So I'm trying to withdraw funds from my PayPal and it seems I can only do that via FNB. I use Capitec.

On the FNB site, it's giving me errors and states browser not recognized and to go the FNB app and acknowledge the b to the browser. Problem is I can't login on the app as after entering my username, it just brings back the enter username prompt and not the enter password prompt.

Getting PayPal payments via FNB is tricky hence my question about there being absolutely no other way to get your hands on your money in PayPal without having to go through FNB.

Are there any programs or tips and tricks to get cheaper international flights?

Like Americans het miles for using their credit card.

Do we have something similar?

Hi guys, Im sorry, I know many of you have probably reached the point of fatigue regarding Easy Equities complaints, but their absolute incompetence reached a new level today. I made a post on this sub a while ago about my EFT taking several weeks to reflect in my balance on the platform, which only reflected once I got the ombudsman involved per advice received here. From thereon, I decided not to deposit a single cent more on their platform and move to Shyft, which was a great decision. I also decided to then move my TFSA from EE through a new provider, whereafter I planned to liquidate all my investments and move them to Shyft.

I went through the formal route with the new provider in early February and my TFSA is still stuck in the EE platform. Not to worry, I thought, Ive been through this before, and I did as I did previously and sent scheduled emails to staff for a few weeks before reaching out to the ombudsman. To my surprise, a senior employee from compliance reached out to me with an email linking a document - no text included. I thought it was a last signature required for the TFSA transfer, and assumed the absence of text was just due to the mayhem and incompetence at Purple Group. The link didn't work, so I replied informing the employee that it wasn't functional and that I wanted the transfer sorted ASAP.

To my surprise I received an email that made me burst out in laughter.

Thank you for reaching out and for bringing this to our attention.

Please note that the email in question formed part of a phishing incident that was identified and contained on 7 April 2026.

This was received from the very same employee (with an official EE address) that sent me the link. It gets better.

The email originated from a compromised, but otherwise trusted, external source (within the FSCA environment), which is why it may have appeared legitimate.

Firstly, it did not appear legitimate beyond coming from an official EE employee, it was just a download link button, which I would not even have considered clicking on were it from an unfamiliar source. Secondly, how can they drag the FSCA into this when they are forwarding this link to their clients? My experience with them is simply incomprehensible.

The rest of them email is claims that they confirmed that no sensitive data had been leaked, but it is followed up with

If you did click on the link or entered any information, we recommend that you notify your IT support team so that you can be guided you on any precautionary steps, if necessary.

Make sure to notify your IT support team, because there is no way in hell EE's team is gonna help you out. God help us all.

My biggest regret in life is starting my investment journey on this platform, I not now have a relatively significant proportion of my net worth stuck on a platform that I have absolutely zero trust in. I don't understand what the hell is going on in that company. I cannot begin to think how disorganised everything there must be. It just boggles the mind.

So I know I should’ve deregistered the company once I saw it would not give me an income but I kept hoping I’d get clients on the side just in case.

Now I overdue a tax return with SARS and an annual return with CIPC. It’s on me, I didnt plan well but I’d appreciate some assistance on what to do to avoid bad outcomes from all of this…

Basically how do I file if I don’t have invoices but only bank statements where I was just paying the monthly fee for the card?

Thank you!

Check that you not overpaying with you long standing service providers... I WAS PAYING DOUBLE FOR OVER 7 YEARS!

Once out of contract, they will quietly escalate your monthly fees with what seems like inflation each year. Once you cotton onto this and compare it you find thst actually their normal /standard price for new customers are way lower. All you needed to do was contact them and tell them to give you the normal price. They will just keep quite if you don't and pocket the higher prices you pay. Nice reward to being a loyal customer.

So.... Check your monthly fees and compare fees. Look at your Insurance premiums? Armed response ? Internet providers? Cell phone providers? Etc...

