Newsletter - April 2025
 |
A. Welcome to New EmployersThis is the first BIBC newsletter for 2025. The focus in this edition is on improvements to eesi© and the launch of our new VERSION 2.0. It is therefore a very helpful guide to new users, and I would encourage you to keep this document handy.
Where there is no quarterly newsletter, this will be because we have already sent out several email messages directly to employers with information that was time sensitive. If you are not receiving these messages, do check and update your email address with us. Older newsletters are archived and can be accessed on our website at www.bibc.co.za under the ‘News’ tab. B. Senior Responsible Person/Director(s)If you are a payroll administrator or consultant receiving this communication, it is important that you immediately share all communications and messaging from the BIBC with the appropriate senior staff member and business director(s). C. Introducing eesi© 2.0 on 02 June 2025Since introducing eesi© to the industry in 2022, it has been extremely gratifying to see how employers have settled into submitting their own returns online. Most employers are now processing their returns without experiencing regular challenges. As technology goes, we still have ‘bugs’ from time to time but we can sort these out quickly or we can generally find an interim solution. D. Employer Focus Group testing eesi© 2.0 since February 2025I am so incredibly grateful to the 10 employers who are so kindly working with us and testing eesi© 2.0. They are all successfully submitting their returns for the last 3 months with no serious ‘bugs’ reported. These engaged employers have also helped us to understand the user experience and have suggested numerous improvements on your behalf. E. Notable improvements coming in eesi© 2.0Look-and-Feel
Employer portal view |
 |
|
| Editing of existing employee profiles Employers will need to populate all outstanding data when editing existing employee data. Certain data remains subject to verification for example name changes, ID number changes and banking details. Registration of new employees Employers can register their own new employees subject to BIBC verification on the system. New employees will not be verified until all compulsory (required) data is populated, and the necessary documents have been uploaded. You will be able to see the status of your registration. Real-time processing of returns and deposits Gone are the days of waiting for your benefits to be processed. When you now make a deposit that exactly matches your return, the funds are allocated to the correct account in real time. |
 |
Allocation means the process of splitting up your deposit and transferring the correct portions to the correct employee benefit fund, e.g.: Pension Fund, Sick Fund, Holiday Fund, Bonus Fund, BIMAF (Medical Aid), etc. If you make a short payment, the current system cannot allocate any of the funds until your full payment is received. Interest, in this event, will be calculated from the date that the final payment was received..
|
|
The only delay that is still experienced, relates to the funds transfer policies of the many different banking institutions that employers use. Even these delays are significantly reduced, with most financial institutions now doing away with this limitation due to recent technological advances in the banking space.
The payments due are in respect of the previous month and the deadline of the 7th day after the period for which contributions are due, is a grace-period that already makes provision for this delay. |
|
|
At last! When you forget your password, you can now reset it yourself. We are equally relieved that we no longer have to field hundreds of requests for passwords to be reset from employers, on a daily basis.
The background is also cleaner, with text no longer hidden behind a graphic on the landing page. It seems like such a minor issue, but it was a great annoyance to the BIBC team as well, so we are very happy to see that one fixed!
Simply go to your landing page and if you have forgotten your password, click on that clearly marked link, and follow the prompts.
The auto-load feature is available in eesi© 2.0 to save you time with loading returns for mostly the same employees. This is especially useful for larger employers who will then only need to add or delete employees before submitting subsequent returns.
|
|
In the new version, your pro-forma invoice has all the necessary elements to support your own administrative requirements.
Interest on late payments is compounded daily. To avoid interest, do ensure that you submit your return and matching deposit to be available in the BIBC bank account by the 7th of each month following the month in which the benefits were due.
The rules around non-payment of outstanding interest have been updated in the new version.
|
|
F. Payment Gateway
The Employer Focus Group were most excited to hear about this facility that is currently in development. We are planning to link your returns to a Payment Gateway on 01 September 2025. What this means is that, once you have generated your return, you will be redirected to a payment portal where you will be guided to pay the exact amount that is on your return, as the last task required for a successful return submission. Further information will be provided closer to the release date of this facility. |
Thank you for the overwhelming positive response to our recent and more regular requests for correct deposit references. 70% of employers are currently using a correct reference that allows us to immediately identify these deposits and link it to the correct employer for quicker processing. |
G. WhatsApp Benefit Statements
Do continue to encourage your employees to use this facility. The statements that are downloaded on the WhatsApp platform through a simple registration process by the employee, reflects the processed and paid for benefits. A monthly SMS is sent to all active employees advising them of the process to register on WhatsApp. In order to continue using this service, they must ensure that their contact details are updated and especially when they change cell phone numbers.H. New Contribution Codes
Medical Aid top-up code XLL The BIBC is a no-cash organisation. As a result, the developers have been asked to create a new contribution code for a Building Industry Medical Aid (BIMAF) top up.What this means is that a BIMAF member can no longer purchase a top-up to their benefits in order to extend the benefit date. The employee will need to instruct the employer to purchase the top-up contribution on the employer’s return.
|
|
I. BIBC Departments' Email Addresses
The following email addresses must be used for specific queries. If you are unsure where your query must be sent to, send only one email and address it only to
|
