Purpose of Payment (South Africa)

Payments originating from South Africa (ZAR outbound) are subject to South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Balance of Payments (BoP) reporting requirements.

All outbound ZAR payments must include a valid SARB purpose code — this is a regulatory requirement and is not optional.

The codes below are the valid purpose codes for payments flowing out of South Africa via Verto. Pass the id value as the purposeId in your payout request.

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South Africa purpose codes are specific to ZAR outbound flows and are separate from Verto's standard global purpose code list. If you are making a payment from South Africa, use the codes on this page. For all other corridors see the Purpose of payment codes guide.

Donations

purposeId	Code	Description
`40`	404	Current payments — Contributions in respect of foreign charitable, religious and cultural (excluding R&D)
`41`	405	Current payments — Other donations / aid to a foreign Government (excluding R&D)
`42`	406	Current payments — Other donations / aid to a foreign private sector (excluding R&D)
`43`	501	Capital transfers — Donations by SA Government for fixed assets
`44`	502	Capital transfers — Donations by corporate entities — fixed assets

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

ID	Code	Description
`45`	504	Investment into property by a resident corporate entity
`46`	605 01	Investment into shares — Agricultural, hunting, forestry and fishing
`47`	605 02	Investment into shares — Mining, quarrying and exploration
`48`	605 03	Investment into shares — Manufacturing
`49`	605 04	Investment into shares — Electricity, gas and water supply
`50`	605 05	Investment into shares — Construction
`51`	605 06	Investment into shares — Wholesale, retail, repairs, hotel and restaurants
`52`	605 07	Investment into shares — Transport and communication
`53`	605 08	Investment into shares — Financial services
`54`	605 09	Investment into shares — Community, social and personal services

Import payments

Advance payments (101 series)

ID	Code	Description
`55`	101 01	Import advance payment — general goods
`56`	101 02	Import advance payment — capital goods
`57`	101 03	Import advance payment — gold
`58`	101 04	Import advance payment — platinum
`59`	101 05	Import advance payment — crude oil
`60`	101 06	Import advance payment — refined petroleum products
`61`	101 07	Import advance payment — diamonds
`62`	101 08	Import advance payment — steel
`63`	101 09	Import advance payment — coal
`64`	101 10	Import advance payment — iron ore
`65`	101 11	Import advance payment — goods via SA Post Office

Advance payments with import undertaking (102 series)

ID	Code	Description
`66`	102 01	Import advance payment with undertaking — general goods
`67`	102 02	Import advance payment with undertaking — capital goods
`68`	102 03	Import advance payment with undertaking — gold
`69`	102 04	Import advance payment with undertaking — platinum
`70`	102 05	Import advance payment with undertaking — crude oil
`71`	102 06	Import advance payment with undertaking — refined petroleum products
`72`	102 07	Import advance payment with undertaking — diamonds
`73`	102 08	Import advance payment with undertaking — steel
`74`	102 09	Import advance payment with undertaking — coal
`75`	102 10	Import advance payment with undertaking — iron ore
`76`	102 11	Import advance payment with undertaking — goods via SA Post Office

Standard import payments (103 series)

ID	Code	Description
`77`	103 01	Import payment — general goods
`78`	103 02	Import payment — capital goods
`79`	103 03	Import payment — gold
`82`	103 04	Import payment — platinum
`83`	103 05	Import payment — crude oil
`84`	103 06	Import payment — refined petroleum products
`85`	103 07	Import payment — diamonds
`86`	103 08	Import payment — steel
`87`	103 09	Import payment — coal
`88`	103 10	Import payment — iron ore
`89`	103 11	Import payment — goods via SA Post Office

Imports with import undertaking (104 series)

ID	Code	Description
`90`	104 01	Import payment with undertaking — general goods
`91`	104 02	Import payment with undertaking — capital goods
`92`	104 03	Import payment with undertaking — gold
`93`	104 04	Import payment with undertaking — platinum
`94`	104 05	Import payment with undertaking — crude oil
`95`	104 06	Import payment with undertaking — refined petroleum products
`96`	104 07	Import payment with undertaking — diamonds

Services rendered or received

Computer software

ID	Code	Description
`185`	234	Commercial purchases of non-customised software on physical media — perpetual use
`186`	235	Commercial purchases of non-customised software downloaded — periodic licence
`187`	236	Commercial purchases of non-customised software downloaded — single payment

Technical services

ID	Code	Description
`188`	240 01	Fees for processing — general materials
`189`	240 02	Fees for processing — gold
`190`	240 03	Fees for processing — platinum
`191`	240 04	Fees for processing — crude oil
`192`	240 05	Fees for processing — refined petroleum products
`193`	240 06	Fees for processing — diamonds
`194`	240 07	Fees for processing — steel
`195`	240 08	Fees for processing — coal
`196`	240 09	Fees for processing — iron ore
`197`	241	Repairs and maintenance on machinery and equipment
`206`	242	Architectural, engineering and other technical services

Telecommunications and information

ID	Code	Description
`207`	265	Payment for telecommunication services
`208`	266	Payment for information services including data and news agency fees

Transportation

ID	Code	Description
`209`	270 01	Passenger services — road
`210`	270 02	Passenger services — rail
`211`	270 03	Passenger services — sea
`212`	270 04	Passenger services — air
`213`	271 01	Freight services — road
`214`	271 02	Freight services — rail
`215`	271 03	Freight services — sea
`216`	271 04	Freight services — air
`217`	272 01	Other transport services — road
`218`	272 02	Other transport services — rail
`219`	272 03	Other transport services — sea
`220`	272 04	Other transport services — air
`221`	273 01	Postal and courier services — road
`222`	273 02	Postal and courier services — rail
`223`	273 03	Postal and courier services — sea
`224`	273 04	Postal and courier services — air

Financial services

ID	Code	Description
`225`	275	Commission and fees
`226`	276	Financial service fees charged for advice provided

Government and construction

ID	Code	Description
`227`	280	Payment for construction services
`228`	281	Payment for government services
`229`	282	Diplomatic transfers

Professional services

ID	Code	Description
`230`	287	Legal services
`231`	288	Accounting services
`232`	289	Management consulting services
`233`	290	Public relations services
`234`	291	Advertising and market research services
`235`	292	Managerial services
`236`	293	Medical and dental services
`237`	294	Educational services (including seminars and forums)
`238`	295	Operational leasing
`239`	296	Cultural and recreational services
`240`	297	Other business services not included elsewhere

Study / tuition

ID	Code	Description
`241`	285	Tuition fees

Tax

ID	Code	Description
`242`	411 01	Income Tax
`243`	411 02	VAT Refunds
`244`	411 03	Other tax

Travel

ID	Code	Description
`245`	255	Travel services for residents — business travel
`246`	260	Travel services in respect of third parties — business travel
`247`	261	Travel services in respect of third parties — holiday travel

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These codes are required for all ZAR outbound payments and are enforced by SARB BoP reporting requirements. Payments submitted without a valid purpose code will be rejected. If you are unsure which code applies to your payment, contact [email protected].