South Africa’s Reserve Bank (SARB) has formally appointed Wise Payments South Africa (Pty) Limited as a Category Two Authorised Dealer in Foreign Exchange with Limited Authority (ADLA).
The appointment appeared as Notice 4183 in the Government Gazette on October 2 and in Exchange Control Circular No. 20/2026 dated October 5, ten months after the British fintech first announced conditional approval.
The move gives Wise a named place among the dealers SARB authorises to handle foreign exchange, and it follows a year in which the company has steadily built its presence in the country.
The Category Two tier carries defined limits. The SARB says this category covers bureau de change services, certain transactions under the single discretionary allowance — which permits each applicant to transfer up to R2 million (about $120,000) annually — and money remittance services offered in partnership with external money transfer operators.
Independent money transfer operators fall under Category Three. The appointment therefore gives Wise a licensed footing inside South Africa’s exchange control system, and the system’s reporting and oversight requirements come with it.
Wise announced the conditional approval on December 1, 2025. Nadia Costanzo, its director of banking and expansion for Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, said at the time:
“We look forward to actively engaging with SARB as it continues to modernise and develop its regulatory framework to fuel financial innovation.”
Wise’s release also carried a statement from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who had visited South Africa for the G20 summit days earlier and who said:
“This is yet another example of a thriving UK business expanding internationally; that success is good for British jobs, good for growth and good for business.”
What has Wise done since December
In April, Wise Platform, the company’s infrastructure arm, announced that Capitec, the country’s largest bank by customer base, would use its tech to power international payments for individuals and businesses directly from their Capitec accounts.
That deal gave Wise a large domestic distribution channel before its own appointment was final.
Days after the gazette notice, BusinessTech reported that Wise was hiring a country manager in South Africa, although Wise declined to comment on the role.
The job posting centres on owning and expanding Wise’s regulatory presence in the country, which suggests the company plans to run its South African operations through a local leader.
The regulatory setting has been moving in Wise’s favour, too. Media reports note that SARB has been reforming the National Payment System to let firms outside the banking sector access payments infrastructure directly. Wise’s appointment arrives in the middle of that reform and gives it a concrete example.
Wise has also made progress elsewhere on the continent. Condia reported in March that Wise received conditional approval for its Nigerian remittance (IMTO) licence. Wise now holds regulatory standing in two of Africa’s largest remittance markets, and central banks that compare notes will see a company that has worked within strict rules in both.
Read also: Wise receives conditional approval for Nigerian remittance (IMTO) licence
The formal appointment now gives the company a regulated base to grow from. The launch of Wise’s own South African service will show how far Category Two reaches in practice.
Wise has not announced a date, and when it does, the product will reveal how the company fits remittances into a tier built around partnerships with external money transfer operators. Its model of local pooling accounts and netting on its own ledger will operate under SARB’s reporting requirements, and the result is likely to shape what other fintechs expect from the same route.