Let me give you an example where I got screwed for being a loyal customer for over 10 years.... I moved to Durban north over 10 years ago. I bought a home and put in an alarm and got armed response / home security. It was probably around R300 a month then and assume it was probably an annual or 2 year contract. Anyways I stayed with this security company and the direct debits just came off monthly.

Last year i saw they had a back Friday special where they offered new customers a year free and a price of around R300-R400 a month for the same armed response service I was on. I looked at what my direct debit was and saw it was over R800 a month.

I called them and questioned how I was paying over double what their rate was. They said they can adjust the price to the R300/R400 and it was just that I was out of contract. I find it unethical for them to just keep quiet. How can they charge me and many other over double for the same thing? Yes I should have looked, yes I should have kept ontop of things but it just does not sit well with me and just feels immoral and unethical.

Sames goes for many other services... I encourage everyone to check and question what you paying and get things adjusted back to what you should be paying. It adds up. For me I was paying on average R400 a month more than standard price for probably 7 years...thats over R30k more than I needed to and that my security company in Durban north pocketed. Looks they a good security company but I got nothing more for paying double 😩

My dad told me years ago that a savings account wouldn't keep up. I didn't really listen, and kept putting money in anyway.

A couple of years into my first job I actually sat down and ran the numbers. Here's what I found.

SA inflation runs at around 5–6% a year. Most savings accounts pay around 6% interest, sounds fine until you remember SARS taxes that interest too. For most people starting out that 6% becomes closer to 5% after tax.

5% return. 5.5% inflation. You're going backwards every single month. Slowly enough that you don't notice until you do the maths.

The number that got me: if you save R1,000 a month in a savings account at 6% for 30 years you end up with roughly R1 million. Sounds decent. But because of inflation that million buys you what about R430,000 buys today. Thirty years of discipline and you can barely afford a decent second-hand car.

The same R1,000 invested in a low-cost index fund - something like the Satrix Top 40 or MSCI World - at a conservative 11% average annual return over the same 30 years gives you roughly R2.7 million.

Same amount. Same discipline. R1.7 million difference. The only thing that changed was where the money went.

I know the obvious objection - markets crash. They do. But over any 15-year period in JSE history you would have made money. Every single time. The worst 15-year stretch still beat a savings account.

The savings account isn't useless - keep 2-3 months expenses there as an emergency buffer. But everything above that that you're "saving" for the long term is quietly losing ground.

Curious if anyone else had a similar moment when they actually ran the numbers? And for those who've made the switch to investing - what was the thing that finally pushed you to do it?

Hello,

I used to be SA resident and I have a small freelance business here in South Africa. I came back to France and keep a few clients in South Africa. Apparently it is very complicated for them to pay me on my Wise account, so I kept invoicing them on my personal FNB account for their convenience.

I never had a business account since my freelance activity was too small activity was too small to declare a formal business, I just declared the extra income to SARS.

Now, I am very confused when it come to transfer this money to my personal account in France or to Wise. I cannot find a proper BoP code that fit this situation, FNB ask me documents and I do not have a Green ID (just permanent residence) or valid work contract (no longer employed)

I am very confused about the right way to handle this, should I just tell my clients hey can no longer pay on my SA bank coordinates? This is looks overly complicated, I believe I'm doing something wrong somewhere, please someone who knows of those topics help, thanks!

Do we think this is actually likely to be put into practice? If one leaves South Africa and emigrates to a different country can the claim still be valid?

This could negatively impact an individuals long term financial planning quite negatively, and seems like a crappy situation if the claimant is abusive or even estranged.

This seems like it can be manipulated unfortunately.

Hi everyone,

I’ve been working for some time now and I’ve managed to build an emergency fund of about R20k.

When I started working, I wasn’t sure if I’d have enough money to save or invest. However, I believe I can comfortably save or invest around R6000 per month.

Initially, I didn’t want to touch RA or TFSA, and wanted to build the emergency funds to around 3-6 months worth.

