Bankers Association advises on EFT payments to SA banks

• 23 September implementation of CMA PSOC (Common Monetary Area Payment  System Oversight Committee  directive 1/2018)

The Bankers Association of Namibia hereby informs the public that, due to a directive by the CMA CPOC, clients from our member banks will no longer be able to receive money from, or make Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) payments to, certain banks in South Africa as of 23 September 2019.

Namibian bank clients who currently receive money from, or make EFT payments to Citibank, Capitec Bank Limited, J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, Bidvest Bank Limited, SA Reserve Bank , Grobank Limited, SASFIN Bank, South African Post Office, Mercantile Bank Limited and Tyme Bank Limited will no longer be able to do so. However, they will still be able to receive SWIFT payments from these banks.

ALL OTHER BANKS WILL NOT BE AFFECTED.

The CMA CPOC  issued a directive in 2018 that changed the payment information requirements for Common Monetary Area (CMA) transactions to meet international standards relating to anti-money laundering practices.

In the past all four CMA countries (Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini (previously Swaziland) and South Africa shared common infrastructure to process EFT transactions via Bankserv, seen as SA domestic transactions. With the independence of Namibia an own domestic EFT processing system (Namclear) was established to clear and settle Namibian domestic transactions, but Namibia was still allowed to continue to process other CMA EFT transactions via Bankserv.

The CMA CPOS's International FATF16 rules and regulations require the cross-border messages to be enriched with additional information to comply as of 23 September 2019. Unfortunately, some predominantly South African banks indicated that it will not be viable for them to make the required system changes and therefore they will no longer be able to receive such EFT transactions.

As a result, Namibian banking clients will no longer be able to perform EFT transactions to non-participating banks in CMA as from the 23 of September 2019.

From Monday, 23 September EFT payments within CMA and in particular the banks indicated above will not be accepted or processed. This includes automatic EFT beneficiaries and stop orders. 

Transactions to ABSA, FNB South Africa, Standard Bank SA and Nedbank SA will only require a mandatory update of beneficiary details such as full names and addresses.

How can banking customers of the below named banks above receive money?

SWIFT is a compliant, secure and reliable way to make international payments. Banking clients can ask their banks about alternative payment options, but SWIFT payments could be done to the above-mentioned banks.

It may take longer to receive funds from these banks into your Namibian account, so consider the impact that a delay in receiving money can have on your cashflow and commitments.

SWIFT payments could be more expensive than the EFT payment option.

For further payment options and information, Namibian banking clients should contact their respective banks directly.

FOR NOTING:

Member banks that will still be able to send and receive cross border EFT's post 23 September:

Member banks that will not be able to send and receive cross border EFT's post 23 September:

Ends.

·         For further information Contact Bank Windhoek's Customer Contact Centre at 061 299 1200.

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