Garrett Posted January 24, 2017 Report Share Posted January 24, 2017 I am doing some research on working and sending money home to SA every month to cover rent/debt/insurance in SA. I have a friend in Shangai who said that the South African community there is earning some serious cash and sending it all back to SA. They use Western Union but it seems that their savings get chowed every month in fees and mysterious exchange rates that shift and duck and dive :/ What do SA people in Australia use? Can anyone give me a good indication of good companies and actual exchange rates/fees. Please be as specific as you can. I have some leads/ideas but need help. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErnaC Posted January 24, 2017 Report Share Posted January 24, 2017 WorldRemit is cheap and easy and fast!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Posted January 24, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2017 6 minutes ago, ErnaC said: WorldRemit is cheap and easy and fast!! They don't have South Africa in their list. @ErnaC Where have you sent money to? What were their fees? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlothian Posted January 24, 2017 Report Share Posted January 24, 2017 When sending back to South Africa the fee as well as the exchange rate need to be taken into account. If you have transferred money by making use of Investec to send your funds over when you moved abroad, you can make use of the same account to send funds back to South Afirca and discuss the exchange rate with your forex company (and save a great deal on the exchange rate) by making use of the inward transfer process. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duggen Posted January 24, 2017 Report Share Posted January 24, 2017 (edited) Hi Garrett, I send money home every month. I just do a normal telegraphic transfer (TT) payment from my bank here to my Investec account in SA. I have the funds converted to ZAR in Australia (That is the TT is made in ZAR not AUD) in order to avoid paying fees in SA for the conversion. I tend to receive a rate slightly below the current quoted rate (understandable as there is always a bid ask spread). I think the transaction cost me $20 a pop, which is the fees charged by my bank here in Aus (NAB). As far as I am aware, Investec does not charge me anything because the funds arrive in ZAR. Hope that is helpful. Edited January 24, 2017 by Duggen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waylander Posted January 24, 2017 Report Share Posted January 24, 2017 I use Commonwealth - just go online and hit international transfer - rates are pretty good (sorry havent got the actual rates but it was within 1% of quoted spot) and fees were about $20. I think it helps if you have a decent bank back in ZAR - I used Investec too - they just email to confirm once they receive the funds. Not sure if the process is different/harder for other banks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FingersCrossed Posted January 25, 2017 Report Share Posted January 25, 2017 @Waylander - thanks for the feedback - good to know that it is that easy to send the money back. I am hoping standard bank works as well as investec. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Posted January 25, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2017 11 hours ago, Duggen said: Hi Garrett, I send money home every month. I just do a normal telegraphic transfer (TT) payment from my bank here to my Investec account in SA. I have the funds converted to ZAR in Australia (That is the TT is made in ZAR not AUD) in order to avoid paying fees in SA for the conversion. I tend to receive a rate slightly below the current quoted rate (understandable as there is always a bid ask spread). I think the transaction cost me $20 a pop, which is the fees charged by my bank here in Aus (NAB). As far as I am aware, Investec does not charge me anything because the funds arrive in ZAR. Hope that is helpful. Hi @Duggen That is super helpful. So your "fee" is $20 per transaction. How do you know that you are getting a favourable exchange rate? Having chatted to some people it seems that there are 2 ways forex companies take your money: 1) They charge a "fee" for transactions (i.e. the $20) 2) They charge a slightly higher exchange rate than they actually get from the banks so scrape their fee during the process. Is there a way to know the difference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Posted January 25, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2017 10 hours ago, Waylander said: I use Commonwealth - just go online and hit international transfer - rates are pretty good (sorry havent got the actual rates but it was within 1% of quoted spot) and fees were about $20. I think it helps if you have a decent bank back in ZAR - I used Investec too - they just email to confirm once they receive the funds. Not sure if the process is different/harder for other banks. Hi @Waylander I have the same question for you as I did for @Duggen. Seems Investec is helpful from SA side...but then is CommonWealth operating as your "forex provider" in that you are then getting bank to bank rates? Also, what is their service like as far as tracking cash or offering advice? Thanks! Very helpful stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duggen Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 (edited) As far as I know the bank is acting as the forex provider. If I am honest though I haven't really looked into if I am getting the best rate or not. Will actually give NAB a call to confirm the rate I am getting. Edited January 27, 2017 by Duggen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShaunR Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 I can understand if there is a difference between $20 and $100 transfer, hope you guys not losing sleep over a few $$? Most of the banks will not really overcharge and most of them are close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waylander Posted January 30, 2017 Report Share Posted January 30, 2017 On 1/25/2017 at 6:53 PM, Garrett said: Hi @Waylander I have the same question for you as I did for @Duggen. Seems Investec is helpful from SA side...but then is CommonWealth operating as your "forex provider" in that you are then getting bank to bank rates? Also, what is their service like as far as tracking cash or offering advice? Thanks! Very helpful stuff! Yes, Commonwealth Bank is the Forex Provider in this case - I have AUD in my bank account and wish to send ZAR to Investec so CBA are buying the ZAR on my behalf. I got a rate of 11.37 when I transferred, and the spot rate on that day was 11.49 = approx 1% cost. Service was fine - went online and hit international transfer - chose Spot rate (so they didnt have to phone to confirm a rate and delay the process). They sent the ZAR - Investec email me to confirm a few things required for SARB requirements and cash is put into Investec Account. Total time was 3 days. The true cost is normally the rate charged (the fixed fee is normally irrelevant unless you are transacting in low values) Example 1). Stopped using my Diners Card for Forex txn's cos their rate was ludicrous, they were hitting me 3-5% - used Standard Bank Mastercard and rate suddenly improved to 1 - 1.5%. Example 2) Never use Travellers Cheques. Thomas Cook et al are notorious thieves when they take your ZAR and transform them into (normally) USD trav cheques. Then, you get massively reamed again when you convert the Trav Cheques at the little counter in your destination country. So you pay 2 x Forex commission "rates" and let me tell you, their rates are shocking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Posted January 31, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2017 HI @Waylander That is very helpful. I was recommended one forex provider by a guy I worked with and he said I should contact them. I actually connected with the lady to try get the full picture. From what I understand - the forex providers get preferential rates with specific banks and on specific amounts. She said that due to her professional connections she gets preferable rates with the SA banks and even gets some of the banks forex clients (the heavy hitters) that use her instead of the banks. This was quite surprising to be honest...but she is pretty legit. My big concern was the "hidden" costs going into each trade - especially seeing that I am more interested in monthly transactions of a salary being returned to South Africa. Those "hidden" costs add up month to month over the length of the employment contract and could result in some serious ZAR being shaved off my savings. People seem to have had some good experience with a couple forex companies and banks (investec, commonwealth, worldremit) but I think I am decided having connected with the lady from this company. She seems to know what is happening and I would be happy to send money through her. Thanks for the help everyone! @ErnaC @mlothian @Duggen @ShaunR @FingersCrossed I think the value add of her knowledge also puts me at ease compared with the "impersonal" nature of clicking a button in a part of a website and hoping for the best. Jacky seems to value the personal service side which I like.\ Lekker! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Posted February 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 Hi all. I have decided to stick with Jacky at PG Forex. (Sorry I forgot to update everyone as I got busy - if it can possibly help then rad.) Her site is here. She specialises in the whole "send money home" vibe for SA Expats which is perfect for what I am looking at. She is flipping knowledgeable and klaps the bank rates and has no hidden costs (that was the concern I had with the other companies - the exchange rate was one slice and then there was still a service fee so I would end up paying double fees which just seems crazy). http://www.pgforex.co.za/Service.php?ServiceId=5 Thanks again for the assist people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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