Payment Gateway Explainer 1
Dear Employer,
It is a full month since we went live with our new Benefit Administration System, eesi© 2.0. The vast majority of employers are expressing positive opinions about the ease of navigation in the system and the changes implemented since eesi© 1.0. Where there were bugs in the system, these have been fixed quickly by our new system development partners. Thank you for your patience as we fielded hundreds of calls and emails since 02 June when we went ‘live’.
The focus of this communication is what you can expect on 13 August, when the Payment Gateway is activated. A separate email outlining the benefits to both the Employer and the Pension Fund member/Employee, was sent to all employers on 04 July 2025.
The Payment Gateway facility will be added to your Return Capture process
From 13 August, when you submit your return, you will be redirected to the Payment Gateway facility. This will work just like any modern online purchasing system, that redirects you to your own bank. You will still be able to save your return if you still need to edit the return, or you are not yet ready to make the payment.
- The amount due on your return will be pre-populated on your payment landing page.
- Your employer number will be pre-populated as your reference number on your payment landing page.
Simultaneous submission to the BIBC
Once you have authorised the payment, the BIBC will receive both the return and the matching deposit.
Different administrators for return compilation and for payment
Where the person submitting the return is different from the person authorising the payment, a pro-forma invoice with a link to the Payment Gateway can be sent to your authorised person.
Errors on returns
Do make sure that you are submitting your correct return, since immediate processing will mean that you may not be able to fix errors without incurring significant administration costs from both Sanlam (for manual adjustments to pension fund contributions) and from the BIBC (for manual adjustments to non-pension fund contributions). Errors should be greatly minimised now that the system flags you when you are attempting to purchase the wrong benefits, and also when you are missing returns for one or more weeks.
Getting ready_Your payroll processes
Employers will be updated on our progress and as further technical/practical information becomes available. It is important that you are ready to engage with this significant change by reviewing your internal processes for submission and payment of BIBC benefit returns in line with the guidance provided above. With over 3,000 employers purchasing benefits for more than 30,000 employees, it is not possible for the BIBC to accommodate individual employers whose processes do not align with the due date of the 7th of the month following the calendar month for which benefit returns and payments are due.
Getting ready_Your IT systems and network providers
Based on our experience, the following browsers and services are generally problematic. Ensure that your IT resource is aware of the coming changes so that you can submit your returns with payments from 13 August:
- Chrome
- Edge
- Firefox
- Safari
Many employers who use Rain as a network service provider, complain about their systems ‘timing out’ or they are not able to perform simple processes online. Employers using Rain and other network service providers with slower speeds and connectivity problems, may have this challenge with all online processes and not just eesi© 2.0.
Next Communications
Regular updates and reminders will be shared with all employers as we receive more guidance from the service provider and our system developers. The BIBC team are looking forward to our first, fully automated year-end period with monthly employers engaging with two previous submissions before then.
