Are you still using banks for forex? It’s time to reconsider

Bank customers have long complained about the high costs of sending and receiving forex in SA.

And with good reason. Future Forex has proven that customers are paying 30-50% more than they should per US dollar, euro, pound and so on purchased from the banks. For large scale transactions, that can quickly add up.

Banks are able to do this by burying the actual costs in the spread fee, the difference between the buy price and sell price of a currency, and in other ways that are not immediately visible. The wider the spread, the higher the cost to the customer.

“The reality is that forex costs, worth billions a year to the banks, are far too high in SA, and we are challenging that model,” says Harry Scherzer, CEO of Future Forex.

Future Forex charges roughly 50% less than the banks on forex for individuals and as much as 30% less for businesses, though this depends on the size of the transactions and other factors.

This can make a massive difference to businesses involved in international trade where the margins are already slender.

An extra percent or two added to the bottom line can have a substantial impact on company profitability.

The same is true for individuals, who tend to be charged even more for forex by the banks because transaction sizes are generally smaller.

Most forex service providers typically charge 2-3%% plus a SWIFT fee of R500 to R1 000. Future Forex is able to undercut this by taking advantage of economies of scale and sound relationships with the banks.

Using banks for forex increases costs for clients investing offshore, purchasing a property abroad, tax emigration, settling overseas estates, inheritances and international trade.

“It’s time this market was disrupted, and that is precisely what we are doing,” says Scherzer.

Blending technology with a personal touch

Future Forex is outpacing traditional banks when it comes to international money transfers by combining award-winning technology with expert account managers – rather than relying on impersonal ‘chat’ services or call centres.

“We’ve developed cutting-edge technology to handle international money transfers, and that allows us to reduce the costs and time it takes to transact. But that’s only part of what we offer,” says Scherzer.

“Our platform is easy to use, seamless and cost-effective. What puts us ahead of the competition in our opinion is that we allocate a dedicated account manager to each client so they receive personalised guidance at every step, from compliance assistance to tracking the status of their transactions.

“In virtually all instances we can offer lower transaction costs than the banks because we leverage technology to reduce processing costs, allowing us to pass those savings directly on to clients.”

Future Forex’s mobile app, available on the Apple and Google Play app stores, offers clients a seamless and convenient solution to send or receive international payments.

Image: Supplied

Navigating the complexities of forex

Anyone transacting forex understands the complexities of ensuring regulatory compliance.

Future Forex takes care of this for its clients to ensure they are fully compliant with South African Revenue Service (Sars) and South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) requirements.

Its team takes care of regulatory requirements such as Sarb approvals, APN numbers, and Approval of International Transfer (AIT) applications at no extra cost.

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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