How it works

From your invoice to your supplier's account.

Four steps, two of which are yours. This page is the detail underneath that: what we check, what we need from you, how long each part takes, and what happens on the day something does not work.

Join the waitlist What it costs

The process

Step by step.

Each step lists what we need from you, so you can see up front how much of your week this actually takes.

01
Tell us about the payment
Who your supplier is, what you owe them, their South African banking details, and the country and account you will be paying from. If this is your first payment to that supplier, we confirm the account details with the supplier directly, using contact details we source ourselves rather than the ones on the document. Fraud in this region almost always arrives as a changed bank account on a genuine invoice, so this step is not optional.
What we need
- The supplier's details
- Their South African bank account
- The account you will pay from
Typical timing
Same day
02
We confirm the landed amount
The quote states the rand your supplier will receive, the local-currency amount you will pay, the exchange rate applied to four decimals, and every fee, itemised. It carries a stated hold window so the figure cannot move while you get it authorised internally.
What we need
- Nothing. This part is ours
Typical timing
Within business hours
03
You approve and pay locally
One payment, from your own business account, in your own country, in your own currency, to the local collection partner named on the quote. There is no foreign currency for you to source, no correspondent bank in the middle and no separate international transfer charge landing on your statement a week later.
What we need
- One local transfer
- The quote reference on the payment
Typical timing
Your banking hours
04
Your supplier is paid in rand
Your supplier's South African bank account is credited with the exact figure on the quote, carrying your invoice number as the reference. You and your supplier both receive a confirmation. Timing depends on the corridor and on South African banking hours, and the expected window is on your quote before you commit.
What we need
- Nothing. You will get the confirmation
Typical timing
Typically within the same business day

Before the first payment

What onboarding involves.

It is a business account, so there is paperwork. We would rather show you the list now than surprise you with it after you have decided.

Company verification: Certificate of incorporation or registration, proof of your business address, and identification for the directors and anyone who owns a meaningful share of the company. Standard know-your-business checks, carried out to regulated standards before your first payment.
The account you pay from: Payments must come from an account in your company's name. We do not accept payment from a director's personal account or from a third party, because that is the pattern the whole anti-money-laundering framework exists to catch.
Supplier verification: For each new supplier we confirm the receiving account belongs to the business named on the invoice, and we confirm it with the supplier through a channel we establish ourselves.
What the payment is for: A commercial invoice, purchase order or proforma. Cross-border commercial payments are reported and categorised in South Africa, and a payment with no underlying trade document cannot be processed properly.
How long it takes: Days rather than weeks for a straightforward company, assuming your documents are current. We will tell you what is outstanding rather than leaving an application sitting.

When it does not go to plan

What actually happens on a bad day.

Any payments company can describe the happy path. The reason to trust one is what it does on the other days.

The payout is rejected

Wrong account number, a closed account, a name mismatch at the receiving bank. The funds are returned to the account they came from. You are told the same day, with the reason the bank gave, and we correct the details and re-run it rather than asking you to start again.

The rate moves before you pay

It does not affect you inside the hold window on your quote. If you pay after the window has passed, we re-quote before doing anything, rather than settling at whatever the rate has become and telling you afterwards.

A compliance check stops the payment

Some payments are held for review. We tell you it is held and what is needed to release it. If it cannot be released, the funds go back to you. Your money never sits waiting on an unanswered question.

Your supplier says it has not arrived

You have a confirmation showing the account credited, the amount and the reference, which usually ends the conversation immediately. Where it does not, we trace it and come back to you rather than waiting for you to chase.

You need to change a payment

Before you have paid, a quote is simply reissued. Once a payment is in flight, tell us immediately and we will stop what can still be stopped and return the rest to the account it came from.

You need to reach someone

Support is a person who can see your payment, not a ticket queue, and reaching them costs nothing. If we got something wrong, it reaches the founder.

What your supplier does

Nothing at all.

Your supplier is paid in rand into the South African bank account already printed on their invoice. They do not register with us, install anything, open a new account, accept terms or change their banking. As far as their accounts department is concerned, a customer paid an invoice.

This is deliberate. A payment method that requires your supplier to do work is a payment method you will have to sell to them, and you have better things to spend that relationship on.

What your supplier receives

A rand credit into their existing bank account
Your invoice number as the payment reference
The full invoice amount, not a reduced one
A confirmation, if they want one

What changes, what stays the same

You pay a local bill. Your supplier gets paid in rand.

You do not need to know how the money travels to use SwapEazi, any more than you need to know how a card payment clears. From where you sit, it is simpler than a normal international transfer, not more complicated.

You pay in your own currency, from your own business bank account, exactly as you would pay a local supplier. Behind the scenes, licensed financial partners move the value between your country and South Africa and handle the currency exchange. Your supplier receives rand in their bank account.

What you never do is hold, buy or manage anything other than your own money in your own currency, and neither does your supplier. The complexity is ours to carry. What you get is a payment that arrives in full, on time, with a rate you agreed up front.

Who handles the regulated steps

Built for businesses that buy from South Africa.

We are onboarding businesses market by market. Join the waitlist and we will come back with how SwapEazi works for your corridor, your volumes and your suppliers.

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