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Looking for the best way to send money from the United States to family, friends or businesses in South Africa (or even to your own overseas bank account)?
Don't head straight to your American bank – compare specialist money transfer services instead. They nearly always offer better ZAR exchange rates and lower fees, so for the same amount of US dollars you send, your recipient will receive more rands.
Of the companies we've compared, MoneyGram is among the cheapest, with competitive exchange rates and fees starting from $0. Need a really fast transfer? Wise (TransferWise) can get money to your recipient in South Africa within minutes.
Are you visiting from outside the US?
Bank transfers are typically the cheapest way to get your money to South Africa. MoneyGram and Wise (TransferWise) have some of the lowest bank transfer fees of the brands we've compared.
When you're hunting down the cheapest ways to send money to South Africa, it's more important to look at the overall cost of your transfer. This has a couple of elements:
Some providers may charge the mid-market rate but add fees on top. Others may have very low fees but apply a markup on the exchange rate. This means it is important to compare exactly how many rands your recipient will end up with.
Many online providers can offer transfers to South Africa within minutes, although you're likely to pay a premium for the convenience.
Here are some of the fastest average transfer speeds to South Africa:Actual transfer times from the United States to South Africa can depend on several several factors including transfer amount, payment method and currency.
The safest way to get your money to South Africa is to use a provider registered with the United States's industry regulator, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. All the companies we've compared in our table are overseen by a local regulator and comply with the relevant laws and regulations in both the United States and South Africa.
A great way to dive deeper is by reading our extended reviews of each transfer service and researching first-hand customer feedback on Trustpilot and similar platforms.
If you need to make a sizable money transfer to South Africa, consider using a provider such as OFX or Xe to benefit from its expertise in handling larger transfer amounts.
Using a large transfer specialist can have the following advantages:To send money to South Africa, you'll need the necessary documentation, your recipient's details and a way to pay.
Ethan is working in the United States as a software engineer and he stays in regular contact with his elderly parents back home in South Africa. His parents need some funds to help pay off a mortgage, so Ethan plans to send them $2,000 from the United States.
He decides to compare a bank and a money transfer specialist to see which one can save the most money on his transaction.
Bank | Money transfer company | |
---|---|---|
Exchange rate | 1 USD = 17.86 ZAR | 1 USD = 18.10 ZAR |
Transfer fee | $10 | $2.50 |
Transfer method | Bank account deposit | Bank account deposit |
Processing time | 2 - 5 working days | Next day |
Amount received | 35,546.93 ZAR | 36,153.25 ZAR |
The money transfer company enables Ethan to send an extra R606.32, which is transferred straight to his parents' Standard Bank account.
When choosing a money transfer provider to send money from the United States to South Africa, it's important to consider the cost, how you want your recipient to receive the funds and the turnaround time. Here are other features to review:
Compared to a month ago, the US dollar is stronger against the rand. Currently, $5,000 is worth R90,951.00, whereas a month ago, $5,000 was equivalent to R88,465.50. That's an increase of 2.81% over the past month.
Similarly, compared to a year ago, the US dollar is again a little stronger against the rand. A year ago, $5,000 was equivalent to R90,576.50. That's an increase of 0.41% over 12 months.
So based on those two data points, yes, it's a relatively good time to send money to South Africa, and your US dollars will go further than they would have. But what's more important, however, is the strength of the US dollar against the rand and where it goes from here – which is harder to call.
Whether products shown are available to you is subject to individual provider sole approval and discretion in accordance with the eligibility criteria and T&Cs on the provider website.
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I would like to send money to family in South Africa. When I’ve previously sent money, the recipient bank charged a good few R100’s in bank charges, meaning that some 13% of what I sent went towards bank charges. This was on top of the UK transfer fee I paid to send the money. Is there a way to minimise or negate the recipient bank charges?
Hi Pamela,
Thanks for getting in touch. When transferring money, you’d always need to check fees and charges, such as taxes, and you’ll need to add that on top of the money your sending. It’s helpful to know that the recipient doesn’t get charge of any fees unless the amount your sending is over the country’s international transfer limits, then the recipient would be charged taxes as well.
Hope this was helpful. Don’t hesitate to message us back if you have more questions.
Best,
Nikki
Hello i live in South africa and my friend from America wants to send me money but cant use the bank bec they where hacked and dont do transfers . I need a site thay makes it easy to put the money in my FNB account and PayPal is not a option
Hi Storm,
Thanks for getting in touch with finder. I hope all is well with you. :)
I’m sorry to hear about your situation. Thankfully, you can use the table above to compare international money transfer services to South Africa. You can specify the amount of money you want to send and the table will show you how much money you will receive. Once you found the right one for you, click on the “Go to site” green button to learn more or initiate your transfer. The companies listed on our table should also allow you to send money to your bank account.
I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach us out again.
Have a wonderful day!
Cheers,
Joshua
Hi. I started an online job with a company that pays into PayPal in USD. I have an FNB account with a debit card.
Do I have to get a credit card?
How long does it take to go from PayPal account to FNB account?
And what should I register it as?
Hi Kayla,
Thank you for contacting finder.
No, you do not need to have a credit card for your Pay Pal account to receive the salary from your employer. Since you already have an existing bank account, you need to register/ link it to your Paypal account. Here is the instructions on how you can link your bank account:
1. Go to Wallet.
2. Click “Add bank account” then select your account type (enter the sort code and account numbers)
3. Check if all your information are correct then click “Add Bank Account”.
I hope this helps.
Let us know if there is anything else that I may assist you with.
Cheers,
Ash
I want to send money to someone who is only in South Africa temporarily.. In order to receive it is he going to have to provide an address? Or is just his passport/ID and the ref # sufficient?
Thanks
Hi Sandy,
Thank you for contacting finder.
If the recipient will be picking up the money to one of the provider’s agent locations, he/ she should only show a valid ID and provide the reference number for the transaction.
I hope this helps.
Let us know if there is anything else that we may assist you with.
Cheers,
Ash
I wish to receive funds from Doha to Cape Town South Africa who offers what rates and what are the different time periods plse?
Hi Lindy,
Thanks for your inquiry.
On the page above, you’ll see a table of money transfer services that can be used by your sender to transfer money to Cape Town, South Africa.
To check the price and transfer periods, simply enter the amount to be transferred and assign the currencies to be used. When you press enter, it will automatically generate the rates and transfer periods.
Hope this helps.
Best regards,
Nikki