Verified Botswana facts
This guide explains how to check a bank on the Bank of Botswana licensed list and how to check a non-bank lender with NBFIRA Botswana. It produces a verification memorandum with source, date, name match, provider class, verified channel, product claim and unresolved discrepancy. The exercise confirms identity and supervisory route only; it does not rank providers, establish product availability or predict a consumer loan decision.
Questions before signing
A fraudster may copy a licensed institution's legal name while replacing one letter in a domain, using a private messaging number or directing payment to an unrelated person. A trading name may also differ from the legal entity, producing a false mismatch if no relationship is checked. Searching only a logo, advertisement or general company register can therefore create either misplaced confidence or an unsupported accusation. Verification must preserve what matched, what did not and who confirmed the relationship.
Decision worksheet
Open a provider verification memorandum before an application. Record the claimed identity exactly, classify the provider, inspect the correct official source, reach an official contact separately and ask about the disputed channel or agent. Do not upload documents, sign or pay while the answer is unresolved. Save the official page and response date. Recheck status when a notice, licence expiry, changed payee or redirected domain appears.
Capture the claim before researching it
Save the advert, message or page as received, including date, full address, telephone number, account name and the product description. Transcribe the claimed legal name and trading name without correcting spelling. Record whether the contact says it is a bank, micro lender, finance company, agent or another type of business. This frozen claim prevents later edits from changing the verification target. It also separates a provider's existence from the authenticity of the particular solicitation. Do not send an identity document merely because the contact says it is needed to search for the applicant. At this stage the borrower is collecting public identity evidence, not applying. Assign each unknown its own row so a matching logo cannot silently answer a different question about licensing or channel ownership.
Classify the proposed lender
Determine which activity the contact claims to perform. Banks and non-bank financial institutions do not share one universal directory. If the provider presents itself as a bank, search the Bank of Botswana licensed-bank list for the legal entity. If it presents itself as a regulated non-bank lender, use NBFIRA's current licensed-entity information or contact NBFIRA when classification is unclear. Do not treat inclusion in one authority's material as permission for an activity supervised elsewhere. Note the provider class, authority, page title, access date and exact result. A missing or ambiguous result is a stop condition, not permission to select the closest name. Ask the authority or institution to clarify before progressing and preserve that response in the memorandum.
Resolve legal and trading names
Compare punctuation, corporate suffixes and distinctive words rather than relying on a partial match. When the advertisement uses a trading name, look for official evidence linking it to the legal entity; do not invent the relationship from similar branding. Record the registered or licensed name exactly as the authority displays it and the name that will appear on an agreement or payment instruction. Ask the verified institution to explain any difference. A legitimate group relationship does not necessarily authorise every affiliate or introducer to contract, receive fees or collect documents. Conversely, a different trading style is not by itself proof of fraud. The memorandum should state the verified relationship and its source, or mark it unresolved, without making allegations beyond the evidence.
Test the communication triangle
Create three vertices: the authority record, the institution's independently reached official channel and the contact that approached the borrower. Use the first two to ask whether the third belongs to the provider's present process. Verify the complete domain, telephone number, physical or digital application location, agent identity and case reference. Do not click the disputed link to find the number used for verification. If the institution confirms an agent, record the agent's permitted role and whether documents or funds should ever pass through it. If it cannot confirm the contact, stop. This triangle prevents a genuine licence from being used as a shortcut to trust a cloned page or private account.
Validate the product and destination independently
After identity is established, ask the provider whether the named personal loan route currently exists and how a borrower reaches it. A public product reference is not evidence that the quoted amount, term, price or approval belongs to the applicant. Before any payment, compare the stated payee and account with the agreement and official instruction. Before an upload, compare the secure destination and requested fields with the institution's guidance. Treat a last-minute redirect, personal beneficiary or request for credentials as a new verification event. Do not let urgency collapse the provider, product and destination checks into one yes-or-no answer. Each must have its own source and timestamp.
Issue a dated verification decision
End the memorandum with verified, unresolved or rejected, followed by the specific reason. A verified decision lists the authority, exact legal name, provider class, official channel, confirmed solicitation route and review date. An unresolved decision lists the evidence still required and blocks disclosure, signature and payment. A rejected decision preserves the mismatch and any report reference without continuing contact. Set a recheck trigger for licence notices, changed domains, new agents, altered beneficiaries or a long delay before signing. Verification is point-in-time evidence, not a permanent endorsement. Keep the memorandum with the eventual quotation or complaint file so the household can show which identity and route it relied on.