Forex brokers offering accounts in South African rand (ZAR)
| Company | Country | Rating | Min. Deposit | Website |
 | UK, Cyprus, South Africa, UAE | /5 | $1 | Read the review |
 | Cyprus, Belize, | /5 | $1, $100 | Read the review |
 | Cyprus | /5 | $50 | Read the review |
 | Bulgaria | /5 | $1 | Read the review |
 | Cyprus, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | /5 | 50 | Visit websiteWebsite |
 | Cyprus, Australia | /5 | $100 | Read the review |
Many global brokers have opened South African subsidiaries in order take advantage of the increasingly high demand for online financial trading services mostly resulting from the country’s growing economy. Furthermore, South Africa’s regulatory agency is not as demanding as the ones found in Europe and in other major Forex centers, which in itself is an alluring prospect.
Local ZAR Bank Transfers are processed very fast, usually taking 2-4 hours and up to 24 hours. International Wire Transfers take between 2 to 5 business days, and at times even more.
Local Bank Transfers, including EFTs (Electronic Fund Transfers) in ZAR are by default cheaper than international Wire Transfers. Charges differ from broker to broker, but what we noticed is that a number of South African brokers offered free International and Local Bank Transfer. Should there be a charge for making a deposit or withdrawal in ZAR, the average fee is around R 250 to R 300. Consider the fact that there are always transaction fees from the banks themselves, whether for a deposit or a withdrawal.
Credit/Debit card payments in ZAR are instant. Some brokers may attach a fee to them that very rarely surpasses 3% of the entire sum.
Two of the most popular alternative payment methods in South Africa are PayFast and i-Pay. Both methods allow for instant monetary transactions.
Since PayFast is essentially a payment service provider, fees depend on which payment method is used. For example, Credit and Debit Cards are charged with 3.5% plus R2.00 per transaction.
IPay is a payments processing solution that charges by the payment method. Visa and Master Card for example, are charged with 3.5% of the transaction.
The rand came to be in February 1961, and officially replaced the pound Sterling.
From 1961 to 1982 the South African Rand had a higher value than the United States Dollar. The ZAR was worth $1.40.
Today, the front side of all ZAR banknotes are printed in English.
