We know how important it is to get the best exchange rate when making international payments/ Exchange rates fluctuate all the time, it’s an ever-changing landscape where small increments have huge impacts on the actual cost of you trading abroad. Predicting the exchange rate at any given time is a dangerous and difficult thing to do. The one thing that can be managed and what is often hidden by major financial institutions like banks, is the fees associated with purchasing the currency.
Traditionally it’s the banks who have dominated this space and are the main go to for any foreign currency exchanges. That may still be the case in South Africa, but things are changing as new fintech players enter the market with the support of smaller banks.
This is where technology and innovation has stepped in to cut out manual intensive processes and reduce expensive ways of exchanging currencies. Fintech businesses have revolutionised the way people move money and where they need to go to get the best exchange rate.
Getting the best Forex deal you can
Time is often not on our side and we cannot wait for the exchange rate to drop to get the best deal to buy foreign currency or transfer money to another country. The actual exchange rate is mostly out of your control as nobody can control market movement. However, you can control the costs and fees associated with your foreign currency exchange and transfer. This is an expense that is completely in your control.
Currency Exchange tips:
Always shop around for better exchange rates
The exchange rates offered by banks do vary from bank to bank so it’s important to shop around for the best exchange rate. Using the bank to transfer money is convenient but when you compare the cost of using a bank versus using a business like FX Paymaster, its easy to see why so many people are moving away from their own banks. The difference in exchange rates can be as much as 2.5 %!
It may not sound like a lot but if you’re transferring upwards of R1m overseas, that equates to a saving of + R 25,000. Many of our business customers transfer more than this each month, so over the course of a year, the savings are noteworthy. When you run a small to medium sized business, saving R 100K – R 200K a year in foreign exchange costs is a big deal.
You can save on transfer fees too
Moving money through a bank can be expensive depending on who you use! Most banks charge between R 500 – R 1,500 per payment in transfer fees and commissions. Often the transfer fees are calculated as percentage of the amount being transferred which makes it confusing and difficult for consumers to understand what the true transaction costs are. Our fee structure is completely different. Through our partner banks we’re able to streamline the process and reduce international transfer fees to just R 250 per payment.
Deal with an expert
FX Paymaster is an international payment specialist. Over the years we have established ourselves in the market as an expert currency provider, a digital cost-effective option for transferring money. Helping clients save time and money on Forex payments is what we do best. By investing in technology, we’ve solved many of the problems which cause time delays and extra costs when moving money.
See for yourself the technology we’ve built to help business managers streamline foreign payments.
