🇿🇦 Sending to South Africa¶
ZA · ZAF · +27 · Southern Africa
SWIFT BIC required
← Back to Country-specific guides
Required information¶
For your end users
Double-check the beneficiary's full name (no initials), account number, and bank SWIFT/BIC against what their bank has on file. International wires can take 1-5 business days and may be delayed by sanctions screening.
Real-Time Alternative
PayShap
Last reviewed by GIB compliance on 2026-05-19. Reference material only.
-
Currency
-
Typical settlement
1-2 business days typical; longer for cross-border with FX or compliance review.
-
SWIFT BIC
Required
-
Local clearing
SAMOS
Routing identifiers¶
Which routing codes the wire-creation API call must include for South Africa.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| SWIFT BIC | Required |
| None | Optional |
| Local clearing | SAMOS |
Purpose of payment¶
Put a code from the ISO 20022 list in <Purp><Cd> (purpose_code).
Requirement: ISO 20022 code required (confirmed)
GIB check: a missing or unexpected purpose is reported as a validation warning; the wire is not held.
Standard list applies
South Africa doesn't publish a country-specific PoP scheme. Use the ISO 20022 standard purpose codes.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Source | ↗ SARS Payment Rules External Guide |
Remittance info¶
Extra content the regulator requires inside the free-text remittance field, beyond the purpose-of-payment code.
For tax payments, include unique 19-character Payment Reference Number (PRN), e.g., "/PRN/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx".
Operational notes¶
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Currencies accepted | ZAR, USD |
| Typical settlement | 1-2 business days typical; longer for cross-border with FX or compliance review. |
| Banking holidays | ↗ Calendar |
Common rejection reasons¶
Documented patterns that cause this country's banks to return wires. Universal reasons (sanctions holds, missing BIC) aren't repeated here.
Beneficiary name mismatch (initials, abbreviations, punctuation, or transliteration differences from what the beneficiary bank has on file).
Account number format error (wrong length, wrong check digits, or non-standard characters).
Missing or invalid SWIFT/BIC code.
Insufficient remittance information (unclear economic reason for the payment).
Sanctions or compliance hold (OFAC / EU / UN / local screening).
Validate before you send¶
Check identifiers before you submit. The IBAN check runs in your browser (format plus the ISO 13616 MOD-97 check digit). GIB's API checks the IBAN format for countries where an IBAN is required. The BIC lookup searches GIB's BIC directory and needs a dashboard login.
BIC lookup
Loading…
References¶
First-party sources — central banks, FX regulators, ISO registries. Always re-verify against these before pushing volume to a new corridor.
Disclaimer
These country guides aggregate information from central banks, regulators, and industry-standard references. Global Innovations Bank reviews them on a rolling cadence and notes the verification date on each page. Payment-corridor rules change between releases, so we cannot guarantee continued accuracy.
Always verify against the primary sources linked in the References section before going live in a new corridor. Re-check applicable sanctions lists (OFAC, EU, UK, UN consolidated, and any state-level requirements) at the time of payment, since designations shift between our refreshes.
For fintech partners on GIB's sponsor-bank rails, these guides do not replace your BSA/AML, KYC, sanctions-screening, or transaction-monitoring obligations under your program agreement with GIB.
Nothing in this material constitutes legal, tax, or regulatory advice, and wire-acceptance decisions remain at the discretion of GIB Compliance and the destination bank.