FNB Global Account Card

Hello people!

I am in a conflicting situation regarding the FNB global account and would appreciate your input. I am about to receive a large payment from abroad in USD and I plan to use the amount in the following way (roughly):
  • 50% of the amount to pay off my debts taken from another country in USD
  • 25% to transfer to my wife's account in Dubai
  • 25% to convert to ZAR and use locally
I have two options:
- Receive the money in my local FNB cheque account in ZAR
- Open a USD Global Account and receive the money there

What would be the best option for me? I have no much experience with forex so I'm not too sure about the costs involved.

I'll be really grateful for your advice :)
 
johnspake said:
Hello people!

I am in a conflicting situation regarding the FNB global account and would appreciate your input. I am about to receive a large payment from abroad in USD and I plan to use the amount in the following way (roughly):
  • 50% of the amount to pay off my debts taken from another country in USD
  • 25% to transfer to my wife's account in Dubai
  • 25% to convert to ZAR and use locally
I have two options:
- Receive the money in my local FNB cheque account in ZAR
- Open a USD Global Account and receive the money there

What would be the best option for me? I have no much experience with forex so I'm not too sure about the costs involved.

I'll be really grateful for your advice :)
Click to expand...
Open a TransferWise account and receive the funds there
 
Speedster said:
Open a TransferWise account and receive the funds there
Click to expand...
Thanks!
The condition of the payment is to transfer to a bank account using a SWIFT code. I don't think Transferwise would work here, or will it?
 
johnspake said:
Thanks!
The condition of the payment is to transfer to a bank account using a SWIFT code. I don't think Transferwise would work here, or will it?
Click to expand...
It should. They moved to a new banking partner (or something) in Belgium which has affected their swift stuff, although that should be rectified soon if it hasn't been yet. What currency is the payment being made in?
 
Speedster said:
It should. They moved to a new banking partner (or something) in Belgium which has affected their swift stuff, although that should be rectified soon if it hasn't been yet. What currency is the payment being made in?
Click to expand...
The payment is being made in USD.
I would just prefer leaving it in my FNB account so it's easy to transfer to my cheque account whenever needed. Would the global account be a better option?
 
johnspake said:
The payment is being made in USD.
I would just prefer leaving it in my FNB account so it's easy to transfer to my cheque account whenever needed. Would the global account be a better option?
Click to expand...
In both accounts you will pay the swift receiving fee. The global account will keep it in USD so you don't need lose out to FNBs Forex rate.
 
johnspake said:
The payment is being made in USD.
I would just prefer leaving it in my FNB account so it's easy to transfer to my cheque account whenever needed. Would the global account be a better option?
Click to expand...

The savings on conversion and transfer rates will be quite substantial if you use TransferWise.

TransferWise will receive the money in USD and from there you can exchange it to whatever currency you like at the mid money rate (unlike FNB who add commission into the rate) and then you pay to transfer it to another country in that countries currency.

So for example. You receive USD. You change however much you want to at the mid market exchange rate to Rand. You then transfer Rand to your FNB account and pay TransferWise for that transfer. Not FNB because they are receiving Rand only. By doing this I save over 1000 on my transfers each month. Pretty much half of what FNB charge.

As for transferring TO the FNB global account from TransferWise, I don’t know. Check if it can be done from TransferWise directly.

So basically you can distribute from TransferWise as much or as little to different countries as you want.

I only deal in Euro, ZAR and GBP. Other currencies such as dirham you’ll need to check about. UAE may have some different rules.
 
Spizz said:
The savings on conversion and transfer rates will be quite substantial if you use TransferWise.

TransferWise will receive the money in USD and from there you can exchange it to whatever currency you like at the mid money rate (unlike FNB who add commission into the rate) and then you pay to transfer it to another country in that countries currency.

So for example. You receive USD. You change however much you want to at the mid market exchange rate to Rand. You then transfer Rand to your FNB account and pay TransferWise for that transfer. Not FNB because they are receiving Rand only. By doing this I save over 1000 on my transfers each month. Pretty much half of what FNB charge.

As for transferring TO the FNB global account from TransferWise, I don’t know. Check if it can be done from TransferWise directly.

So basically you can distribute from TransferWise as much or as little to different countries as you want.

