Wise, the UK money transfer company, now holds a formal licence to move money in and out of South Africa. The South African Reserve Bank appointed Wise Payments South Africa as a Category Two Authorised Dealer in Foreign Exchange with Limited Authority (ADLA), in a notice published in the Government Gazette on 2 October, according to Innovation Village and Techpoint Africa.
How it got here
- 1 December 2025: Wise announces conditional approval from the Reserve Bank.
- 14 April 2026: Capitec agrees to use Wise Platform technology for international payments from its customers' bank accounts.
- 2 October 2026: Gazette Notice 4183 names Wise a Category Two ADLA.
- 5 October 2026: Exchange Control Circular No. 20/2026 follows.
What the licence allows
Category Two covers a limited set of foreign exchange business. According to Innovation Village, Wise can process transactions under the single discretionary allowance, which lets individuals send up to R2 million a year abroad, offer bureau de change services, and offer remittances in partnership with external money transfer operators. Independent operators sit in Category Three.
Techpoint Africa notes that the authorisation does not automatically make every Wise product available in South Africa, and that it comes with reporting and compliance duties. Wise has not announced a launch date for its own local service. After the gazette, Wise reportedly began recruiting a South Africa country manager, Innovation Village says.
Further north, Condia reported in March that Wise had conditional approval for an international money transfer operator licence in Nigeria.
