International money transfers to and from South Africa are mostly available at banks and other money transfer institutions. Third-party apps like Venmo, PayPal, Google Pay Send and Apple Cash have been very slow to roll out all it has to offer for its users in South Africa.
If we compare the South African rand to other currencies, there are a few important points to look at. The rand has been declining over the past 10 years by an average of 7% per year against the USD, but this trend won’t necessarily stay on course. Analysts are predicting that the rand might strengthen against the dollar to a level of ZAR 15.50 against the USD. The cause for this is that the USD is currently very expensive but may also slip in the short term, which in turn will cause the rand to strengthen. This will open more opportunities for offshore money to be transferred into USD.
Read more: Quick and easy International Money Transfers South Africa
The rand versus the GBP and the EUR will possibly show some strength in the short term but buy a margin much less than the USD. The short-term position won’t last long as it will slip again past the current levels. For the near future there is prospect to move money abroad at the stronger rand level because there is a possibility that the rand may devalue further.
There are specific limits to transferring money offshore:
- South African residents over the age of 18 may use their R1 million discretionary allowance to make international payments without having to provide supporting documents.
- South African residents over the age of 18 may also use their R10 million investments allowance to invest in funds abroad. To make use of this, you will need to get a Tax Compliance Status Pin Letter from SARS.
- Supporting documentation is required by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) for all other payments.
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