I only deal in Euro, ZAR and GBP. Other currencies such as dirham you’ll need to check about. UAE may have some different rules about receiving currency from TransferWise because they in effect give you your own bank account details in the country you are changing the money to, before actually sending it to the real account. This enables you to hold money in different countries with transfers before sending it to a real account in said country.
Click to expand...
 
Spizz said:
The savings on conversion and transfer rates will be quite substantial if you use TransferWise.

TransferWise will receive the money in USD and from there you can exchange it to whatever currency you like at the mid money rate (unlike FNB who add commission into the rate) and then you pay to transfer it to another country in that countries currency.

So for example. You receive USD. You change however much you want to at the mid market exchange rate to Rand. You then transfer Rand to your FNB account and pay TransferWise for that transfer. Not FNB because they are receiving Rand only. By doing this I save over 1000 on my transfers each month. Pretty much half of what FNB charge.

As for transferring TO the FNB global account from TransferWise, I don’t know. Check if it can be done from TransferWise directly.

So basically you can distribute from TransferWise as much or as little to different countries as you want.

I only deal in Euro, ZAR and GBP. Other currencies such as dirham you’ll need to check about. UAE may have some different rules.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for the explanation. TransferWise does seem like a good option since I will be saving on the commission fees as well as getting a better rate. Just a few more questions :)
Can I use Transferwise just like my bank account? Basically, the money does not have to be distributed as soon as it is received - this will happen gradually instead. My plan with the FNB Global Account was to keep the money in USD then transfer it to the other accounts whenever I need to. Can I do the same with TransferWise?
 
johnspake said:
Thanks so much for the explanation. TransferWise does seem like a good option since I will be saving on the commission fees as well as getting a better rate. Just a few more questions :)
Can I use Transferwise just like my bank account? Basically, the money does not have to be distributed as soon as it is received - this will happen gradually instead. My plan with the FNB Global Account was to keep the money in USD then transfer it to the other accounts whenever I need to. Can I do the same with TransferWise?
Click to expand...
Yes
 
johnspake said:
Thanks so much for the explanation. TransferWise does seem like a good option since I will be saving on the commission fees as well as getting a better rate. Just a few more questions :)
Can I use Transferwise just like my bank account? Basically, the money does not have to be distributed as soon as it is received - this will happen gradually instead. My plan with the FNB Global Account was to keep the money in USD then transfer it to the other accounts whenever I need to. Can I do the same with TransferWise?
Click to expand...

As Speedster says, yes.

Just as an aside though, I've found the FNB Global Account to be too expensive to use so I've all but abandoned it. I've kept 100 euros in so I can get the free international airport lounge access, but for me it is has been much easier and economical to open an account in the UK and send to it from TransferWise.

So my route used to be my company sent my salary in EUR to FNB who quote you a rate and change to ZAR, putting the whole lot in your FNB account. Then I would transfer some of the ZAR into Global Account, again losing in commission on the rate quoted. There I'd try and build it a bit so I have some other currency to save for holidays overseas etc.

Now my route is salary in EUR to TransferWise. Change in app to ZAR and transfer a percentage to my FNB account, Change remaining percentage to GBP in app and send to UK account. For these transactions, you get the exact mid market rate and pay only for the transfer. Transfer is very cheap from EUR to GBP. Not so cheap to ZAR but as I said earlier, still about half of what I was paying FNB.

But of course, as you asked, you can keep your USD currency in Transferwise as long as you like with no interest of course. But at the large costs associated with transfer in and out of SA, and the volatility of the Rand, I reckon that's probably the best place for it if you don't need it just now. At least you know you have XXX amount of USD and it ain't going anywhere until you want it to.

Edit: Tidied it up a little. I confused myself reading some of it :p
 
Speedster said:
Yes
Click to expand...
Spizz said:
As Speedster says, yes.

Just as an aside though, I've found the FNB Global Account to be too expensive to use so I've all but abandoned it. I've kept 100 euros in so I can get the free international airport lounge access, but for me it is has been much easier and economical to open an account in the UK and send to it from TransferWise.

So my route used to be my company sent my salary in EUR to FNB who quote you a rate and change to ZAR, putting the whole lot in your FNB account. Then I would transfer some of the ZAR into Global Account, again losing in commission on the rate quoted. There I'd try and build it a bit so I have some other currency to save for holidays overseas etc.

