SwissFin – SwissSure Newsletter April 2025

Dear Readers,

We just wished you a happy holiday season, and now we’re already in the second quarter of 2025! We have noticed an increased number of tourists that travelled this summer to Cape Town, which is now drawing to a close. The weather was wonderful, and our winegrowers are also extremely pleased with the results of their 2025 harvest.
Below you will find the latest issue of our newsletter. As usual, we have included information across the board regarding investments, short-term insurance, immigration and other related topics.

This newsletter can be viewed under https://www.swissfin.co.za/newsletters/swissfin-swisssure-newsletter-april-2025/.

Enjoy the reading, with best regards,

Your SwissFin / SwissSure – Team

1. INVESTMENTS

• Interest rates: Bank deposits, insurance plans, tax-free investment amounts and our foreign exchange rates
• Reserve Bank reduces REPO rate and then stalls

2. LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL NEWS

• Budget speech summary
• South Africa can exit FATCA’s greylist by October

3. SWISSSURE: SHORT-TERM INSURANCE NEWS

• AMI changes tracking requirements for vehicles
• MUA ends binder agreement with Auto & General
• Elite discontinues travel insurance benefit
• MiWay offers cash back benefit
• Importance of foreign driver licences conversions
• Vantage implements new excess structure
• Changes to MUA’s concierge and assistance services

4. IMMIGRATION

• Current state of visa and immigration processing
• Further extension of pending applications granted

5. HEALTH INSURANCE

• BDAE offers new health insurance plan Expat Smart

6. OTHER

• Sonnenberg Wealth’s presentation at Nitida Wine Farm
• SwissSure sponsors Pearl Valley Member’s Charity Day
• We value your comment

Interest rates: Bank deposits, insurance plans, tax-free investment amounts and our foreign exchange rates >>

Interest rates ››

SwissSure offers the following rates as of March 2025:

Insurance Plans: “Guaranteed income/growth plans” (5 year term), approx. 80% of the income is tax-exempt: ››

Tax-free interest income – maximum investment amounts: ››

R 1,5 Mio. for taxpayers under the age of 65
R 2,3 Mio. for taxpayers between the age of 65 and 75
R 2,5 Mio. for taxpayers over the age of 75

These figures mean that you can invest these amounts in i.e. our money market or fixed deposit offerings and not pay any tax. Couples married in community of property can double these amounts!

Underlying assumptions: 8,0 % effective interest rate and no other income sources.

SwissSure Forex Rates ››

The above table shows that our rates are attractive compared to commercial banks. Over and above, we do not charge any fees when the funds are credited or transferred to another local account.

Should you wish to receive more information on our money market fund offering, the tax-efficient income plans or our forex rates please contact Mr. Tony R. Hug on .

Reserve Bank reduces REPO rate and then stalls >>

On 30th January 2025, the Monetary Policy Committee decreased prime lending rates by 0,25%. As a result, our Investec CCM Platform rates were adjusted accordingly. It was rather disappointing, that the committee at the next meeting on 20 March decided to keep their rates unchanged at 7,5%.
This means that the prime lending rates stays at 11%.

Budget Speech summary ››

In a first in South African history, original Budget Speech expected in February 2025 was postponed to 12 March 2025. The Government of Unity was not in agreement with Minister of Finance, Mr. Enoch Godongwana’s recommendations.
The VAT increase was the biggest talking point, with 0,5% to be effective on 1 May 2025, and an additional 0.5% increase on 1 May 2026.

This is a short summary of the major points:

