First National Bank announced a cellphone-based instant money transfer service between South Africa and Zimbabwe on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
“We have done extensive research into the cross-border remittance market and devised a service that is readily accessible to the people who need it most,” Yolande van Wyk, head of digital and alternative banking for FNB Africa, said in a statement.<\/p>\n
“People don’t always have the time to travel to the bank during working hours, and often need to send money home instantly and easily.”<\/p>\n
Van Wyk said the service was based on a tiered pricing structure, so sending R1000 would cost R45, which was 4.5 percent of the value of the remittance. From R1001 to R1500, the fee was R70, and so on.<\/p>\n
FNB said that according to the World Bank, 20 percent of the money sent to Zimbabwe from South Africa was spent on getting it there.<\/p>\n
The banking group also drew on research which found that an estimated 1.9 million Zimbabweans living and working in South Africa sent an average R6.7 billion a year to Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n
According to the World Bank, FNB, Nedbank and Standard Bank charged more than 18 percent to send money to Zimbabwe, with Absa charging 15 percent, for online services.<\/p>\n
Western Union charged 8.7 percent for cash-to-cash, the Bank of Athens charged 39 percent, and Bidvest 32 percent.<\/p>\n
The total average charge for the first quarter of 2013 was 17 percent.<\/p>\n
With their new product, FNB said there were no currency conversion rates for the sender and zero transaction fees for the recipient.<\/p>\n
Recipients did not have to be pre-registered, but had to be residents of Zimbabwe and to hold a Zimbabwean identity document.<\/p>\n
Recipients could collect their money at OK stores in Harare and Bulawayo. FNB planned to roll out the initiative to other outlets in Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n
The sender would receive an sms notification that the money had been collected. If it was not collected within 14 days, the money was reversed into the sender’s account.<\/p>\n
Van Wyk said the sender from South Africa had to be an FNB account holder and a permanent resident of South Africa.<\/p>\n
The system was compliant with the exchange regulations of the SA Reserve Bank (SARB) and the Zimbabwean central bank. Users could not send more than the R1 million a year discretionary allowance set by SARB.<\/p>\n
The sender also had to comply with any law or exchange control regulation which set out how much and under what circumstances money may be sent out of South Africa.<\/p>\n
FNB had established a commercial agreement with OK to facilitate the transfers.<\/p>\n
Van Wyk said if a receiver had a problem, FNB did not have branches in Zimbabwe, so OK would refer the matter to South Africa to be resolved.<\/p>\n
FNB hails eBucks landmark<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n FNB eBucks: take it or leave it<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n eBucks changes aggravate FNB clients<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n