Gobal money movement firm Wise has received its first regulatory licence in Africa, securing conditional approval from the South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) to operate as a Category 2 Authorised Dealer in Foreign Exchange with Limited Authority (ADLA)
As a G20 member, South Africa has committed to the G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-Border Payments, which aims to make international payments more accessible, transparent, faster, and cheaper by 2027.
Nadia Costanzo, director of banking and expansion LatAm & MEA at Wise, says: "South Africans are among the most digitally savvy consumers on the continent, yet many still face high costs, poor price transparency, and slow, inconvenient processes when sending money abroad.
"Our first regulatory approval in Africa marks a significant step forward to give South Africans access to a faster, cheaper, and more transparent way to send money abroad - and we're grateful for the Reserve Bank's collaboration and support throughout the process."
Wise now boasts over 70 regulatory licences worldwide as part of its mission to break new ground in global markets. It received in-principle regulatory approval from the Reserve Bank of India to operate as a payment aggregator earlier this year and last month secured a retail payments licence from the Central Bank of the UAE. Last week, the firm also became the first non-bank to go live on Japan's Zengin network.