Compliance and regulation
Moving money across South Africa's borders is regulated. Every Xylos transaction runs on licensed, Reserve Bank-approved infrastructure operated by Future Forex.
Who holds the licences, and what they cover
Xylos is powered by Future Forex and holds an exclusive licence from Future Forex for the travel, tourism and hospitality industry. Xylos does not hold any financial services licences of its own: every licence and approval on this page belongs to Future Forex, and every transaction you make through Xylos runs on that regulated infrastructure.
- Who holds the licences
- Future Forex, an award-winning South African financial technology company and financial services provider. Xylos itself holds no financial services licences. It operates under an exclusive licence from Future Forex for the travel, tourism and hospitality industry, and the licences, approvals and registrations described below are held by Future Forex SA (Pty) Ltd.
- Authorised FSP
- Transactions are executed by Future Forex SA (Pty) Ltd (Registration No. 2020/032430/07), an authorised Financial Services Provider, FSP No. 51884, licensed under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act (FAIS) and supervised by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority.
- Reserve Bank approval
- The platform is approved by the South African Reserve Bank to transact as a Foreign Exchange Intermediary, rendering intermediary services for cross-border transactions under mandates with Authorised Dealers and Authorised Dealers with Limited Authority (ADLAs), the licensed banks and institutions through which all funds flow.
- Exchange control
- Every inflow and outflow is reported to the Reserve Bank through balance-of-payments (BOP) reporting with the correct purpose codes and supporting documentation. Where transfers require approval, such as an individual's Approval for International Transfer (AIT) beyond the R1 million single discretionary allowance, applications are prepared and managed for you at no additional cost.
- FICA
- Clients are verified under the Financial Intelligence Centre Act before transacting, with identity, address and entity documentation checked as part of the platform's anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism-financing controls. Verification happens once and is maintained on the secure platform.
- Privacy
- Personal information is processed in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). Your data is used to deliver the service and meet regulatory obligations, and nothing else.
- Transparent pricing
- Pricing is all-inclusive and disclosed before you transact. There are no hidden fees, and no margin quietly added after a quote is accepted.
What this means for clients
Your funds move on banking rails
Transfers settle through Authorised Dealers, which are regulated South African banks, and never through informal channels. The platform intermediates; licensed institutions hold and move the money.
A full audit trail
Every transaction carries its documentation, purpose code and BOP report. When your auditor, SARS or the Reserve Bank asks, the records are ready to export.
Approvals handled, included
SARS tax-compliance clearances, AIT applications and Reserve Bank approvals are prepared by specialists, at no extra cost.
Corporate structure
Xylos is a joint venture with Future Forex, holding an exclusive licence from Future Forex for the travel, tourism and hospitality industry, covering all foreign-exchange inflows to and outflows from South Africa relating to travel. Xylos does not hold any financial services licences of its own. Client transactions are executed on the Future Forex platform by Future Forex SA (Pty) Ltd of 66 Roeland Street, Gardens, Cape Town, under the licences and approvals set out above. Xylos's international interests are held through its Mauritius-registered venture entity.
Questions about regulation
Our specialists will happily walk your CFO, auditor or attorney through the framework in detail.