• In 2024, the economy grew by only 0.6%. Over the medium term, GDP growth is projected to average 1.8%.
• The consolidated budget deficit is expected to narrow from 5% of GDP in 2024/25 to 3.5% of GDP in 2027/28.
• Government debt will stabilise at 76.2% of GDP in 2025/26.
• Debt-service costs will amount to R 389.6 billion in the current financial year. This translates to 22 cents of every rand we raise in revenue. It is more than the amount we spend on health, the police and basic education.
• National Treasury has proposed reducing the budget deficit with tax policy proposals that are designed to raise R 28 billion in additional revenue in 2025/26 and R 14.5 billion in 2026/27. Key to this additional revenue is the increase in the VAT rate.
• There were no changes to the personal income tax tables, corporate tax rate, capital gains tax, medical schemes credit, the tax-free portion of interest income, dividend taxes, donations tax and estate duty.
• Transfer Duty: The monetary thresholds for Transfer Duty will be adjusted by 10 per cent to compensate for inflation. The Transfer Duty tax rates will remain unchanged. These changes will come into effect on 1 April 2025.
• Fuel Levies: No change to the general fuel levy and road accident levy. However, from 2 April 2025 the Carbon Fuel Levy will increase by 3c on both petrol and diesel.
• Carbon Tax: Increased from R 190 per tonne to R 236 per tonne of the carbon dioxide equivalent.
• Excise Duties: Excise Duties on alcoholic beverages will increase by 6.75%, which is above inflation. In addition, there will be an increase of 6.75% in excise duties on cigars and pipe tobacco and 4.75% on cigarettes and other tobacco products.

Comment: South African taxpayers have been made poorer this year again! By not adjusting the tax tables, rebates and other items by inflation, the “taxation through inflation” is real. The government has therefore netted over R 34 billion over the last two years.
The VAT increase will lead to an effective increase of 6,75% on Vat-able products over the next two years as well.

To view the complete overview of tax tables etc., you can download the tax guide by clicking here.

South Africa can exit FATCA’s greylist by October ››

The government has taken a giant leap towards ending its greylist status after the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has praised its efforts to meet the requirements and only has got two more boxes to tick. The global body tasked with fighting terrorism financing and money laundering, said South Africa must still do better in investigating and prosecuting complex money laundering activities before it can be removed from the list. FATF has decided to extend the deadline for meeting the requirements and the South African Treasury said it is confident they will be off the list by October.

AMI changes tracking requirements for vehicles ››

Like all other insurance companies, AMI has also published their list of high-risk vehicles and their tracking requirement. Click here to view the details.

MUA ends binder agreement with Auto & General ››

In 2014, MUA Insurance Acceptances (MUA) entered into an underwriting agreement with Auto & General Insurance Company Ltd (A&G). After careful consideration by MUA and its shareholders, the binder arrangement between MUA and A&G will come to an end on 30 June 2025 and will be replaced by a new one with Compass Insurance Company Limited (Compass Insure).
The change is effective 1 May 2025 for any new business, and effective 1 July 2025 for existing business.
If we do not receive any instructions from you to remain with Auto & General, you are giving your consent for the following:

• That Compass Insure will be the new insurer.
• Your personal information being transferred to Compass Insure.
• Your debit order information to be transferred to Compass and that any pro rata premium for annual policies to be transferred to Compass Insure.

There is no impact for existing clients and there is nothing further you need to do if you are happy to continue with the same terms and conditions of MUA.

Elite discontinues travel insurance benefit ››

The insurer has taken the decision to remove the automatic benefit on their policies effective 1 April 2025. Existing policyholders can read the communique by clicking here.

MiWay offers cash back benefit ››

Existing policyholders can read the communique by clicking here to read about the functionality of MiCashBack which was recently introduced.

Importance of foreign driver licences conversions ››

We recently came across an article that highlights the importance that you obtain a local driving licence once you have received your SA permanent residence permit.
Please click here to read the article.

Vantage implements new excess structure ››

Over the past two years we have mostly seen a return to a more normalised claims frequency trend, with adverse weather conditions in many parts of the country adding incremental pressure to claims volumes. Vehicle repair costs have increased well above inflation and the nature of vehicle thefts has changed, with newer and more expensive vehicles being stolen.
Due to the growing demand for insurance on solar items, Vantage is also implementing a first amount payable that will apply to all solar items. As part of the effort to limit premium increases, the adjusted Excess/First amount payable will be changed across all new policies with effect from 01 July 2025, and with effect from renewal of existing policies, commencing 01 August 2025.
Please click here to view the excess summary.

Changes to MUA’s concierge and assistance services ››

The insurer has terminated the agreement with Global Choices as from 1 February 2025. Their assistance line has been upgraded to deliver an even more robust support system for our clients.

