Foreign-currency accounts for South African residents

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A South African resident who wants to hold US dollars, euros or another foreign currency in a local bank account is asking for a foreign-currency account. That is a different job from receiving an overseas payment that your bank converts into rand. This page explains the official route. It is not exchange-control advice and it does not open an account for you.

If you only need incoming money paid into an existing rand account, use how to receive money from overseas in a South African bank account.

Go through an authorised dealer

The South African Reserve Bank’s Financial Surveillance Department administers exchange control. On the Authorised Dealers page, SARB defines an Authorised Dealer as a person authorised by that department to deal in gold or to deal in foreign exchange. An ADLA is an authorised dealer with limited authority. SARB’s general-public page says all exchange-control matters must be addressed through one of those firms. On the Financial Surveillance page, SARB says those firms are not its agents; they act on behalf of their customers.

So the first practical step is your own bank’s foreign-exchange desk, or another Authorised Dealer or ADLA. Do not treat a blog form, a “tracer”, or an unlicensed broker as the official route. SARB says foreign-exchange brokers must conduct their business through an Authorised Dealer. If the public FAQs do not answer your question, SARB tells you to contact an exchange-control or foreign-exchange official at any Authorised Dealer or ADLA.

SARB also says the existing exchange-control system remains in place while a newer capital-flow framework is being prepared. On the documents page it reserves the right to amend permissions and to publish those changes on the SARB website. Ask the dealer what is permitted today. Do not rely on this page for a current limit.

What SARB’s manual names

SARB’s Currency and Exchanges Manual for Authorised Dealers is the detailed permission list. On the general-public page, SARB points readers to Section E of that manual for:

  • non-resident rand accounts;
  • Customer Foreign Currency (CFC) accounts;
  • foreign currency accounts;
  • foreign bank accounts.

Those are related but not the same product. A CFC account is listed separately from a foreign-currency account. This page does not collapse them, and it does not say every resident can open every type. The dealer applies the manual to your facts.

SARB has also published Currency and Exchanges guidelines for individuals. Read those on the SARB site. They are a general explanation, not a substitute for the manual or for the dealer’s process.

What this page will not do

Bank product pages change. This page therefore does not:

  • rank banks or name a “best” foreign-currency account;
  • quote fees, minimum balances, interest or available currencies;
  • state an official allowance amount;
  • promise that your application will be approved;
  • tell you to move money offshore or to avoid tax.

If a bank offers the product, that bank will tell you its documents, fees and whether you qualify. SARB can change permissions. The dealer has to apply the current rules.

Questions people ask

Is a foreign-currency account the same as receiving SWIFT into my cheque account?

Receiving an overseas payment that is converted to rand uses your existing South African account. Holding the money in a foreign currency is a separate product, if your dealer offers it and the rules allow it.

Can I apply to SARB myself?

SARB tells the public to take exchange-control queries to an Authorised Dealer or ADLA. Use that route first.

Does every South African bank offer one?

This page does not say that. Ask the bank. A missing product page is not proof that the product exists or does not exist.

Is this the same as a CFC account?

SARB lists CFC accounts and foreign-currency accounts as separate items in Section E. Ask the dealer which type, if any, applies to you.

Can CodeCash tell me the current allowance?

No. Allowances and permissions sit in SARB’s current manuals and guidelines. They can change. Get the live figure from SARB or from an authorised dealer.

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