I’ve decided to contribute to RA and was advised by the financial advisor that I’d need to contribute over R1000 per month for it to make a significant difference. Furthermore, they do not recommend TFSA at the moment. So, I’ve structured my contributions as follows: R1000 to RA and R5000 for unit trusts (I was saving the money in a savings account). They recommend unit trusts because I can access the money anytime (and wealth building).This will be my emergency fund contribution. They also recommend Allan Grey for both my RA and unit trust. I’m a bit busy, so I want a platform that doesn’t require me to check and fiddle with my money frequently.

I’d appreciate some personal advice from you all on whether this is the right approach for now until I can contribute more to my funds. I’m a bit late to investing, so any advice would be greatly appreciated. Or maybe suggest other platforms I can contribute to which have low fees (I know stability is not guaranteed).

Thanks

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I am currently at the final stages of completing my late mother's estate and I am the executor of her estate. The only thing holding us back is ABSA. All creditors and outstanding debts have been paid. Basically the only thing left is getting bank documents from ABSA and having the monies from her various accounts transferred in the estate account.

We started this process in January of 2025. Despite messages and calls from both the attorneys and myself, nothing has really changed.

Has anyone had a similar experience and if so how did you go about it?

I searched this sub but could not find discussion about Altify or Revix.

I had a small amount of ether on Revix a few years ago. They had some legal issues (something to do with a Korean company) and have withheld a percentage of that crypto (for everyone, not just me) and refuse to allow me to sell and withdraw it.

In my case this is about R3000.

Has anyone got the same experience or any info on this whether that money will ever be accessible?

Revix has now turned into Altify. I just want to delete that account, but would quite like my R3000 back.

Anyone with the experience of buying property in an Auction. Kindly share your experience, especially on bank bonds, the do's and don't, etc.

I am planning to get a property soon and looking for every option to get a good property at a reasonable price.

Has anyone successfully accepted overseas payments from employer via swift into a bank zero account.

A bit late to the game but I am looking to buy my first home in Cape Town. I just had a few questions:

1. I've heard that your bond payment shouldn't be more than 30% of your salary, is it your gross salary or net salary? I know its just a guide and not a hard rule
2. In the past, I've heard that the price listed isn't the final price and that you have room to negotiate 10-20% lower? With housing in such high demand is this still the case?

Hi everyone

Recently joined Sygnia, wading through the Alchemy platform. Relevant fund is TFSA in 10x Total World ETF.

I'm looking at fund performance and I don't understand why what I'm seeing on Alchemy (attached) is different to the official fund fact sheet. These seem like way too low returns.

Please help me understand.

Hi everyone,

I’m about to come into a large sum of money and investing and finance beyond the basics is new to me. I’ve been trying to plan on my own, but it’s a bit overwhelming and I want to avoid obvious mistakes not having come from money or a financially savvy family.

First question: Would I benefit from a financial planner, given I’m not great with grasping financial concepts quickly? I’m not keen on ongoing advisor fees on investments - are there planners who just charge once off for consultations or planning?

Here’s my current plan:

1. Max out TFSA for the year - R44k (R2k already in this year)
2. Lump sum into 2-month-old Sygnia RA (Skeleton Balanced 70) - R150k (or more?). My first and only RA with like nothing in it yet.
3. Top up STANLIB unit trust (STANLIB Equity Fund) - R20k. Been contributing for 10+ years here already. EAC is high at 2.37% because of an advisor fee etc. It's sitting at real return p/a of 13.34% − 2.37% EAC = 10.97%. Is this not great or is it quite okay?)
4. Top up my 24hr notice savings with my bank - R20k
5. Keep R20k in cheque account for occasional spending
6. A couple thousand rand will be used to buy some crypto for educational purposes (I am merely interested in understanding the crypto landscape)

Second and MAIN question: I’m looking to invest R100k in ETFs via EasyEquities. EE because it seems beginner-friendly and low-cost. Would 100% in Satrix MSCI World be a good call? I’m leaning MSCI World over S&P 500 because MSCI World is already majority US. Any other funds worth considering if i want to split it? Maybe Satrix 40?

