Frequently asked questions

Yes, you will be required to upload all of the necessary supporting documentation via Internet Banking as part of the payment instruction.

Please ensure that the documentation is clearly legible and is in PDF or image (PNG, JPG, JPEG) format.

Open the document and click “File”, “Save As”, and then change the \""Save as type\"" to PDF and save the document.

Please note that merely changing the name of the document extension from e.g. XLS to PDF (Invoice22.xls to Invoice22.pdf) will not work. You need to resave the file as a PDF as explained above.

Each attachment must be less than 4MB.

Send an email with your additional documents to [email protected]. It is very important that you use your 'OT' transaction reference number (found on the confirmation page) as the subject of your email. Do not delay in sending these documents as Standard Bank needs enough time to review them prior to the value date of the transaction.

Click on the “Add more documents” button and upload any additional documents you feel are applicable to the international payment.

You can upload each document one by one or upload a bulk document that consists of all your required documents, as long as the attachment is less than 4MB.

No, this is not compliant with the South African Reserve Bank regulations. You must do 2 separate payments, one for the deposit and another one for the balance.

No, you cannot as this is not compliant with the South African Reserve Bank regulations.

You need a pro forma invoice. An offer letter alone is not compliant with the South African Reserve Bank regulations.

No, this channel does not have segregation of duties. This means that you can only use this feature if no-one else in the company is required to approve the payment. Should your company have segregation of duties, you will need to utilise the Business Online channel or branch to do your international payments.

• [Number] days left to accept – You have a certain number of days left to respond with a reason why you received this payment for us to release the funds. After 30 days, the payment will expire and be returned to the sender.
• In progress – Your payment is in progress and your money will be paid into your account within the next business day.
• Processed – Your money has been successfully paid into your account.
• Expired – The money has been returned to the sender as we did not get a response from you within 30 days.
• Returned – The money was returned to the sender at your request.
• Currency not supported – This currency is not supported on Internet Banking. Please call 086 012 3006 to process this payment.

You will be able to view both your individual and business incoming international payments at any time, however, over a weekend you can only process an incoming international payment in your individual capacity. You will not be able to process incoming international payments that are for your business on weekends.

If you do not respond to the request for a BOP code within 30 days of the funds arriving at Standard Bank, the payment will be returned to the sender. The fees to send the money back to the sender will be taken from the amount that was sent to you and will not result in any fees coming from your account.

If you export goods out of South Africa, you need to register as an exporter with SARS and apply for a Customs Client Number (CCN). It is also called an Importers Code. A CCN is used to report export payments, for example, BOP category 101-01. Exports for advance payments also require a CCN number. A CCN needs to be 8 digits long to be valid. If your CCN is less than 8 digits long, add zeros to the beginning of your number to make it 8 digits long.

A UCR is the Unique Consignment Reference. It consists of the last digit of the calendar year of export, two letter country of origin code e.g. ZA, 8 digit exporters customs code, followed by a unique reference to the export in question (invoice number, consignment number, order number, etc.)

Yes, you can, but you will be required to provide the third-party’s information to us.

Yes, you can. You will need to provide the amount linked to each BOP category and ensure that the sum of the BOP code amounts to the total amount of inward funds.

• Account type: It is recommended that you use a current / savings account to receive international payments. We don’t recommend using a vehicle loan, home loan or credit card account.
• Standard Bank’s SWIFT address: SBZAZAJJ.
• Branch/sort code: 051001. If this information is requested, please advise the sender to ensure that the branch code is not provided in the same field as your account number. 
• Account number: Provide your Standard Bank current / savings account number.

You cannot use Internet Banking to accept incoming international payments into foreign currency accounts. You can process those payments by calling 086 012 3006.

Please call the international payments call centre on 086 012 3006.

Should you receive incoming international funds into the same account, in the same currency, for the same reason on a regular basis, you can set up an instruction to automatically clear your funds using the same BOP code each time.

To set this up, please call the international payments call centre on 086 012 3006.

