Microfinance Bill, 2012 H.B. 2, 2012 (2) Every microfinancier shall interact with clients in English and ChiShona or SiNdebele or any other indigenous language understood by the client. (3) Every microfinancier shall have a clearly defined procedure in the case of defaulting clients, and shall notify clients of such procedure as part of the terms and conditions of any loan or credit facility. (4) No microfinancier shall, without the client’s prior consent, visit a client’s house or place of abode or place of employment for the collection of moneys due from the client, unless such visits have been expressly authorised as part of the terms and conditions of the agreement for the loan or credit facility, in which case every such visit must be conducted by persons identified to the client in advance, and must be carried out with the utmost regard for decency and courtesy. (5) In any event, there must be no such visits during public holidays (including Sundays) or on any day on which the client or any member of his family is celebrating a marriage, or on any occasion set aside by the family of the client for memorialising a bereavement. (6) Every microfinancier shall avoid stressful recovery methods and in particular microfinance institutions shall not detain ATM cards or demand post-dated cheques as security for any loan or credit facility. (7) Microfinanciers should promote a culture of social sensitivity towards their clients, and in particular should endeavour to foster a long-term and individualised relationship with each of their clients. Privacy of client’s information 7. Every microfinancier shall keep personal client information strictly confidential unless required to disclose it by a court order or for the purpose of legal proceedings. Client education and financial literacy 8.(1) Microfinance institutions must adequately inform clients and potential clients of any information additional to that referred to in paragraph 3 that will enable them to make informed choices and decisions concerning the range of credit facilities or options available to them, whether or not such facilities or options are offered by the microfinance institution concerned. (2) Every corporate microfinancier shall have at least one credit control advisor to give credit control advice to clients or potential clients where needed, and such advisor must not also be involved in any way with offering credit facilities or loans to clients or potential clients Feedback or grievance mechanism 9.(1) Every corporate microfinancier shall ⎯ (a) institute a procedure for dealing with complaints from clients and ensure that⎯ (i) every complaint is attended to and, if possible and appropriate, remedied within a reasonable time; and (ii) the complainant is made aware of his or her right to complain to the Registrar if his or her complaint is not remedied to his or her satisfaction; - 37 -