US Stocks forex solution: How to use EasyFX

To invest in US stocks like Apple, Tesla or Amazon you'll need to transfer your Rands to Dollars which can be done on EasyEquities using online Forex solution: EasyFX. 

EasyFX is:

• Easy – simply transfer withdrawable funds from your EasyEquities ZAR account to your EasyEquities USD Account.
• Cheap - our transfer fee is way less (approx. R60 depending on Forex rate) than other FX options (usually R200 – R300 minimums); plus our Forex rates beat the majority of other providers.
• Flexible – A guaranteed 1-day transfer window lets you decide if you are happy with the current exchange rate, allowing you to cancel your transaction within this period if you want to.

Transfer Rands (ZAR) from your EasyEquities ZAR account to your EasyEquities USD account by following the steps below:

1. Click on the stack menu (3 little horizontal lines) to the left of the EasyEquities logo - as shown by the arrow in the image below.

Please note that you will only see this menu option if you are logged in to the site.

2. Once the menu structure opens up, click on the "Inter-Account Transfers and EasyFX" option.

3. This action will take you to the Transfer Funds screen, where you will immediately see the rate we are offering you - as shown by the black arrow in the image below\.

3. Enter the amount of Rands (ZAR) you wish to transfer into Dollars (USD), in the ZAR cell - labelled 1 in the image above.

If you then click the tab key or click on the USD cell below (labelled 2 in the image above), the exchange rate is applied to the transaction, and the exact USD amount (before fees) to be credited to your USD account is calculated at the time of transfer ($54.04 in the example of R1000 in the image below).

In addition to this, the fees that will be charged in the USD account are also displayed, presenting you with the final net amount in Dollars ($49.44 in the example above) that you will receive in your USD account.

5. Accept the T&C’s by clicking on the checkbox at the bottom-left of the screen

6. Click on the “Transfer Now” button.

7. You will be taken back to the “Transfer Funds” screen, which will now display a summary of any of the transfers you have submitted together with its status.

While the transfer is still in a “Pending” state, you can cancel the transfer by clicking on the “Cancel” button in the “Action” column. Cancellations can be made up until 15 minutes before the 1 day fixed rate transfer window closes - see '1 day rate window' in note below.

Once the status of the transfer moves from a "Pending" status to a “Processing” status, you will no longer be able to cancel the transfer as the instruction has been sent to the bank for processing.

One (1) business day after the transfer moved into a “Processing” state, the USD amount will be credited to the EasyEquities USD account of the account holder, and the fees deducted.

Once (and only once) the funds have been allocated to your USD account, an email will be sent to your mailbox confirming that the funds have been allocated and showing the breakdown of the deposit made and the fees charged.

Please note: This Forex solution is ONLY available to Individuals who are South African Citizens who operate within the R1M Annual Discretionary allowance allowed by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB). Our systems will restrict you from transferring more than R1M annually

Fees

Are calculated as follows:

• A Currency Transfer Fee of 0.20% (20 bps) of the USD transfer amount received, with a flat minimum of $4
• VAT at 15% on the Currency Transfer Fee

To ensure that you understand how the fees work and minimise the effect of fees against the amount of Rands you are transferring, it is important that you test the fees levied against your transfer by making use of the fee calculator (as described above).

For a more in depth illustration of the fees and how they work, please consult this FAQ article on How to optimise on fees?

The 1 day fixed rate window

EasyEquities receive a one (1) day guaranteed rate that will be applied to all clients that initiate a transfer within that 1 day window. This rate is set at 200bps above the Mid WM/Reuters rate at 9am London time on the Monday, Wednesday or Friday respectively

The one day fixed rate windows open and closing times are as follows: (all times quoted below are GMT or GMT+1 during British Standard time (BST))

• Open: Mon 09h30 - Close: Tue 09h30
• Open: Tue 09h30 - Close: Wed 09h30
• Open: Wed 09h30 - Close: Thu 09h30
• Open: Thu 09h30 - Close: Fri 09h30
• Open: Fri 09h30 - Close: Mon 09h30