Free Subscription

Get the news that matters from one of the leading news sites in Kenya.

DIGITISATION OF CLAIMS BY UNCLAIMED ASSETS AUTHORITY

Post by : Ann Njambuya

The Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority (UFAA)  has rolled out the digital filing of claims, a move that is likely to ease disbursements.

According to the agency, the scrapping of the manual filing process will facilitate easier processing and disbursement of over Sh51 billion worth of unclaimed assets.

”An online system has been developed and deployed to facilitate filing, processing and disbursement of unclaimed financial assets to rightful owners and beneficiaries,” UFAA CEO John Mwangi said.

The state agency is also set to deploy an online holders’ reporting and surrenders system that will make it easier to submit and surrender unclaimed financial assets in their possession.

In a statement, the authority revealed that it is at advanced discussions with Huduma Kenya to roll out UFAA’s services at Huduma Centers and Huduma Mashinani across 47 counties in the country.

Disbursement of unclaimed financial assets has been growing steadily from a paltry Sh30 million in 2016 to Sh1.2 billion by June 2021.

As of June 2021, remittances from entities amounting to Sh20.3 billion had been received into the Unclaimed Assets Trust Fund.

The ceo unclaimed financial  assets authority that has just digitised its claims department to ensure faster processing.
UFAA : Chief executive officer John Mwangi

Reports had been made for 915 million units of shares valued at Sh30.5 billion. 2,873 unclaimed safe deposit boxes were also surrendered.

A recent customer survey report found that potential claimants are discouraged from lodging low-value claims on account of stringent documentation and authentication requirements as provided for in the Act and Regulations.

“Procedure of obtaining UFAA’s services is considered complicated and cumbersome for claimants … especially a requirement to have all claim forms commissioned by lawyers,” the report noted.

Mwangi said UFAA has submitted a proposal to the National Treasury for the amendment of the Act and Regulations to address emerging reunification challenges experienced by the Authority over the years,” said  John Mwangi.

He said that upon amendment to the Act and Regulations, tracing and verification of assets owners and beneficiaries will be in tandem with feedback expressed by UFAA customers over the years.

The amendments also seek to shorten processes and requirements for verifying claimants and widen unclaimed assets categories to include loyalty points and emerging virtual currencies.

Latest Posts

RECOMMENDED