Best ways to send money to South Africa

You've got a few key options if you need to send money to South Africa:

Bank transfer to South Africa - most banks will let you send money internationally online, by visiting a branch or by phone. Payments to ZAR will be sent directly from your bank account to your recipient's local bank account in your chosen currency.

Walk into a branch - several specialist money transmitter services operate through large branch and agent networks, so you can visit a physical store and make your ZAR payment in cash if you want to.

Send money online to South Africa - if you'd rather make your AUD/ZAR payment online or using your smartphone, you can choose your own bank's online banking service, or an international payment specialist. Specialist services can often offer better exchange rates and lower fees than banks.

Cash pickup - sending a payment for cash pickup can often be the fastest way to get your money into your recipient's hands. It's also usually one of the most expensive because it's being prioritized and can even be instant.

Sending money to another bank account in South Africa is often the most convenient option - both for you, and your recipient. Your recipient doesn't need to take any action to receive the money, it just lands in the nominated account in the currency you choose, and can be spent or withdrawn easily.

If you're sending money from a bank account in Australia to a bank account in South Africa, choosing a specialist provider can be the cheapest and fastest way to make your payment. Different providers have their own processes for arranging payments - but the steps you'll take are usually roughly the same:

1. Create an account Register a new account with your preferred service, by entering your contact details and some basic information. You may even be able to do this using Facebook or Google for convenience.

2. Verify Depending on the type of payment you're making, you may need to verify your account by uploading an image of your ID documents. This step helps keep your money safe, and is often a legal requirement.

3. Top up Add money to your account in dollars, using a bank transfer or card payment.

4. Add recipient details and send Once you're ready to send a payment, add your recipient's personal and bank account details, check the exchange rate and fee applied to your payment, and confirm. That's it - your money will now be sent, and you can track its progress online or in your provider's app.

The details you'll need to send money internationally from Australia to South Africa may vary by provider, and based on the value of the transfer. At a minimum, whenever you make an international bank transfer you will typically be asked for:

• SWIFT code
• Account number
• Phone number

When you’re sending a high value payment it’s especially important to do your research and find a provider which is safe and which offers low fees and great exchange rates. It’s also well worth comparing some providers based on transfer times, as the delivery time can also vary pretty widely.

Some international money transfer services offer discounts for high value transfers, either through lower fees or a better exchange rate. Use the Exiap cost comparison calculator to make sure you’re getting the very best deal available for your specific transfer.

While sending a high value payment works very similarly to sending any other transfer overseas, the provider may require additional information to verify the payment. You might be asked to prove the source of the funds, for example, to comply with local and international financial services legislation. If you’re sending a large amount of money you’ll also need to make sure the provider you’ve picked can support the amount, as maximum payment limits may apply.

Here’s how to send a large sum of money internationally with a specialist international money transfer service:

1. Create an account
   Register a new account with your preferred service
2. Verify
   Verify your account by uploading an image of your ID documents
3. Add the transfer information
   Including the value and currency
4. Add recipient details
   Add your recipient's personal and bank account details
5. Fund your payment
   Make a local bank transfer, use your card or pick another supported payment method. Your money will be on the move as soon as it's been received by the provider.

To send money to South Africa using one of the international money transfer providers in our tables, the fees range from 62.29 AUD with XE to 468.57 AUD with Commonwealth Bank (but the fee could be even higher with a bank). The exact cost depends a lot on where you’re sending money, how much you’re sending, how you want to pay, and how you want the payment to be received.

Typically sending money directly to a recipient’s bank account using a specialist service can be done with fairly low costs, while traditional bank transfer fees can be higher. Paying for your transfer with either a credit card or cash can often mean the fees crank up, too.

When you’re sending money internationally, don’t forget that the overall fee you pay can include the transfer fee, an extra charge wrapped up in the exchange rate used, and third party charges like a cash advance fee from your credit card issuer.

There is no legal limit on how much money can be sent to or from Australia, although banks and other payment providers may impose their own limits.

Money transfer limits can vary quite widely between providers, and may also change depending on how you want to fund your transfer. You could find different limits in place when you pay by card compared to paying using a bank transfer, for example.

The best rate available to send money to South Africa will usually be the mid-market exchange rate. The mid-market exchange rate is the rate used when banks buy and sell currencies on global markets.

However, this rate isn’t always available to individual customers sending money abroad. Instead, providers often add a markup - an extra fee - to the exchange rate they offer customers. This pushes up the costs and makes it harder to see exactly what you’re paying for your international bank transfer.

A provider which uses the mid-market rate for international transfers from Australia to South Africa is Wise. Right now, the mid-market rate for a Australian Dollar to South African Rand is 11.5037.