Foreign exchange services

• Foreign currency payments are automatically converted and available for credit to your account upon receiving your Balance of Payment Declaration.
• The sender must instruct their foreign bank to make the transfer in the foreign currency (e.g., USD, EUR, GBP, etc.) and ensure to provide, at minimum, a first name and surname as part of the sender details
• The foreign bank must complete the SWIFT payment instruction as follows and route the payment directly to Capitec bank SWIFT code “CABLZAJJ”:

Account with Institution (Field 57A):

• SWIFT Code: CABLZAJJ
• Beneficiary Customer (Field 59):
• Account Number/IBAN: *Your 10-digit Capitec Account Number
• Account Name: *Name and Surname as per your Capitec Account/Identity Document
• Account with Institution (Field 57A):
  • Branch Code/Sort/Routing: 470010 (not required on foreign currency payments)

Remember, the beneficiary details of the payment must contain your name and surname as they appear in your ID document and your 10-digit Capitec account number. The sender details of the payment must contain, at minimum, the sender's first name and surname.

Your payment will be automatically credited to your account if it meets the requirements of the SARB.

If the payment does not meet the required criteria, as provided above, it may be rejected and the funds will be returned to the sender.

One of our consultants will contact you if we need a Balance of Payment Declaration or additional documents (or both).

You can download the guideline here.

Email any questions you have about receiving international payments to InfoForex@capitecbank.co.za or call us on +27 21 809 4501 from Monday to Friday, 8am – 5pm.

Do you receive regular payments?

Any money you regularly receive for the same reason (such as a salary payment from your international employer) can automatically be credited to your account. You must complete the Standing Instruction and Indemnity Form for this to happen.

First, download, print and complete the form. Then email the completed form to ForexSI@capitecbank.co.za or fax it to 0860 88 88 15.

The Standing Instruction form remains valid until you cancel it in writing.

Note: the sender of the money must match the sender on the form to release the money. You must only complete the form in black ink. You must sign any changes in full. Only original signatures are permitted.

Balance of Payments

According to the Currency and Exchanges Manual of SARB, you must declare any money you receive from abroad before it can be credited to your account. The declaration of the money can only be made by the accountholder before the account is credited and not by a third party. Supplementary cardholders or holders of a power of attorney may not make the declaration for the accountholder.

All clients receiving international payments must be FICA compliant and ensure that their personal information is up to date on the bank’s records. This includes address information, contact details and permit numbers. The information is compulsory for the Balance of Payments reports and will also reduce delays in processing the inward payments.

Note: the beneficiary name in the payment must reflect your name as it is in your identity document or passport (in the case of foreign nationals). Payments cannot be processed if a different name reflects as the beneficiary in the payment and can result in the payment being returned.

In terms of the Currency and Exchanges Manual of SARB, international payments cannot be processed without the account holder's declaration of the money. The declaration can be done in person or by either of the following forms:

• Integrated Balance of Payments form for once-off payments
• Standing Instruction and Indemnity form for regular payments

Once-off payments

The once off Integrated Balance of Payment form should only be completed if you received money from abroad and the Bank cannot contact you. The document can only be completed in black ink. Any changes you make must be signed in full and requires an original signature.

First, download, print and complete the form. Then email the completed form to InfoForex@capitecbank.co.za or fax it to 0860 88 88 15.

Dispensations

The Reserve Bank temporarily allows authorised dealers to process international payments to the beneficiary’s account without obtaining a declaration if:

• The value is under R50 000
• Client has a South African ID number
• The beneficiary name in the payment matches the account information on Capitec Bank’s records,
• The account number is correct

Ensure that your personal account information (FICA) and contact number are up to date on Capitec Bank’s system to avoid unnecessary delays in processing the payment.

When expecting funds from abroad, a client can ask the sender to include one of the words below that best describes the reason for the payment in the Reference field. Capitec Bank will be able to identify the reason and allocate the correct reason code needed to report the information to the Reserve Bank, SARS and Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) without contacting you. When the payment is processed, you will receive an SMS with the category we used in the report to the Reserve Bank. 

Foreign loans

Preapproval is needed from SARB for a foreign loan before the money is paid to South Africa.

If you're going to receive a foreign loan from abroad, download, print and complete the form. The forms and a copy of the signed loan agreement between the borrower and the lender, must be emailed to InfoForex@capitecbank.co.za or faxed to 0860 88 88 15.

For more information, call 021 809 4501 or 0860 66 77 09.

Contact details

If you are expecting money from abroad or you will be sending money from abroad to your own account, please ensure that you update your contact details, including an email address if available. If you do not have a Standing Instruction for the payment, we must be able to contact you to complete the regulatory requirements. If we cannot contact you within 30 days, the money will be returned to the sender. To update your details, visit your nearest Capitec Bank branch.

Fees

The costs for payments from abroad will be deducted by the processing bank(s) from the value received before it is credited to your account (the beneficiary) unless otherwise indicated in the payment instruction.

Fees for international payments cannot be determined or quoted before the payment is received due to the number of other banks that might be involved to make the payment to Capitec Bank.

Refer to the fee brochure or website for the fees applicable to receive an international payment.

Clearing times

We cannot guarantee exact clearing times because the foreign bank could use their intermediary/local bank to process an international payment.

The transaction will take longer and could be returned if the sender or foreign bank doesn't provide the correct account information or if the information is incomplete.

Our SWIFT code (CABLZAJJ) must be included in field 57A of the SWIFT payment instruction as this helps automate the processing of the payment. If it's not included, the payment will be returned to the sending bank as an invalid payment instruction.

Returned payments could incur fees. These fees cannot be determined or quoted due to the number of foreign/intermediary banks involved in the payment. The fees will be deducted from the value of the payment.

IBAN Number

The paying bank may sometimes ask for an IBAN number. South African banks do not use IBAN numbers and it should not be required for payments to Capitec Bank. Should the paying entity force the capturing of an IBAN account number they can use the Capitec 10 digit account number preceded by zeroes (“0”). For example: the IBAN reference could be 0000001123456789.

Please e-mail Capitec Forex on CapitecFX@capitecbank.co.za to setup an FX Trade Account for you to make international payments. A Forex Consultant will contact you within 48 hours.

Email any questions you have about sending international payments to CapitecFX@capitecbank.co.za or call us on 087 830 6361 from Monday to Friday 8am – 5pm.

Allowances

• South African residents over the age of 18 have a Single Discretionary Allowance (SDA) of R1 million per calendar year which can be used for travel , investment (income tax number required) or sending monetary gifts. You can use your Global One card if you are a South African Resident, if you have a valid passport and a passenger ticket for journeys that start from South Africa. The allowances mentioned above are valid for per calendar year.
• South African residents over the age of 18 additionally have a Foreign Capital Allowance of R10 million per calendar year that they can use for Investment purposes overseas. In this regard, a valid Tax Compliance Status (TCS) Pin is required to use this allowance (TCS Pin obtained from SARS)
• South African residents under the age of 18 may only use a travel allowance of R200 000 per calendar year

We offer specialised exchange control services through our business bank, such as receiving proceeds for exports.

Please e-mail Capitec Forex on FXQueries.Capitec@capitecbank.co.za to setup a trading account for you to make international payments. A consultant will contact you within 48 hours. You can also call us on 087 830 6361 from Monday to Friday 8am – 5pm.

A business bank consultant will guide you through the process and the payment.