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Capitec Bank facilitates international transfers to South Africa in several ways. However, the bank does not allow you to make international transfers from South Africa. And as you might expect, there are fees and exchange rates associated with the processing of international transfers with Capitec Bank.

In this article, we’ll take a look at what the international transfer process is like with Capitec, and look in detail at the associated fees, times, requirements, and more.

Wise’s multi-currency account (a.k.a Wise Account) allows you to make international transfers to ZAR (South African Rand), with a competitive mid-market exchange rate and low-cost fee⁴.

Capitec International Transfer Fees

Capitec Bank does not allow you to send money internationally from South Africa due to the fact that it is not yet authorised by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) to offer international transfer (forex) services.

This means that if you are a customer of Capitec and you want to make an international transfer, you cannot do it directly through the bank and instead have to make a transfer using an alternative provider, such as Wise.

However, the fees do vary depending on the circumstances of each specific transfer.

Let’s take a look at the fees associated with receiving money internationally with Capitec.

**Method: Receiving International Transfers with SWIFT **

Capitec supports its users to receive international transfers using SWIFT. Although the sender will incur fees on their side, depending on which bank they use and the exchange rate at the time of the transfer, using Capitec Bank to receive international transfers also means you’ll be charged a fee.

Capitec international transfer exchange rate

In addition to the fee for incoming international transfers, the exchange rate used by Capitec will make a difference to the final amount that you receive in your bank account.

Capitec suggests that when you are receiving an international transfer, the sender should transfer the payment in a foreign currency². Capitec then automatically converts the transfer with the exchange rate and you end up with the remaining amount in your Capitec account after you’ve received a Balance of Payment Declaration.

Capitec uses an “inter-bank” rate which means they add a fixed percentage on top of the mid-market exchange rate.

Wise for Quick, Cheap International Transfers

Take advantage of Wise, a great bank alternative for international transfers! When you take into account the fees and exchange rates that are added to international transfers by banks, Wise provides a transparent, cheap, speedy solution to receiving money internationally to South Africa.

Using a mid-market exchange rate and a minimal transfer fee mentioned upfront, Wise makes money transfers cheap and easy⁴. So, take a look at Wise and see how you can save when you choose to move your money globally.

Learn more about Wise’s mid-market exchange rate and take a look at the rate tracker.

How long does an international transfer take with Capitec?

There’s no specific information on the Capitec website declaring how long it will take to receive international transfers with Capitec. However, a Tweet from Capitec from 2017 suggests that it takes 3 to 7 working days for international payments to reach Capitec Bank³.

Capitec uses SWIFT payments and the time to receive a payment via Swift may differ due to a few reasons, such as: where the money is being sent from and to, the value, and each individual bank’s processes.

Capitec suggests that to receive faster international transfers, you can follow these guidelines to make sure that it doesn’t have to go through a telephonic declaration from the beneficiary (holding up the processing time):

1. The value has to be under R50 000.00²
2. The name of the beneficiary on the payment has to match the account information on Capitec Bank’s records (their ID details have to be the same)²
3. The account number provided for the transfers is correct²
4. The reference on the transfer states one of these reasons for the transfer:²
   -Tuition
   -Salary
   -Rental income
   -Gift
   -Pension
   -Alimony
   -Financial assistance

If you don’t follow these requirements or the transfer amount is higher than R50,000.00, it’s unclear how long this will take, due to the fact Capitec will need to take longer to process the transfer and get a telephonic declaration from the beneficiary².

Capitec international transfer process

You can’t send money internationally with Capitec Bank, but you can receive international transfers to South Africa with Capitec.

In this segment, we’ll take a look at exactly how you can receive international transfers and what the process looks like.

Receiving International Transfers via SWIFT

You can receive international transfers, via SWIFT, with Capitec. The person who is sending you money simply needs to know the required details of your Capitec Bank account and make an international transfer from their end with a bank or a provider that allows international transfers to South Africa.

Capitec international transfer requirements

The person who is sending you the money needs to know these details to make a successful transfer to your Capitec account²:

• Capitec Bank’s SWIFT code for currency (CABLZAJJ)
• Your 10-digit account number
• Your full name as is shown on your ID/Passport
• Your full residential address

They also need to add the reason for payment on the transfer reference (e.g. gift, tuition etc).

If the amount they are transferring to you is over R50,000, you will need to declare the payment over the phone with Capitec Bank². You will therefore need to know the details of the sender, such as their full name, their account, and the amount they are transferring to you.

Capitec international transfer limits

There’s no specific information provided by Capitec about the maximum (or minimum) International transfer limits they allow their users to receive.

However, as previously mentioned, Capitec will need to obtain a declaration from the beneficiary on any amounts that will be transferred to them above R50,000².

Receiving and sending money internationally shouldn’t be difficult and you shouldn’t have to deal with being charged hidden fees or deal with unfair exchange rates.

Capitec may be a great bank to keep your money, however, there are better options for international transfers.

Send and receive money all over the world easily and quickly, with Wise⁵. We specialise in international transfers, so we know how to get you a great deal on transferring money to receive ZAR⁴.

Sources

1. Capitec 2023 Transfer Fees
2. Receiving International Payments PDF - Capitec Bank
3. International Transfer Process Time - Twitter
4. Please seeTerms of Use for your region or visit WiseFees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.
5. Transaction speed claimed depends on funds availability, approval by Wise’s proprietary verification system and systems availability of our partners’ banking system, and may not be available for all transactions.

All sources were checked on 10th August 2023.