Please note that the Assistance Services number remains unchanged: 0861 000 682. There is a new backup number 083 789 0410. We urge you to save these numbers on your phone with your MUA policy number! You can also use the following e-mail address:

The following changes apply:

• The MUA Concierge Service offers 18 trips annually, which can now be allocated flexibly among Convenience Driver Services, Home Safe Chauffeur, and Airport Transfers
• The total Driver operating hours have also been extended.
• MUA CareComplete is being introduced, which offers a brand new, exceptional solution that goes beyond traditional assistance services. It is designed for members and their immediate families, offering holistic mental health and mediation support services to help navigate and support life’s challenges. The Mental Health Services includes support for stress, anxiety, trauma, death, finances, parenting, and relationship issues.
• The MUA Road Assist towing limit has been increased, minimising the likelihood of clients incurring out-of-pocket expenses.

All the value added services remain optional benefits. To support these expanded benefits, modest cost adjustments will be implemented. The changes ensure the continued delivery of exceptional service quality and effective dates are:

Clients currently subscribed to any of the Assist Services will be automatically transitioned to the enhanced versions on 01 February 2025, gaining immediate access to the new features. The adjusted cost(s) will only be effective from 01 April 2025.
You can click below to download the individual brochures:
MUA Home Assist – Download
MUA Roadside Assist – Download
MUA Concierge – Download
MUA CareComplete – Download

Current state of visa and immigration processing ››

After appointing Dr Leon Schreiber as the Minister of Home Affairs in July 2024, we saw a major overhaul of visa and immigration processes dealt with at the Department. One of the aims was to reduce the 100 000+ visa backlog which has been happening at a significant rate since. Estimates are that the backlog has been reduced by 97% to drive some of Dr Schreiber’s aims including long term visas and residence for foreigners wanting to establish businesses here which comes with economic benefits to South Africa.
Although this improvement in the Department of Home Affairs promised applicants who have been waiting years for a result, we have seen a lot of ridiculous and erroneous rejections. Due to the high number of rejections, the Department of Home Affairs issued a Directive in November 2024 confirming the appeal applications may be logged with the VFS office within 10 working days (from the date of collecting the negative outcome). The appeal application must be submitted on or before 31 March 2025.
VFS has also been overwhelmed with the number of applications being submitted, including appeals and we advise that new visa applications and visa expiry dates are considered for submitting applications to avoid any submission challenges.

Further extension of pending applications granted ››

The Minister has recently granted a further extension of pending applications for visas and appeals until the 30 September 2025. Please click here to read the directive.

BDAE offers new health insurance plan Expat Smart ››

The term of EXPAT SMART is three years, with the option of extending it to a maximum of five years. The product is available in three variants, the Basic, Classic and Premium plans. With EXPAT SMART, the insurer has created an offer for the more contribution-oriented target group. The contributions depend on the age at entry and the selected insurance zone. For example, an adult customer can insure themselves for accident or life-threatening emergency treatment for as little as 64 euros per month. The maximum age for which insurance can be taken out is 74. A health check is only required for applicants aged 55 or over. At expiry of the plan after 3 or 5 years, there is the alternative to switch to the Expat Infinity Plan.
Should you require further information, please contact Tony R. Hug ().

Sonnenberg Wealth’s presentation at Nitida Wine Farm ››

Our offshore asset manager presented their market outlook in an English and German speaking presentation in February.
For our clients that could not attend, you are welcome to download the presentations below.

– Click here for English presentation
– Click here for German presentation

SwissSure sponsors Pearl Valley Member’s Charity Day ››

The aim of the golf day was to raise funds for the benefit of Pearl Valley staff. The fund will assist staff members when in need of funds due to a dramatic and life changing event.
We sponsored the R 100’000 hole-in-one prize and MUA insurance the 1957 Bentley Drive to a wine farm for lunch. The winner was Patrick McGurk – congratulations!!

We value your comment ››

Do you want to know about a specific topic, share something with us or comment?
Please feel free to send us an e-mail or so that we can assist you.