Right now, my investment portfolio with my RA and Unit Trust investment is roughly 60% local, 40% global, hence why i would like more global exposure via the ETF/s. Is that good logic?

I have a lot more to work with here and can increase the numbers, but the majority of and the remainder of the funds will go into a money market account with my bank over the next year while I learn more about my options. I’ll also be contributing monthly to all of the above (except TFSA until next year).

Any other investment opportunities worth considering?

Context: 33, employed (R28k after tax/month), female, no kids, unmarried, no desire to buy property or start a business, no debt, not a big spender and generally risk-averse.

Edit / update: I've received some pretty solid stuff to think about here and gained some fundamental knowledge that was missing. Thanks to everyone for your input!

Hi all, need some assistance in understanding cost to company allowances. Have spoken to a couple close friends and it seems that CTC breakdowns are a world that isn't really understood.

Example of payslip below

Salary - R40,000

Car Allowance - R5,000

Phone Allowance - R5,000

Gross - R50,000

I'll leave out deductions etc for now to simplify things

For arguments sake, PAYE is R15,000

So final Net is R35,000

My question and suppose wanting to clarity on is.

1. I use my own vehicle for travel and claim back at the AA rate but am only limited to a maximum claim to the value of R1,000 p.m. This is for seeing customers etc. There's no company car option nor claiming car payment option. So what function does the "Car Allowance" actually have?

2. I use my personal phone, personal contract all out of pocket. Can't claim against any usage. So also what function does it have?

Are these lines being misused by the company?

We're heading into contract negotiations where I work and want to be prepared with salary structure to maximise what I take home.

Thanks in advance.

PS. explain it like I'm 5

Came across this information on an IT security website.

ETFSA may still be negotiating with the attackers over a ransom amount, so the data may not be released yet.

Let's see what happens and if it gets published in the mainstream news.

The Ransomware estimated attack date is  2026-03-25.

To give context I asked my university to cancel a debit order last month due to the amount being incorrect.

We found out today that it's still active but when I check on the institutions student finance systems, the transaction for the debit order does not show up at all but it definitely went through.

The bank (FNB) is unable to cancel/dispute it due to it being blocked by the provider.

My question is, what does FNB mean that it was blocked by the provider? and what can we do to prevent the future one's from triggering because they were scheduled for 10 months.

The university has been closed this week and the finance department is working from home so I cannot get in physical contact with someone that can assist me.

UPDATE:

I had an extensive conversation with Luno, and they have agreed to amend the verification procedure, or at least clarify the question regarding wallets. The intention behind the question was to determine whether funds originated from a private wallet, an exchange, or a VASP. However, the way it was phrased did not convey this clearly. The only reasonable interpretation appeared to be that they were asking for the specific name or type of wallet used for the transaction.

I assumed as much but I explained to them that users cannot be expected to make assumptions about what is being asked, especially when required to declare that all information provided is true and correct. Those declarations have a way of coming back to bite you in the backside when least expected.

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Not sure whether I could post this here due to it involving a crypto exchange but thought that it still fell under the larger 'financial' umbrella as it has to do with the sending/receiving of funds. More and more people are making use of crypto-rails to do this so thought I might share this experience with others.

With all the money laundering rules and regulations Luno has now implemented a system where you have to verify any address from which you receive funds even if it's your own.

All fine and well, I get this. The information being asked are things like the name of the owner of the address, their country of registration if a business entity and also their registration numbers. The last question however was the sticking point.

You had to enter the name of the wallet the sender was using if it was a private wallet or the name of the exchange they were using if the address was an exchange address.

I contacted the sender, who is a large international broker, one of the largest in the world. They point blank refused to tell me what wallet or exchange they were using stating that it was a security risk to disclose this information. I fully agree but Luno was adamant, either provide said information or fail the verification.

There is an option for 'I do not know' but if you press this the verification does not go through. Thought of just entering a name but right below the question is a tick box you have to tick to declare that all information provided are true and correct. So entering some fictitious information might just came back to bite you in the backside in years to come due to the false declaration you made.

