Paying suppliers in Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, Kenya and elsewhere in Africa: local currencies and currency control, bank detail formats, seasons, weekends.
Estimate the minimum fee
The final fee and rate are fixed in the payment order
Minimum amount: 10,000 USD or equivalent
This is a minimum, not an offer or a rate lock. The final figure depends on the country, amount and the banks involved and is fixed in the payment order.
Request a quoteThe word “Africa” in a request says nothing about the route. Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia and Côte d’Ivoire each have their own currencies, banks, currency control rules and weekends. So we start with one question: which country is the beneficiary’s bank in. For that country and that bank we look in our pool for an agent with a working lawful route. If there is none, we tell you before you transfer your roubles. We charge nothing for declining.
If there is one, the exchange rate and the fee are written into the payment order. On request, the roubles wait in a special escrow account at a Russian bank until the money is credited to the supplier, for an additional fee. VEDmost’s fee is paid by the agent: you do not need to pay us separately.
Russian companies import oranges, mandarins, potatoes and vegetables from Egypt and Morocco, citrus and other fruit from South Africa, coffee, tea and cut roses from Kenya and Ethiopia, cocoa beans from Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, cashew nuts from Tanzania, and fish from Morocco and Mauritania. Purchases are seasonal. Egyptian and Moroccan citrus runs from late autumn to spring, South African citrus in the middle of the year, when the Northern Hemisphere has a gap. Payments to fruit suppliers therefore come in waves: an advance before the season, then payment for each batch under its invoice.
Several African countries control currency tightly: in Egypt, Nigeria and Ethiopia the exporter must bring its proceeds back into the country, and hard currency is often scarce on the local market. Hence two typical requests from suppliers. The first: pay in dollars or euros rather than in local currency. The second: send the money to an account in the UAE or Europe. We accept the second only if the account belongs to the company in the contract or the beneficiary is expressly named in an agreement. Your bank will not accept a payment to a random third company for currency control.
Invoices may be in Egyptian pounds, Moroccan dirhams, South African rand, Kenyan shillings or the CFA franc (XOF and XAF), which is pegged to the euro. But most export contracts are in US dollars or euros.
There is no single format. Egypt and Tunisia use IBAN. In Morocco an account is written as a 24-digit RIB number. South Africa requires the account number and a six-digit branch code, Nigeria a ten-digit account number, Kenya the account number and bank code. Everywhere, add the SWIFT code. Take the details from the beneficiary bank’s letterhead and do not piece them together from correspondence.
In North and West Africa contracts and invoices are often in French, in Egypt in Arabic and English, in Angola and Mozambique in Portuguese. Attach a translation: your bank will ask for it. In Egypt the weekend is Friday and Saturday. During Ramadan, banks in Muslim countries work on a shorter schedule, and after it they close for Eid al-Fitr. If an advance is tied to the start of the season, allow for these dates.
Five steps, the same for every country. Country specifics are described above.
Beneficiary's country, amount, currency, the invoice and the contract or bill, your company's and the beneficiary's details. We review the request before any documents are signed.
We select a network company and a route and prepare the documents. You sign an agency agreement with that company, which sets the execution period, and a payment order: amount, exchange rate and fee. All of this before you transfer your roubles.
You transfer roubles to the network company from your account at a Russian bank. If you need a guarantee, they wait for execution in a special escrow account, for an additional fee.
The agent sends the currency to the beneficiary under this payment order. A sub-agent is engaged only with your consent. The route does not change without a payment order.
We send you the payment confirmation, and a SWIFT confirmation on request. Then the completion certificate, the agent's report and the currency control package. The deal is not closed until the currency has been sent to the beneficiary.
If you need a guarantee, the payment goes through a special escrow account at a Russian bank: the roubles wait there until the agent sends the currency to the beneficiary and are released only upon execution. This scheme carries an additional fee, shown in the quote before the agreement.
The agent executes the payment within 3 business days: the period is written into the agency agreement.
If the beneficiary's bank accepts payment only from a specific payer, the agent engages a sub-agent. Only with your consent. Your agency agreement does not change.
For large volumes, on request, we assign an agent backed by a large exporter's surety; some companies in our network have one. It can be combined with escrow.
Tell us the rate you pay now or send your current agent’s documents. We’ll calculate the all-in cost with the FX markup and charges and look for a lower rate in our network. If there isn’t one, we’ll say so. The comparison is free.
Only if the account belongs to the company in the contract or the beneficiary is named in a tripartite agreement. Such requests usually stem from currency control in the supplier's country.
In Egypt and Tunisia an IBAN, in Morocco a 24-digit RIB number, in South Africa the account number and branch code, in Kenya and Nigeria the account number and SWIFT code. Attach the details exactly as the beneficiary's bank issued them.
No. Attach a translation into Russian or English: your bank will ask for it for currency control. The beneficiary's name in Latin script must be the same in all documents.
In Egypt the weekend is Friday and Saturday. During Ramadan, banks in Muslim countries work on a reduced schedule, and after it they close for the holiday.
We work with all African countries, but we check each payment separately: the beneficiary, the goods, the currency and the bank. If no lawful route can be put together, we will tell you before you transfer your roubles.
Describe the payment. We'll reply with a proposed route and terms. We name the agent in advance, and the rate and fee go into the payment order before your roubles are debited.