Sending money from South Africa to Zambia

The World Bank surveyed 13 providers on this corridor. On R1,370 the cheapest costs 5.20% of what you send and the dearest 32.79%. Enter your own amount below — the ranking changes with it.

Cheapest surveyed

WorldRemit

R71.24 to send R1,370 (5.20%)

The dearest would cost you

R377.94

more, for the same transfer

Every provider, ranked at R1,370

The fee and the exchange-rate margin are shown separately on purpose. A transfer advertised as "no fee" can still be the expensive one, because the margin is where the cost hides.

Provider	Type	Fee	FX margin	Total cost	% of transfer
WorldRemit Less than one hour	Money Transfer Operator	R47.95	R23.29	R71.24	5.20%
Sikhona Money Transfers Same day	Money Transfer Operator	R24.99	R69.46	R94.45	6.89%
Hello-Paisa 2 days	Money Transfer Operator	R100.00	R1.78	R101.78	7.43%
Mukuru Same day	Money Transfer Operator	R137.00	R0.82	R137.82	10.06%
Mama Money Less than one hour	Money Transfer Operator	R68.50	R72.47	R140.97	10.29%
First National Bank of South Africa via MoneyGram Same day	Bank / Money Transfer Operator	R93.43	R47.68	R141.11	10.30%
First National Bank of South Africa 2 days	Bank	R130.00	R48.22	R178.22	13.01%
ABSA via Western Union Same day	Bank / Money Transfer Operator	R185.36	R12.74	R198.10	14.46%
Western Union Less than one hour	Money Transfer Operator	R214.02	R12.74	R226.76	16.55%
MoneyGram 2 days	Money Transfer Operator	R217.03	R60.55	R277.58	20.26%
ABSA 3-5 days	Bank	R280.00	R12.47	R292.47	21.35%
Standard Bank 2 days	Bank	R259.00	R48.64	R307.64	22.46%
Nedbank 2 days	Bank	R420.00	R29.18	R449.18	32.79%

Banks, transfer operators and mobile money

Who you send with matters more than anything else about the transfer. Median cost by provider type, on R1,370:

Bank — 21.91% (4 providers surveyed)
Bank / Money Transfer Operator — 12.38% (2 providers surveyed)
Money Transfer Operator — 10.06% (7 providers surveyed)

That ordering is for R1,370 and does not necessarily hold at your amount. Where a provider charges a flat fee, it is punishing on a small transfer and forgettable on a large one — which is enough to reverse the order entirely. The ranked table above is the one computed at your amount; this one is not.

How to read these numbers

The cost of a transfer is the fee plus the margin the provider takes on the exchange rate. The margin is invisible at the counter: you are quoted a rate, not the difference between that rate and the interbank one, so a "free" transfer can quietly cost more than one with a fee attached. Both are separated in the table above.

Percentages fall as the amount rises wherever a provider charges a flat fee, which is why the same provider can be the cheapest at one amount and not at another. That is exactly what the calculator is for — the ranking above is computed at your amount, not at a fixed one.

Source: The World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide, available at https://remittanceprices.worldbank.org — survey period 2025 Q1, field-collected to 11 March 2025. Licensed CC BY 4.0. These are surveyed benchmark costs from a dated quarterly study, not live quotes, and providers change pricing between surveys — check the current cost with the provider before you send. The World Bank does not endorse this use of its data. This is general information, not financial advice.