By Kotie Geldenhuys
Photo courtesy of Freepik
Just moments after leaving the bank, her routine trip turned into a nightmare. With a bag full of cash meant to pay workers’ wages, the company’s financial officer had no idea she was being followed. As she parked at the office building and stepped out of her vehicle, Susan found herself staring into the cold barrel of a gun, surrounded by men barking demands for the money. In seconds, a normal workday became a terrifying reminder of the dangers faced by clients withdrawing large sums of cash.
Bank-associated robbery, a crime targeting individual bank clients for their cash, has become a persistent concern in South Africa’s financial sector. According to the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC), the term describes “a bank-related robbery of cash or attempt thereto, committed against a bank client or his/her delegate, at any stage while en route to or from a bank branch, automated teller machine (ATM) or cash centre, or inside the branch, to effect a deposit or withdrawal” (SABRIC, 2013).
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[This is only an extract of an article published in Servamus: April 2026. This article is available for purchase.]