Nedbank Exchange Control Contact Details

Exchange control is not a Nedbank department you can phone directly. It is a South African Reserve Bank regime, and Nedbank acts as an authorised dealer inside it. Practically that means a forex branch or the Global Business Call Centre submits your application to the Reserve Bank; the bank does not approve it itself.

Official contact channels

• Nedbank Global Business Call Centre, general enquiries: 0860 797 797
• Nedbank contact centre, 24 hours: 0800 555 111
• A forex branch is where an exchange control application is actually lodged. Not every branch offers forex, so check on the branch locator before travelling
• Once the Reserve Bank has approved a request, you go back to a forex branch to convert the currency
• Private Wealth and Private Clients customers have their own desks: 0800 111 263 and 0800 552 222

What exchange control actually governs

• Moving money out of South Africa, and in some cases bringing it back, is regulated. The limits are set by the Reserve Bank, not by your bank
• South African residents have an annual single discretionary allowance and a larger foreign capital allowance. The capital allowance is the one that requires a tax clearance
• A tax clearance for foreign investment comes from SARS, not from Nedbank. The bank cannot process the transfer without it
• Emigration, inheritances paid abroad and loans to non-residents each have their own approval route and are slower than a straightforward transfer

Getting an application through

• Every cross-border payment needs a balance of payments reporting category, the BoP code. Getting it wrong is the most common cause of a payment being returned or queried weeks later
• Take your identity document, tax number, proof of the source of funds and the beneficiary bank details. Incomplete source-of-funds evidence stops more applications than the limits do
• Ask for the all-in cost: the exchange rate margin, the SWIFT fee and any correspondent bank charges. The rate margin is usually the largest of the three and the least visible
• Allow time. A Reserve Bank approval is not a same-day process, and the rate you were quoted will not be held for you

Complaints

• Nedbank Client Complaints Helpline: 0860 444 000
• A complaint about how the bank handled a transfer goes to the National Financial Ombud on 0860 800 900
• A decision by the Reserve Bank on an exchange control application is not the bank decision and cannot be resolved through a bank complaint

Sources

• Nedbank published forex application forms, which carry the Global Business Call Centre number for general enquiries
• Nedbank official exchange control and forex guidance pages, for the role of a forex consultant and forex branch in lodging a Reserve Bank application and converting funds after approval
• Nedbank official contact page, for the 24-hour contact centre, Private Wealth and Private Clients numbers and the complaints helpline and ombud referral
• Nedbank official branch locator, for which branches offer forex and international payments