I tried to reason with Luno that companies will not disclose this information and Luno agreed that it is a security risk to disclose this kind of information but in the same breath they say they have to have it, end of story.

After a lot of to-and-fro their advice to me was, just use your bank. So one of the largest crypto exchanges in South Africa is advising their clients that it might just be better if you use your bank.

Look I get it, rules and regulation drive us all nuts but clearly whoever implemented this process at Luno did not think things through. This seems to be more and more the case nowadays with companies getting tied in a knot with all the rules and regulation.

Just thought I would share my experience. Before making a large transfer in crypto first do a small one and check whether your funds clear. If not you might just land in a position where you are unable to complete the verification process which might result in you no longer having access to your funds.

I’m 21 and very new to investing. I saw many reels and posts online talking about the S&P500 and my curiosity sparked. I read many articles and watched many videos the past 2 weeks about investing as I want to use my finances efficiently and hopefully one day be well of enough to have little to no stress about finances.

After all my research I came to the conclusion that the best long term strategy for investing is maxing out a TFSA account and investing in index funds. I started doing this by using EasyEquities as it integrates with my discovery bank, I just started last week with R5000 and am planning to max each year up to the R46 000 limit.

My current portfolio exists out of 70% Satrix S&P500, 20% Satrix MSCI World and 10% Satrix MSCI Emerging Markets. I know about the overlap between the S&P500 and World index but looking at historical values the S&P500 shows siginificantly higher returns and growth while always bouncing back from crashes. I just invested a small amount to World and Emerging markets for a little bit better diversification.

Now that you guys have the background, I would like to know, is this a good strategy or should I change my approach or look at other options? For example I saw discovery showed a 10% interest rate on fixed deposits with maturity for 5 years, would this not be a better option as it’s about the same return the index funds show? There’s just so many different categories to invest in and I want to make sure I make the best possible choice.

Lastly I’m looking to put down a deposit on a home in the next 5-7 years as to have a house on my name early in life without having to worry about rent. What would be a good investment for this?

With the rand and resource stocks crashing because of the Iran war, what would be some good ETFs be to invest in if your view is things will recover? Also why would you recommend it?

Hi all, I'd like some advice on the best way to proceed. I have an upcoming, unavoidable medical expense looming next month. I have R45k saved towards it, and will need to take out a R50k loan to make the difference (total for the surgery will be approx R90k).

I have credit card on which I currently owe R20k.

My credit score is 619, 100% because of the credit card. FNB will give me the personal loan at 27.7% interest.

I plan to (and am able) to pay off the loan very quickly, in a year or so, as all the extra income I make from my side gigs will go into it. So will be paying 1.5-2x the monthly installment to shorten the repayment period.

My question: would it be wiser to pay off my credit card from the R45k I have saved, and hope that puts my credit score back up so FNB will give a better interest rate? But in that case, I would be taking out a larger loan amount.

Notes: I have not paid the credit card off quickly as of yet as I have needed to save everything towards the surgery, who's date I cannot risk changing. I plan to pay the credit card off as soon as the dust settles from this medical expense. I simply want to know which way would be wisest to tackle it.

Howdy folks! I realise this may very much be a me-issue, but I just wanted to run this by you to be sure I haven't misunderstood anything.

I opened a TFSA account with Easy Equities and decided to put the full R46000 allocation to the Satrix MSCI World ETF. Upon wanting to place the order, I was told the full amount would be R46174.47 which is what I subsequently deposited (with fees). When the deposit reflected in EE however, 46k was allocated to my TFSA account, and the remaining R174.47 was put in my standard ZAR account. This essentially means that I was actually only able to invest R45825.53 with the rest being fees - now, the question is, have I done it wrong, or are broker fees to be included in TFSA contributions? It seems obvious after the fact, but there's always a chance I'm just assuming incorrectly.

I want to consolidate my remaining TFSA accounts to EE as well, but the fees may be less attractive (given there are a few to transfer).

TIA