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How to move money into South Africa

When it comes to international money transfers we like to keep things easy and simple, which is why we offer you the convenience of transferring money online. Unlike a bank, our online payment portal is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is one of the cheapest ways to transfer money to South Africa. We give you the ability to transfer any amount of money from wherever you are in the world, whenever you want.

To get money into South Africa started, all you have to do is register on our website, activate your account and you’ll be able to put an order in to transfer money online in no time at all – it’s that simple! What’s more, every fifth transfer you make with us is free.

Our exchange rates beat the bank, every time

To get you the best possible money exchange rates, we canvass the market, add a small margin to the rates we obtain, and pass that excellent rate on to you. The exchange rates we offer fall between the interbank rate (the truest exchange rate) and the rate offered by high street banks and bureaux de change.

We are able to undercut the high street banks and pass that saving on to you in the form of great rates. We believe in complete transparency when it comes to our rates, so the rate you see is always the rate you get we never surprise you with hidden bank charges.

Start transferring in three easy steps

1. Register

Register your free account online to get full access to our secure money transfer service.

2. Activate

To activate your account, simply upload or email our team copies of your passport and proof of address.

3. Transfer

Transfer between more than 25 currencies from all over the world and benefit from great rates and speedy transfers.

What our customers say

Why thousands of people continue using our forex service

Great rates, unrivalled service

Our forex business was started by expats, so we know the challenges associated with sending money back home. We remove these challenges and make sure you can send your money back home, whenever you need to. That’s why thousands of international citizens living all over the world choose us to transfer money internationally.

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Low fees and fast transfers

Not only will we transfer your money at excellent rates, we’ll do so as quickly as possible. What’s more, our exchange rates ensure you get the most out of each transfer. Use our currency converter to find out how much you could be saving with each transfer.

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Online convenience

Our online payment portal is 100% secure and available 24/7, so you can transfer funds safely, whenever you need to. We use Secure Socket Layer (SSL) 128-bit encryption, which provides absolute protection of your funds and debit card against unauthorised use. Your peace of mind when working with our service is important to us.

Full accreditation and transparency

You can rest easy knowing that our money exchange service is 100% fully regulated and accredited with all of the relevant bodies in all of the jurisdictions that we operate in. What’s more, we are completely transparent when it comes to our fees. With us, the rate you see is the rate you get – no hidden charges.

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Unrivalled customer service

Our forex team has been in business for over 20 years. Our efficient and friendly team process over 140,000 remittances each year for over 60,000 clients worldwide. They will always be on hand to assist you with any queries you may have.

 

Frequently asked questions about transferring money to and from the UK

You may have some questions, and that’s only natural. The good news is that we have the answers you’re looking for. Below are the answers to some of the most common questions we receive about our online international money exchange service.

1. How long does it take to activate my account once I’ve registered?

As soon as we have received a copy of your passport and proof of residential address (signed and dated by yourself), we will activate your account on the same business day. If your transfer exceeds £20,000, we will request a few additional documents.

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2. What is the best way to transfer money out of the UK?

Whether you’re sending a remittance or settling debt, the quickest and most convenient way to convert your money and transfer out of the UK would be online, with your UK debit card. All you have to do is charge your card on our website and, when you submit your transfer, your exchange rate will be locked in automatically. This ensures the rate you see is the rate you get.

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3. Can I send money to a credit card?

We can send money to South African credit cards only. At present, we cannot transfer money to Australian, New Zealand or UK credit cards.

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4. What is the processing time for a transfer?

Once we have received all the necessary documentation associated with the transaction and your funds have cleared in our client account, the converted funds will be credited to your nominated overseas account within one to three working days.

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5. How are your exchange rates determined? Why are they better than the banks’ rate?

To get you the best rates, we canvass the market on your behalf, add a small margin to the rates we obtain and pass that rate on to you. The exchange rates we offer fall between the interbank rate (the truest exchange rate) and the rate offered by high street banks and bureaux de change.

We are able to undercut the high street banks and pass that saving on to you in the form of great rates. Do note though, while the rates on our site are updated throughout the day, they must be viewed as indicative only.

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6. What are the minimum and maximum amounts that can be transferred?