Now my route is salary in EUR to TransferWise. Change in app to ZAR and transfer a percentage to my FNB account, Change remaining percentage to GBP in app and send to UK account. For these transactions, you get the exact mid market rate and pay only for the transfer. Transfer is very cheap from EUR to GBP. Not so cheap to ZAR but as I said earlier, still about half of what I was paying FNB.

But of course, as you asked, you can keep your USD currency in Transferwise as long as you like with no interest of course. But at the large costs associated with transfer in and out of SA, and the volatility of the Rand, I reckon that's probably the best place for it if you don't need it just now. At least you know you have XXX amount of USD and it ain't going anywhere until you want it to.

Edit: Tidied it up a little. I confused myself reading some of it :p
Click to expand...

Thanks so much @Speedster and @Spizz, especially @Spizz for the detailed explanation. This is much appreciated. i will weigh my options and consider TransferWise.
 
Hi Everyone,
we are immigrating and have been putting funds into our global accounts.
Has anyone got a recent fee for transferring from FNB Global to Monzo?
Is there a cheaper way?

Also our proceeds from selling up here, what’s the best way to get our money out.
Thank you,
Jaco
 
Jkproperties said:
Hi Everyone,
we are immigrating and have been putting funds into our global accounts.
Has anyone got a recent fee for transferring from FNB Global to Monzo?
Is there a cheaper way?

Also our proceeds from selling up here, what’s the best way to get our money out.
Thank you,
Jaco
Click to expand...
For the funds already in the global account your only realistic option is to pay it to the offshore (Monzo) account with a normal swift payment.

For other funds I'd strongly recommend ABSA's novofx, or even Shyft.
 
Jkproperties said:
Hi Everyone,
we are immigrating and have been putting funds into our global accounts.
Has anyone got a recent fee for transferring from FNB Global to Monzo?
Is there a cheaper way?

Also our proceeds from selling up here, what’s the best way to get our money out.
Thank you,
Jaco
Click to expand...


Method I've tested is by getting a Curve card in the UK, then adding your Global Account to it and changing the default currency on the card to GBP. You can then topup your Revolut Account (similar to Monzo) with Google Pay using the Curve card with your FNB Global Card selected. No extra charges other than conversion rate when topping up your Global Account.
 
What's the cost involved in getting this for Lounge Key access nowdays?

This seems to indicate a $20 per year fee?
www.fnb.co.za

Global Accounts

With the FNB Global Account you can start saving and transacting in nine foreign currencies without having to leave South Africa. You can open and manage your Global Accounts online with the same ease as an FNB Current Account. It's a safe and secure way of saving in a foreign currency
www.fnb.co.za

Then this says it's free if Private Client?
 
jsheed_sa said:
What's the cost involved in getting this for Lounge Key access nowdays?

This seems to indicate a $20 per year fee?
www.fnb.co.za

Global Accounts

With the FNB Global Account you can start saving and transacting in nine foreign currencies without having to leave South Africa. You can open and manage your Global Accounts online with the same ease as an FNB Current Account. It's a safe and secure way of saving in a foreign currency
www.fnb.co.za

Then this says it's free if Private Client?
Click to expand...
Think free on premier and higher
 
To clarify:
Premier - the global account is free, but if a global debit card is ordered for the account; the annual charge applies (eg. 20USD a year) even if you cancel the card.

Private - the global account and one global debit card in your currency of choice is included in the monthly account fee. However if you get a second currency, the annual card fee applies to the second card.
 
jamietyger said:
Method I've tested is by getting a Curve card in the UK, then adding your Global Account to it and changing the default currency on the card to GBP. You can then topup your Revolut Account (similar to Monzo) with Google Pay using the Curve card with your FNB Global Card selected. No extra charges other than conversion rate when topping up your Global Account.
Click to expand...
Thank you,
This sounds great,
would I need my global card for this?
I haven’t order the cards.
Sorry been running around getting ready to go.
 
Jkproperties said:
Thank you,
This sounds great,
would I need my global card for this?
I haven’t order the cards.
Sorry been running around getting ready to go.
Click to expand...

Yep. You add your Global Card to the Curve card and change the default currency to GBP. It is set as ZAR for some reason.
 
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