If you received money incorrectly, or the currency or amount is incorrect, you will be able to return the funds to the sender. If you would like to return a payment, please call 086 012 3006 and request the funds to be returned. Standard Bank will charge fees to send the money back. These fees will be deducted from the amount sent. Your account will not be charged any fees.

You will be able to view information about your past incoming international payments for 60 days. Simply sign into Internet Banking and click on “Transact” on the menu. Select “Incoming international payments” under the “History” tab.

You will be shown a value date or ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) on the channel when processing your transaction, which will consider things like weekends and public holidays. You will typically receive your funds within 1 business day after submission.

South African legislation requires you to provide a reason why you are receiving money from outside South Africa. The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) uses a set of predetermined codes for this, called a Balance of Payment (BOP) code. Example, 401 Gift. If you do not know which BOP code to use, please contact 086 0123 006 for assistance.

The supported BOP categories will be displayed on Internet Banking when you need to provide a reason for payment as part of the transaction. Certain BOP codes require additional information to be captured. Some of the more complicated BOP codes are not supported on Internet Banking. If your BOP code is not supported, please contact 086 0123 006 for assistance.

International payments result in fees from both the sending and receiving banks. If the sending bank does not have a direct relationship with the Standard Bank and the charge type that the sender chose is BEN or SHA, an intermediary bank will also be used to process the payment and they will charge processing fees which will be deducted from the amount sent to you. Depending on which fee option the sender chose, you as the Standard Bank client may be liable for bank fees. The options the sender can choose are:

• BEN: If the sender chooses BEN as his fee option, you will be liable for all fees. The processing fees from the sending bank and any intermediary bank will be deducted from the amount that was sent to you, and Standard Bank will deduct their processing fees from your account.
• SHA: If the sender chooses SHA as his fee option, you will be liable to pay for Standard Bank’s processing fees and any intermediary bank processing fees. The intermediary bank will deduct their fees from the amount sent to you.
• OUR: If the sender chooses OUR as his fee option, then the sender will pay for the sending bank and Standard Bank's fees. There is a possibility that you may be liable for intermediary bank processing fees should there be any. If this occurs, these fees will be deducted from the amount that was sent to you.

While you will not be shown your concessionary pricing on Internet Banking, when you are billed, you will receive your concessionary price. Also note that processing international incoming payments using Internet Banking is cheaper than calling the call centre.

When you receive an international payment in a foreign currency, we will convert the foreign currency amount into rand at the current exchange rate with the soonest value date based on time of the day and operating hours of the market. We will provide you with a quote that you can review before confirming.

If you want to use Internet Banking to process your incoming international payment, you can’t use a pre-booked forex deal. You will book a rate as part of the process on Internet Banking. If you would like to use a pre-booked forex deal to accept your payment, please contact 086 012 3006.

You will not be able to choose a future date to process the ITT. You will be offered the rate for the same or next business day depending on the time of day, and whether that day is a weekend or public holiday. Should you not like the rate provided, you can check back later and see if the rate has improved.

Some incoming international payments are automatically processed into your account due to standing settlement instructions (SSI) being in place. If your payment requires action on your side, it will appear on Internet Banking as soon as your money is ready. If you are expecting funds but do not see your incoming international payment, please check that you are on the correct dashboard on Internet Banking.

Then ensure that the account where the payment has been sent to is linked to the card that is registered for that dashboard. If you are on the right dashboard, and your account is linked and the money is still not reflecting, check again later.

Should you require assistance with linking accounts to the card registered for Internet Banking, chat to your relationship manager or dial 086 012 3000.

 

If a business is registered for permissions manager, they will be blocked from using this feature. Call 086 012 3006 to process the payment.

When the foreign exchange markets are closed over weekends, transactions over a certain amount aren’t allowed to be submitted. If you have a large transaction that is being limited, please submit your transaction again during business hours.

Your/your business’ identification information needs to be complete and correct to use this feature. Should your information be incomplete or incorrect, please contact your relationship manager or visit your nearest branch with your identity documents.

Please call the international payments call centre on 086 012 3006 for assistance with incoming international payments.