FNB Foreign Currency Account: Complete Guide

Need to manage your money in more than one currency? Perhaps you’re a freelancer, working for a client in a different country. Or you might be travelling, studying abroad or have family overseas - who you visit or send money to regularly.

Whichever is the case, you might find a foreign currency account very useful.

In this helpful guide, we’ll be taking a look at the foreign currency account at First National Bank (FNB). We’ll cover features, fees, how to open an account and more.

We’ll also show you an alternative that could be a better fit for your needs. Open a Wise multi-currency account and you can hold money in 40+ currencies, as well as send money worldwide for low fees and great exchange rates⁴.

*Currently users in South Africa can only receive payments in ZAR. Support for other Wise products coming soon.

How does a foreign currency account work?

The FNB Foreign Currency Account (FCA) is designed especially for foreign nationals, whether living inside or outside of South Africa.

It can be used for money and income that originates from other countries. This makes it ideal for freelancers and digital nomads, for example. If you have clients in other countries, they can use this account to pay you.

The Foreign Currency Account is available in a range of currencies. The most popular options are the FNB dollar account (also known as FNB USD account) and the FNB euro account.

However, you’ll need to check with the bank whether you’re restricted to just one currency per account.

We’ll look at the available currencies next. First, here’s all of the key facts about the FNB FCA account at a glance:

Feature	Offered by FNB Foreign Currency Account
Available currencies	USD, GBP, EUR, AUD, CHF, INR, CAD, AED, CNY
Interest rate	N/A
Credit facilities	No
Debit card	No
Rewards/benefits	None

USD account, Euro account, other currency accounts

You can open a Foreign Currency Account at FNB in a range of different currencies. These include the following:¹

• United States dollar (USD)
• British pound (GBP)
• Euro (EUR)
• Australian dollar (AUD)
• Swiss franc (CHF)
• Indian rupee (INR)
• Canadian dollar (CAD)
• United Arab Emirates dirham (AED)
• Chinese yuan (CNY).

Mid-market rates help you save with Wise’s multi currency account

Holding and sending foreign currencies in a single account can be tricky, expensive, and simply difficult to manage.

Wise is a money service business, which offers a multi-currency account, international money transfer services and a debit card, among other products⁷. Need to make an international money transfer to South Africa? You can do it in just a few clicks with Wise, for low fees and the mid-market exchange rate⁴.

As a bank alternative for international money transfers and multi currency accounts, Wise makes it easy and cost effective for you to hold, send and receive multiple currencies all in one place. You can manage your money in 40+ currencies at once, and convert between them whenever you need to.

You will find that it is also easy⁶ to open a Wise account(unlike with some banks) and you can do everything online.

Whether you’re a traveller, expat, freelancer or have family overseas, Wise could be your ideal solution! There’s even a handy Wise app, so you can track your transfers and manage your account on the move.

How to open a FNB foreign currency bank account?

There are two ways to open an FNB Foreign Currency Account. You can either find a local branch and book an appointment, or you can arrange a callback. If you’re going for the second option, here’s what you need to do:

1. Go to the FNB website and read the details of the account - check if it's right for you and read the terms and conditions if available.
2. Click the ‘Call me back’ button.
3. Fill in the online form, providing your name, ID or passport number and contact details (email address or phone number).
4. Click ‘Submit’ and wait for an FNB representative to get in touch.

FNB foreign currency account fees and charges

Now we come to the important question - how much does it cost you to open and use an FNB foreign currency account?

The good news is that there’s no fee to open the account, nor any monthly fees or maintenance charges.

It’s also free to transfer money from your FCA to your Rand account held with FNB. ²

But if you want to send or receive money internationally, some fees will apply. You’ll firstly need to check with the bank whether international payment services are available with this particular account.

The fees are as follows:²

• Sending money internationally - commission of 0.55% plus a SWIFT fee of R115
• Receiving international payments - commission of 0.55%.

These are the charges for sending money through FNB online banking or the mobile app. If you do it through a branch or call centre, the fee will be higher.

When it comes to converting currency, FNB makes its exchange rates available here. But be aware that these rates don’t include commission or charges, and they’re likely to include an added margin on top of the mid-market exchange rate.

The mid-market exchange rate is the rate that banks use when trading currency with each other, and it’s believed to be one of the fairest you can get.

When you send money with Wise, you’ll always get the mid-market exchange rate with no margins or mark-ups.

Debit/credit card features for foreign currencies

There is no debit or credit card available with the FNB foreign currency account. If this is something you really need for convenient spending in multiple currencies, you might need to check out a different provider.

FNB foreign currency account requirements

Like the sound of the foreign currency account at FNB so far? You’ll need to know how to apply.

Let’s look at what you’ll need in terms of documents. If you’re a foreign national living in South Africa, you’ll need:¹

• A valid foreign passport and permit
• A signed Foreign National Declaration
• Proof of the source of funds.

If you’re a non-resident applying from elsewhere, you’ll need:

• A valid foreign passport
• A signed non-resident declaration.

How to transfer funds to and from an FNB foreign currency account

FNB doesn’t provide specific instructions on how to transfer money to and from its foreign currency account. So, you’ll need to get in touch with the bank to find out more.

But what is useful to know is that FNB has both online banking and a dedicated mobile app. So, you should find it pretty straightforward to make transfers digitally, if these services are available with the foreign currency account.

FNB also charges no fees for transferring funds between a Rand account and a foreign currency account.

You’ll just need to be aware of the exchange rate, as a currency conversion will be involved when you transfer funds. So for example, if you’re transferring between a Euro and Rand account, the following exchange rates will apply (correct as of 29.09.23):³

• 1 EUR = 20.3184 ZAR
• 1 ZAR = 0.0492 EUR

Interest on FNB foreign currency account

Unfortunately, FNB doesn’t pay interest on balances held in its foreign currency account. If this is a feature you’re interested in, you’ll need to look elsewhere.

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After reading this guide, you should have the information you need to decide if the FNB foreign currency account is the right option for you. We’ve looked at everything from features and fees to currencies and how to open an account.

Just remember to compare the alternatives first. The Wise multi-currency account could be a better fit for your needs. You can open it online, manage 40+ currencies at once and send money worldwide for low fees⁴ and great exchange rates.

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Sources:

1. FNB - Foreign Currency Accounts
2. FNB - FNB Pricing Guide Forex
3. FNB - Foreign Exchange Rates
4. Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.
5. Transaction speed claimed depends on funds availability, approval by Wise’s proprietary verification system and systems availability of our partners’ banking system, and may not be available for all transactions.
6. Eligibility is subject to verification of customers identity. Wise may request additional documents to verify a customer's identity.
7. Please note that certain products or features may not be available in all regions. Please visit www.wise.com to check for availability and learn more about our offerings.

Sources last checked on date: 08-Sep-2023