How Future Forex is reshaping the South African forex industry
Co-founders of Future Forex, Harry Scherzer and Josh Kotlowitz, have identified common frustrations that many South African SMEs and individuals are facing when it comes to international payments.
Most forex services tend to take a “hands-off” approach while charging hefty fees.
Future Forex is stepping in to reimagine this process, by using technology and taking a client centric approach, to provide far more competitive rates and drastically improve customer experience.
When it comes to forex fees, many clients don’t realise how much they’re really being charged.
There’s a SWIFT or processing fee which most people are aware of, but what many don’t realise is that the spread fee, the difference between the buy price and the sell price of a currency, is far more substantial on larger transaction amounts.
The size of the spread can be approximately R0.50 for each $1 purchased (~3%), or as low as a few cents if you’re a large corporate client.
For a transaction size of R100,000 these spread fees alone can add up to R3,000, while the processing fee typically caps at R1,000 per transaction.
As transaction sizes become larger the spread fee increases in Rand terms, and the processing fee becomes relatively insignificant.
“While our processing fee is capped at R500, the bulk of our savings come from a significant reduction in the spread relative to industry norms. As a result we’ve been able to save some clients up to 50%,” says Scherzer, a qualified actuary and CEO of Future Forex.
“The secret to being able to offer a significantly more competitive forex rate than our counterparts lies in a combination of proprietary software, competitive fees and a wide range of banking partners”
Future Forex, an authorised Financial Services Provider (#51884), is powered by a team of over 45 dynamic professionals who provide a premium, single point of contact service and thanks to this, Future Forex is already disrupting the industry.
In addition to facilitating cross-border payments, Future Forex specialises in import/export payments, foreign currency accounts (FCA/CFC), Forward Exchange Cover (FEC), and trade finance services to ensure that they provide a one-stop-shop forex solution.
“When operating in the forex space, it became clear to us that there is huge potential for improvement and we’re determined to make these improvements a reality by leveraging our strategic partnerships and the latest technologies”, says Scherzer.
“Future Forex’s genesis was becoming the market-leader in one of the best performing investment products in South Africa”, says Kotlowitz, CTO of Future Forex.
“Our digital arbitrage investment service has to-date delivered an average annualised return in excess of 40% to thousands of clients”.
Since the beginning of 2022, Future Forex has processed over R10 billion worth of forex deals.
On registration, each client is assigned a dedicated Relationship Manager ensuring they have a seamless onboarding process and single point of contact.
Future Forex’s foreign exchange experts also offer complimentary tax clearance applications, taking the hassle out of remaining SARS and SARB compliant.
If you’re interested in making use of their services for your business or personal needs for transactions of R100,000 and above, you can visit their website at futureforex.co.za.
Alternatively, you can get in touch with them on 021 518 0558 or via email at [email protected].
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