FIC Directive 10 transaction monitoring questions usually start from a misunderstanding. Directive 10 does not change how institutions monitor transactions. It requires certain accountable institutions to give the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) detailed information about their geographic footprint, so the FIC and supervisors can see group structures. It took effect when it was gazetted on 31 July 2026, after a draft published in December 2025 and comments that closed on 13 February 2026.
Because the final directive was narrowed from the draft, many summaries written earlier are out of date. This article sets out what the final text covers, the deadlines, and the indirect link to monitoring.
What the final directive requires
Directive 10 of 2026, published in Government Gazette 55097 on 31 July 2026, specifies the particulars about geographic location that must be provided on registration with the FIC under section 43B(2) of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act. Affected institutions must provide full particulars (name, licence and registration numbers where applicable, business address and the contact details of the person carrying out the compliance function) for their head office, their domestic and international branches, each subsidiary's head office and the subsidiary's branches, inside and outside South Africa. Registered institutions must update their registration, and then keep the information current by updating within 90 days of any change.
The FIC has said the directive does not amend section 43B but creates the obligation to provide location information, and it accepts there will be administrative work while noting that institutions already hold the information and need only capture it on the registration platform.
Who is covered and when
The final directive is narrower than the draft, which would have applied to every accountable institution in Schedule 1. Paragraph 4 applies it to institutions listed in items 1, 2, 3, 9, 11 (excluding banks, mutual banks and co-operative bank credit providers), 14, 20, 21 and 22 of Schedule 1 to the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, and commentary says the FIC has indicated that a further directive may follow for the financial institutions sector. The FIC's user guide describes how to submit location information on goAML and notes that regulatory reporting functionality will not be enabled for locations submitted for this purpose.
Registered institutions had 90 days from 31 July 2026 to update their registration, which on a straight count ends on 29 October 2026 (some commentary quotes 31 October). That initial window has now closed and the focus has shifted to maintaining the data. Failure to comply is non-compliance that attracts an administrative sanction under section 43B(2) read with sections 61A and 45C of the Act.
Why a registration directive matters to monitoring
Directive 10 is about the institution, not its customers, so it does not alter monitoring rules. The link is indirect. With reliable location data for every branch and subsidiary, the FIC and supervisors can better understand an institution's geographic exposure and how risk may flow through a group. That supports risk-based supervision and, with South Africa's FATF mutual evaluation under way, helps demonstrate that supervisors understand the regulated population.
For institutions, the same information is useful internally. Mapping where the group operates, and which locations handle which customers and products, is a prerequisite for a credible risk assessment and for deciding which monitoring scenarios apply in which place. That is analysis rather than a directive requirement.
Keeping the data right
Two controls help. Assign an owner for location data and tie the 90-day update rule to change events such as opening or closing a branch, acquiring a subsidiary or relocating an office. And reconcile the FIC record with internal group structure records on a schedule, because mismatches are the kind of inconsistency that attracts supervisory questions.
Check the final directive text and the FIC's guidance before relying on this summary. Applicability turns on the institution's category in Schedule 1, and that is a legal determination for each firm. Put simply, the link between FIC Directive 10 transaction monitoring and day-to-day alert rules is indirect: the directive improves supervisory visibility rather than changing detection logic.