There is no minimum or maximum amount when you transfer money with us. There are, however, certain benefits to sending larger amounts.

Please note: When transferring £10,000 (or foreign currency equivalent) or more in a single currency transaction, or £30,000 (or foreign currency equivalent) in a number of transactions over a 12-month rolling period, Sable International requires proof of “source of funds” as prescribed by HMRC’s Money Laundering Regulations.

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7. How much money can I transfer into South Africa?

There are several limits on sending money out of South Africa but there are no limits as to how much money you can send into South Africa. If you’d like to learn about how much money can be transferred out of the republic, check out our page on discretionary allowances.

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8. Are there any hidden charges or receiving bank charges?

Not at all. Our transfers carry a small swift fee of R250. When the funds clear in your recipient account the intermediary and receiving bank may charge a bank fee to depending on whom you bank with and this is generally £15, alternatively we charge R200 to ensure all potential receiving and intermediary charges are covered upfront.

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9. What are the transfer fees?

Our fees are dependent on the size and destination of your transfer. Although you’ll be glad to know that any transfer above £2,000 (excluding transfers out of South Africa) is automatically processed free of charge. If you are transferring less than £2,000, the table has some general information on our fee structures.

Fees to transfer from the UK

UK to Australia

£2.00

UK to Eurozone destination

£5.00

UK to New Zealand

£1.00

UK to Poland

£0.90

UK to South Africa

£10.00

UK to UAE, USA and Canada

£10.00

Australia to the UK

$5.00

Eurozone destinations to the UK

€5.00

New Zealand to the UK

$5.00

Poland to the UK

zł5.00

South Africa to the UK

R250.00

Remember, these are simply our most popular destinations; we can transfer to others, so if yours isn’t on the list, please contact us.

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10. How can I be sure that my funds will be correctly allocated?

If you are using internet banking, it is imperative that you ensure that your funds will clear under your name and surname. If you use your name and surname as the payment reference, we will know that the funds are from you and we can process your transfer as soon as the funds clear.

If the funds will be clearing under a reference other than your own name and surname, please send an email to forex@sableinternational.com, informing us as to what name the funds should clear under. Following these guidelines will decrease the likelihood of a delay.

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11. How secure is the site?

Our site uses Secure Socket Layer (SSL) 128-bit encryption to protect your transaction details. This 128-bit encryption is the latest and strongest data encryption technique commercially available for securing information between you, our client, and our website.

SSL works by encrypting/scrambling data from our website to your computer. The data is encrypted on our web server and can only be decrypted/unscrambled by the person with the correct decrypt/unscramble key. You can visually verify our site’s use of SSL in two places: The "s" in https in the site’s web address and by the padlock on the left-hand side of the address bar.

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International money transfers specialists with offices in London

For over 20 years, we have been helping UK citizens and non-citizens transfer money into the UK. Our experienced team in our London office is always on hand to help ensure you get the best deal when you’re converting your money into Pounds.

Registered and regulated

Our forex service is registered with all of the relevant authorities globally. Sable International is a trading name of Sable International FX Limited (company number 07070528), registered in England and Wales.

We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK (FCA no. 517570) and the Financial Services Conduct Authority in South Africa (Sable International FX [PTY] Limited - FSP no. 41900).

We are registered as a Money Services Business with FinCEN in the USA (1st Contact Money Ltd/1st Contact Money Ltd - registration no. 31000174356061).

We meet the required capital and liquidity requirements required by prudential regulation. We also stand under the financial controls and KYC (Know Your Customer) policies and procedures of our corporate bankers and regulatory institutions.

As an FCA Authorised Payment Institution it is our responsibility to segregate funds. Where we are required to segregate your funds. We do this by placing the funds in a segregated account (known as a "safeguarding account") at Barclays Bank PLC.

We are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Instead, where we have segregated your funds in a safeguarding account, it means those funds would be separated from our other assets in the event of our insolvency and used to repay you and other clients.

Barclays Bank PLC provides us with safeguarding account(s) but does not monitor the funds we place in them or how we operate these accounts.

The funds of clients who utilise our Currency Solved service, backed by Currencycloud, are safeguarded by their FCA-regulated e-money partners at a credit institution.

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