Sending or receiving money from abroad through the banks is slow, clunky and shockingly expensive – it’s amazing that South Africans have put up with it for so long.
Award-winning fintech Future Forex decided to tackle this market head on, employing some brilliant technology and in-house expertise to simplify and drastically lower the costs of international money transfers.
“When you think about what’s involved in sending or receiving money from abroad via the banks, the process is unnecessarily complex and costly,” says Future Forex CEO and actuary Harry Scherzer.
“We recognised this as a market that needed disruption, and we believe we have achieved that.”
The company took on the challenge, investing thousands of hours in researching and developing a user-friendly platform and app to automate the sending and receiving of funds from abroad. Not only was it able to slash the costs of money transfers compared to the banks, it also tagged on a range of complimentary services.
For example, each customer is assigned a dedicated account manager who thoroughly understands their business or personal forex needs and gives them personalised assistance every step of the way, from ensuring compliance with forex regulations to tracking the status of transactions.
Anyone doing a forex transaction knows the hurdles that can arise – such as choosing the correct BoP (Balance of Payment) code for your specific transaction (out of hundreds). The banks require you to work this out on your own or try your luck reaching out to the call centre or online chat facility.
Future Forex’s account managers will handle all of this for you – at no charge.
Compliance
Then there are issues of compliance with regulations imposed by the South African Revenue Service (Sars) and the South African Reserve Bank (Sarb). The Future Forex team takes care of regulatory requirements such as Sarb approvals, APN (Advance Payment Notice) numbers, and Approval of International Transfer (AIT) applications.
Wading through these regulatory hurdles can be baffling for both individuals and businesses. Again, Future Forex takes care of this at no extra cost.
“I am proud to say we have succeeded in what we set out to achieve, which is to vastly simplify international money transfers, while at the same time reducing costs to the client,” says Scherzer.
“We did this by spending a great deal of time understanding the obstacles to international transfers, which have become so embedded in South African banking that no one seriously considered changing them.
“We looked at companies such as Revolut and Wise, which have successfully mastered internal money transfers abroad, and decided we needed a similar offering in SA.”
Scherzer says the onboarding process – involving the usual Know Your Customer sign-on requirements – has been made as simple and seamless as possible, so that clients don’t have to worry about any additional admin or paperwork.
“What’s important to note is that once the client is onboarded with Future Forex, we take care of all the logistics involved in international money transfers, such as regulatory compliance – and we are 100% transparent in our costs, which is not something you are going to find with the banks, where costs are often hidden in the bid-offer spread.
“Additionally, we’re able to use our technology and economies of scale to reduce the costs of international money transfers by up to 50% for individuals and about 30% for businesses,” he adds.
“The Future Forex mobile app makes it easier than ever to send or receive international payments, download statements, manage recipients and more, all within a few clicks.”
Award-winning technology
This unique blend of technology with personalised assistance has won Future Forex a string of awards, including:
- BCX Best in Technology Award 2024;
- Achievement Alley Industrial Excellence Award 2024; and
- GFM Review – Most Innovative Payments South Africa 2024.
Contact
Future Forex can be contacted via email or by phone at 021 518 0558. For more information go to Personal Forex or Business Forex.
Brought to you by Future Forex.
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