Foreign Exchange

Allowances

• South African residents over the age of 18 have a discretionary allowance of R1 million per calendar year, which includes a travel allowance
• South African residents under the age of 18 have a limited discretionary allowance of R200 000 per calendar year

You may only use your Global One card if you are a South African resident, have a valid passport and a return ticket to South Africa. The abovementioned allowances are valid for 1 calendar year.

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) prohibits clients from using their Global One cards abroad as follows:

"Residents may not participate in lotteries organised abroad, as such participation contravenes the Lotteries Act, 1997 (Act No. 57 of 1997).

In terms of the National Gambling Act, 2004 (Act No. 7 of 2004), as amended by the National Gambling Amendment Act, 2008 (Act No. 10 of 2008), residents may not participate in any gambling activities not authorised in terms of the aforementioned Act.

Residents may not use their credit and/or debit cards in South Africa to facilitate payments for the abovementioned purposes, and in addition all issuers of American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard and Visa cards, may not accept such debits against resident cardholders' accounts in respect of the payment for foreign lottery tickets or gambling activities."

Settlement arrangements

Nedbank facilitates payments to our clients from abroad. These payments, where necessary, will be converted to rand before being deposited. We're responsible for the Balance of Payments reporting on your behalf to the SARB for these transactions.

Restriction on payments to Capitec Bank accounts

Preapproval is required from the SARB for the introduction of a foreign loan before the money is paid to South Africa. Only authorised dealers who have been authorised to deal in foreign currency can submit these applications to the SARB. Please do not send loan money to your Capitec Bank account.

Payments received in foreign currency

To keep transaction fees affordable, all foreign currency payments will be converted into rand when money is received at the telegraphic transfer buying rate of exchange as quoted by Nedbank's NedTreasury system at the time of processing.

The foreign currency fee structure is complex and starts with a fixed fee and an additional cost based on the value of the money being paid.

Payments template for sending foreign currency to Capitec Bank clients

The bank or person paying money into your Capitec Bank account must make a SWIFT payment to Nedbank for further credit to Capitec Bank. This payment requires specific information which is indicated below. The foreign bank must use the Nedbank SWIFT code (NEDSZAJJ) in the "Receiver" and "Intermediary Institution" fields and Capitec Bank’s SWIFT code (CABLZAJJ) in the "Account With" field to reduce the risk of delayed and lost payments. The money must preferably be paid in South African Rand (ZAR). Note that we do not pay money abroad. Please ensure that we have your latest contact details. If we can't contact you within 30 days, the money will be returned to the sender. To update your details, visit your nearest Capitec Bank branch. See the table below for more information and an example of the proposed SWIFT message.

SWIFT field	Payment Information	Specific details to be inserted in the payment information received by Nedbank in favour of Capitec Bank
Sender:	Sending bank's BIC code
Message Type	103
Receiver:	NEDSZAJJ
Message text
20:	Transaction reference number
23B:	Bank operation code
32A:	Value date, currency code, amount
50K:	Ordering client	Payer's account number, name and address
52A:	Ordering institution
53A:	Sender's correspondent
56:	Intermediary institution	NEDSZAJJ
57:	Beneficiary bank
57A:	Account with institution	CABLZAJJ
59:	Beneficiary client	Capitec Bank client's account number, name and full address
70:	Remittance information	Reason for payment (e.g. gift, allowance, etc.)
71A:	Details of charges

Fees

The cost associated with payments from abroad will be charged to your account (the beneficiary) unless otherwise indicated in the payment instruction.

Fees for international payments through other local banks cannot be determined or quoted due to the number of other banks that might be involved in these payments.

Fee structure for payments through Nedbank

• For payments received in rand from abroad, there will be a fixed minimum transaction fee of R105
• Payments received in another currency will incur higher costs due to the conversion process to rand. All commissions will be charged at 0.35% with a minimum fee equal to the fixed transaction for rand payments stated above, and a maximum of R585 (VAT inclusive). These fees are subject to change without notice

Examples of transactions and fees payable

1. The sending party in America sends you $10 000 and first converts to rand. If the US$ is converted at R8 net to a US$, the American bank will send R80 000 to you. A fixed transaction fee (e.g. R100) will be deducted by the service provider and you'll receive R79 900
2. The sending party in America sends you $10 000. If the US$ is converted at R8 net to a US$ by the service provider in South Africa it'll be R80 000. A currency conversion commission fee of R280 is payable (R80 000 x 0.35% = R280) for the transaction, and will be deducted by the service provider. You will receive R79 720
3. The sending party in America sends you $200. If the US$ is converted at R8 net to a US$ by the service provider in South Africa it'll be R80 000. A currency conversion commission fee of R100 is payable (R1 600 x 0.35% = R5.60; however, a minimum of R100 is charged) for the transaction and will be deducted by the service provider. You'll receive R1 500
4. The sending party in America sends you $100 000. If the US$ is converted at R8 net to a US$ by the service provider in South Africa it will be R800 000. A currency conversion commission fee of R585 is payable (R800 000 x 0.35% = R2 800; however, a maximum of R585 is charged) for the transaction and will be deducted by the service provider. You'll receive R799 415

Clearing times

Since we depend on a number of banks, including Nedbank, to process these international payments we can't guarantee the exact clearing times.

Clearance can take 3–7 working days from the time that the money is sent. If the sender or the foreign bank provides the authorised dealer in South Africa with too little account information, the transaction will take longer to process and could even be returned to the sender.

Get more info on Reserve Bank rules and regulations