is payable after the company has already paid 28% corporate tax on its net profits.
Got questions? We’ve got answers! Whether you're curious about your shares, relevant documents, or anything else, you’ll find helpful insights here.
A share is simply proof of ownership of part of a company. The more shares you have, the more of the company you own, and you become known as a shareholder. This proof of ownership is represented by a share certificate, which today, is recorded electronically.
As a shareholder, it means that you have access to your share of the company’s earnings and any voting rights attached to the shares. It is important to note that being a shareholder does not necessarily mean you have a say in the day-to-day running of the business or that you can take items from the company where you hold shares (e.g. free clothing from Woolworths).
Companies sell shares so that they can raise the money needed to grow and expand their business, and to carry out certain projects to generate more income. These companies can sell shares either publicly or privately, and you can buy different types of shares.
Dividends are how a company rewards or pays out a portion of its profits to shareholders/investors. It is important to note that not all companies pay dividends, even if they are profitable. They can choose to do several things with the profit made such as:
It is the company board's discretion whether to pay out dividends to shareholders and how much to pay in dividends. For instance, if I invested R1000 at R10 each with 100 shares, it pays out 20c per dividend I would get R20.*
*Brokerage costs and taxes are not included in these examples
If the company in which you own shares produces a profit, the profit can be shared amongst the company’s shareholders in the form of a dividend payment.
The board of directors decide on the dividend amount/rate based on the company's most recent earnings. Dividends may be paid in cash or additional shares.
The frequency of dividend payments differs depending on the company in which you own shares. Some companies may pay dividends annually while other companies may pay dividends bi-annually or quarterly.
Dividends received by individuals from South African companies are taxed at a rate of 20% which is withheld by the entities paying the dividends to the individuals.
All you need to check if you have any unclaimed dividends owed to you is your ID number. If you do have unclaimed dividends you will need to complete and update your details with either our call centre agent or on the JSE Sharehub platform. You will also need a proof of address and banking details in order to conclude the process.
The timeframe depends on whether we received all your required FICA documents and proof of ownership. Once all documents have been received and validated, payment will be processed into your bank account within 5 business days.
To check on behalf of any third party, you should obtain the necessary power of attorney/letter of executorship/letter of authority from the Master of the Supreme Court.
For deceased estates, the following documentation is required:
There's an estimated R4.5bn in unclaimed dividends currently held by listed companies in SA. To address this challenge, the JSE, together with its listed companies, has launched a nationwide initiative called 'Claim It', aimed at identifying and returning unclaimed dividends to their rightful owners.
Discover how the JSE's nationwide campaign aims to recover R1 billion in unclaimed dividends for South Africans, empowering individuals to unlock their financial potential.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange has launched a countrywide search for shareholders who own roughly R4.5 billion in unclaimed benefits.
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