Shyft is way more expensive than Standard Banks Forex

For all people wondering whether they should use Standard Bank's app called SHYFT? I would not recommend it!!! I needed to make a USD payment to a USD account. I tested Shyft as I thought it would be a cheaper alternative compared to sending money from inside the bank. You can purchase either USD, EURO, AUS ,GBP via the app at the current live exchange rate which is really cool I thought as banks always give you a way higher rate than the current live rate. I purchased some USD and then attempted to send money. I would assume that there would not be any intermediary bank charges as the currency I was sending was the same as the receiving bank. But this was not the case. I was charged quite a bit when no conversion was required.

Here are my comparisons:

Option 1 (SHYFT) - Shyft charged USD14 to do an EFT payment upfront. Shyft does not have an option to pay the receiving bank charges. An intermediary bank charged me USD25. This amount was deducted from the total amount I sent. That is a total of USD 39 in fees which is R558 - This is extremely high!

Option 2(INSIDE THE BANK) - I sent money inside Standard bank at Forex and the total in fees was an amount of R308 regardless of the amount I was sending and it included the fees for using the swift network. I opted to also pay the intermediary bank charges. This fee was was only R37 which was charged when the receiving bank received the funds. Total amount in fees: R345 which is about USD29.

Shyft allows you to top your ZAR wallet in the app and then you can purchase upto 4 currencies. Please note, once you purchase a currency on SHYFT, they do not have an option to convert it back to ZAR. You will have to send the USD for example to your South Africa bank account and pay the 14USD to send money. Thereafter some intermediary bank will charge you a fee again. I am not sure on the amount.

SHYFT also provides you with a virtual card for shopping online for the currencies you have purchased. I tried using the card to purchase on an international website but it did not work! Quite a disappointment!