LONDON (Alliance News) - FairFX Group PLC, which uses a cloud-based peer-to-peer payments platform to support foreign currency payments for both retail and business customers, on Wednesday said it has has extended its international payments service into South Africa.
The move into domestic South Africa was achieved through an agreement with Morgan West Ltd and Mercantile Bank, and FairFX sees the country as a potential gateway into other parts of Africa.
According to FairFX, services providing foreign exchange into the South African rand are "widely available", but it's "more challenging" to convert rand into other currencies for movement out of the country. Doing so requires a local presence, FairFX said.
Customers will be given access to FairFX's telephone dealing desk, where a personal account management service will support them when transferring funds both to and from South Africa.
"As with all the markets we operate in, we challenge and disrupt the traditional players by offering far more competitive and fairer rates, and more customer choice. We also envisage this strategic move to be a potential gateway into other parts of Africa as demand grows from businesses and travellers looking for more efficient money transfer solutions, and of course better value," Chief Executive Ian Strafford-Taylor said in a statement.
FairFX claims that someone transferring ZAR500,000 could save up to ZAR10,000 by using its service.
Through its tripartite agreement with Morgan West and Mercantile Bank, FairFX said it is able to provide a range of services to customers, including applications for foreign tax clearance certificates.
Shares in FairFX were down 1.7% at 31.45 pence Wednesday morning.
By Samuel Agini; samagini@alliancenews.com; @samuelagini
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