When a small-scale furniture exporter in Durban tried to pay a supplier in China, the bank’s quote included a R800 SWIFT fee and an exchange rate that added another R12 000 to the bill. The same amount, the company’s owner later learned, could have been sent for roughly half that price through a different provider.
Future Forex, South Africa’s largest foreign-exchange intermediary, says it can reduce the cost of an international payment by up to 50% for individuals and 30% for businesses. The claim comes from a statement by the firm’s chief executive, Harry Scherzer, a qualified actuary, who told Moneyweb that the company built its service on a mix of technology and specialist expertise.
The price difference matters because South Africa’s major banks are estimated to earn more than R20 billion a year from the foreign-exchange market. Those earnings come from a combination of visible fees, such as the R500-R1 000 SWIFT charge per transaction, and less obvious spreads embedded in the exchange rate. A spread of two percent on a R1 million transfer, for example, adds roughly R20 000 to the cost without the client seeing a separate line-item.
Future Forex says its platform shows the real exchange rate in real time, so customers know exactly what they are paying. The firm also assigns a dedicated account manager, a foreign-exchange specialist who handles the transaction from start to finish, including tax advice and the approval of international transfer (AIT) application required by the South African Reserve Bank.
For a small business that imports raw material or a family sending an inheritance abroad, the advertised savings can be significant. If a retailer in Johannesburg moves R500 000 to a supplier in the United Kingdom, a bank might quote an exchange rate that adds a hidden cost of about R10 000. Future Forex’s pricing, according to its website, could cut that hidden charge by roughly a third, leaving the retailer with an extra R3 300 to reinvest.
The service does not require customers to abandon their existing banking relationships. Future Forex positions itself as a complementary channel: everyday banking stays with the customer’s current bank, while international payments flow through the fintech’s web platform or mobile app. The app provides live rates, a payment tracker and a simple document-upload function, aiming to streamline the regulatory paperwork that often delays cross-border transfers.
Regulatory compliance is another selling point. The company claims it handles all the reporting obligations that fall under the Balance of Payments (BoP) framework, including Advance Payment Notifications (APNs) to the South African Reserve Bank, at no extra charge. That could spare a small-to-medium enterprise (SME) the need to hire an in-house forex specialist.
Future Forex’s growth has been recognised through a series of awards, including ‘Company of the Year’ at the 2025 Africa Career Summit and a recent ranking as the second-fastest-growing South African company in a News24 list for 2026. Those accolades, however, are part of the company’s promotional narrative and have not been independently verified by the writer.
What remains unclear is how the cost savings compare across the full range of bank offers, especially as banks occasionally adjust pricing in response to competition. The firm’s claim of “up to 50% less” is based on its internal pricing model and may not apply to every transaction size or currency pair. Potential users should therefore request a quote for their specific needs before assuming a particular percentage of savings.
For SME owners who feel the traditional banking route is opaque and costly, Future Forex presents a clear alternative that promises transparency, lower fees and a single point of contact. Whether the promised savings materialise in practice will depend on the details of each transaction, but the firm’s entry into the market adds a competitive pressure that could eventually drive banks to simplify their own pricing structures.
