International Transfer with Nedbank: Fees, Time, Process

Using Nedbank, customers can make an international money transfer outside of South Africa, as well as receive money from abroad.

This article will explain how to send international payments using Nedbank - as well as receive international payments from abroad - and look into any Nedbank international transfer fees and time.

Making an international transfer with Nedbank comes with some additional costs. It is worth taking a look at these costs to determine the best choice for your international money transfer.

Wise is a bank alternative, which not only uses competitive fees for sending and receiving international payments, but also uses the mid-market exchange rate so our customers get the most from their transfer⁴.

Learn more about Wise

Nedbank international transfer fees

Nedbank sends international payments over the SWIFT network. This means if customers aren’t making an international transfer through a branch, they need to send a wire transfer using their online banking service or mobile app.

Sending Money Internationally from South Africa with Nedbank

For these types of transfers, Nedbank charges some additional fees. Specifically a combination of commission fees and fixed fees. You can view these fees in the tables below:

Sending money to countries outside South Africa through a Nedbank branch⁶

Charge	Commission Fee	Communication Fee
R250 - R1 040	0.77%	R140

Sending money to countries outside South Africa online/ through the app⁶

Charge	Commission Fee	Communication Fee
R180 - R750	0.55%	R140

As well as making a wire transfer over the SWIFT network, Nedbank also allows its customers to make a payment to an African bank account that’s part of the Ecobank network.

Receiving Money in South Africa with Nedbank

For customers that want to make an international transfer that way, Nedbank will apply the following fees:

Receiving money from countries outside South Africa in branch⁶

Amounts over R2,000	Amounts under R2,000
0.72% (minimum charge of R173 and a maximum charge of R862)	R109 flat fee

Receiving money from countries outside South Africa online/through the app⁶

Amounts over R2,000	Amounts under R2,000
0.63% (minimum charge of R150 and a maximum charge of R747)	R109 flat fee

Additional Fees

On top of these commission fees and fixed fees, there might also be more additional charges to pay to make an international payment with Nedbank. These depend on the circumstances of your payment.

An incorrect instructions fee of R280 for incorrectly filling in beneficiary details.

A correspondent bank fee ranging from R150 to R1,500. This fee is charged when Nedbank can’t wire your funds to your beneficiary successfully, and as a result, uses an intermediary or correspondent bank.

A payment tracker fee of R10 if you want to track the status of your international transfer.

For receiving money from abroad in South Africa, Nedbank also charges some additional fees.

Nedbank international transfer exchange rate

Aside from the above international transfer fees, Nedbank will also charge you an exchange rate margin on every international money transfer that you make or receive.

These exchange rates vary depending on the currency.

• Transfers to places whose currencies are pegged to the value of ZAR have no exchange rate margin. For example, transfers to Lesotho, Eswatini and Namibia.
• Transfers to any of the three major world currencies (USD, GBP, EUR) have exchange rate margins around 2.5%.
• Transfers to other countries like Thailand, Singapore and Botswana can have exchange rates over 5%.

The exchange rate used by Nedbank is poorer than that banks use to trade between one another since it adds a markup on the inter-bank exchange rate.

The inter-bank rate is called the mid-market exchange rate, and is the rate that Wise uses in its international payments.

Wise for Quick, Cheap International Transfers

At Wise, our goal is to offer customers quick and secure international money transfers. We do this by using the mid-market rate, and only applying a small transparent fee⁴ to make an international payment to ZAR.

So, take a look at Wise to find out how you could save money on your international money transfers today⁴!

How long does an international transfer take with Nedbank?

After you make an international payment with Nedbank to someone located outside South Africa, it normally takes up to two working days for the money to land in the recipient’s account.¹ This payment could be delayed due to South African public holidays and weekends, international time differences, and overseas bank holidays.

On the flip side, when you send an international ZAR payment to a Nedbank customer in South Africa, they have up to 30 days to accept the payment. If they don’t accept the payment within this time frame, the payment will be returned to the sender.

Nedbank international transfer process

Making international payments

There are two ways you can make an international payment with Nedbank to someone outside of South Africa; namely via Nedbank online banking/ money app and by filling and emailing a transfer form to Nedbank.

Using Nedbank Online Banking/Money App

Nedbank customers can make an international payment using Nedbank online banking or directly through their mobile banking app. This will cost them an additional 3%-10%, depending on the currency and the amount they send.

1. Log in to the Nedbank money app
2. Select Transact > Pay or swipe to International Banking
3. Click International Payments
4. Choose Make a payment.
5. Follow the next steps.

Sending a Transfer Form

You can also email a completed transfer application form to Nedbank. The email to send the form to is servicedeskpayments@nedbank.co.za.

This method of making an international payment also costs between 3% and 10% depending on the currency and the amount you send.

Receiving International Payments

There are two ways you can process a payment of ZAR from someone outside the country.

Using Online Banking

1. Click on International payments or Receive payments
2. Select the payment you want to process
3. Follow the next steps

Using the Money App

1. Scroll to International Banking and Travel
2. Click International Payments or select Transact, Pay and International Payments
3. Tap Receive Payments
4. Select the payment you want to process
5. Follow the next steps

Nedbank international transfer requirements

To make an international payment with Nedbank to someone outside of South Africa, you will need to ask the recipient for the following:

• Full name, gender, and complete address
• Banking details including bank swift code, international bank account number and/or routing code

To receive an international payment from someone outside of the country you need to provide the sender with these details:

• Your full name
• Nedbank account number
• Nedbank SWIFT code (NEDSZAJJ)
• Full address
• Reason for payment

Nedbank international transfer limits

There are some transfer limits when making an international payment with Nedbank.

Nedbank allows South African residents over 18 years old to use their R1 million discretionary allowance to make an international payment without the need for supporting documents.²

Residents over 18 years old can also use their R10 million investments allowance to invest in funds abroad. To do this, they need to first obtain a Tax Compliance Status Pin Letter from the South African Revenue Services (SARS).³

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If you’re someone who makes and receives regular international payments, it might be worth looking into bank alternatives such as Wise, which makes a great choice for international transfers to ZAR.

Join Wise!

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Sources

1. Incoming international payment
2. Outgoing International Payments
3. Outgoing international payments
4. Please seeTerms of Use for your region or visit WiseFees & 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. 2023 Pricing