SwissFin – SwissSure Newsletter July 2025

Dear Readers,

We welcome you to the winter edition of our Newsletter.

While summery weather conditions prevail in Europe, winter has already hit us here with a freezing cold – literally! We’ve already experienced the first winter storms, with significant snowfall on the mountains in the hinterland of Cape Town. Fortunately, however, we have been spared any major damage so far. The good news is that our dams in the Western Cape are gradually filling, so we can look forward to another summer without water shortages.

We wish you a wonderful winter, or summer, depending on which part of the world you are reading our newsletter from.

As usual, we have included information across the board regarding investments, short-term insurance, immigration and other related topics. This newsletter can also be viewed under https://www.swissfin.co.za/newsletters/swissfin-swisssure-newsletter-july-2025/.

Enjoy the reading, with best regards,

Your SwissFin / SwissSure Team

1. INVESTMENTS

• Interest rates: fixed deposits, insurance plans, tax-free investment amounts and our foreign exchange rates
• Sonnenberg Wealth Management’s investment outlook
• How does our Investec notice deposit work?

2. LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL NEWS

• South Africa’s inflation under expectations
• Moody’s sees little reason to lift South Africa’s rating
• South Africa closer to escaping from the greylist
• Is Cryptocurrency subject to exchange control?
• Swiss private bank hit with USD 4,8Mio fine

3. TAXATION

• SARS goes digital, employs debt collectors and tax filing season has opened

4. SHORT-TERM INSURANCE NEWS

• SASRIA increases rates as from 1 October 2025
• Are you a commercial tenant – have you insured your fixtures and fittings?
• New HIC geyser claim number
• Old Mutual Insure changes power surge excess structure
• Discovery Insure is inspecting all thatch roof buildings
• Renasa engages with a private firefighting company
• AMI not affected by the sale of Lombard’s broker division to Hollard
• Please note MUA’s new banking details!
• Bryte amends hospitality commercial policy wording

5. IMMIGRATION

• Constitutional Court reinstates citizenship for thousands of South Africans
• Travelling to Namibia? You might need a visa!

6. HEALTH INSURANCE

• My BDAE” App now available in your browser
• Turnberry Gap Cover increases overall limit and extends concessions

7. OTHER

• Foreign driver’s license conversion – you have to hand in your foreign licence!
• We value your comment

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

We currently offer the following rates:

Interest rates ››

The minimum investment is R 100’000. Terms and conditions apply. The rates do fluctuate on a daily basis and the interest rate depends on the investment amount.

Insurance Plans: Guaranteed income/growth plans (5-year term), approx. 80% of income tax-free: ››

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 very 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 offerings please contact Mr. Tony R. Hug on .

Sonnenberg Wealth Management’s investment outlook ››

As mentioned in our last newsletter, our Swiss partner will be regularly sharing their investment views with you. Please click here to read the interesting publication.

How does our Investec notice deposit work? ››

With interest rates reducing, long-term deposits do not look very attractive at this stage.
An attractive alternative is notice deposits, which work as follows:

• Your investment is open-ended, similar to a money market account
• When you want to withdraw funds, you have to give notice.
• The notice periods are 15, 32, 60 and 90 days.
• Your interest rate remains the same, unless the Repo rate of the Reserve bank changes.

Currently, the 90-day notice deposit is almost 1% higher than money market rates yielding 8,15%! For more information, please contact Mr. Tony R. Hug – .

South Africa’s inflation under expectations ››

South Africa’s (SA) March headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation data, surprised on the downside, coming in at 2.8% in April, below market expectations. The softer print was primarily driven by a continued decline in fuel prices and a lower-than-usual increase in education costs.

As a consequence of the low inflation figures, the Monetary Policy Committee of the South African Reserve Bank cut its key repo rate by 25 basis points at the end of May.

Moody’s sees little reason to lift South Africa’s rating ››

The rating agency expects a mild pickup for the SA economy at 1.8% in 2027. Government debt is expected to hover around 80% of GDP for the next two to three years.

Moody’s said in June this year that deep-rooted challenges will persist, such as low growth, domestic political tensions and perception of corruption. The long-term rating therefore remained at Ba2.

South Africa closer to escaping from the greylist ››

The Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) has credited South Africa with “substantially” completing all 22 items on the action list. This was required when SA was put on the greylist in February 2023 for weaknesses in combating money laundering and terrorist financing.

This paves the way for an on-site visit by the FATF and if the audit is positive, South Africa will be taken off the list in October this year.

Is Cryptocurrency subject to exchange control? ››

In a landmark ruling, the Pretoria High Court handed down judgment on the 23rd of May 2025 in Standard Bank of South Africa v South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and Others 1 that cryptocurrencies do not constitute “capital” under South Africa’s Exchange Control Regulations, 1961 (Excon). This judgment at the time meant that crypto assets are not subject to South Africa’s exchange control regime and thus there would be no need for SARB approval to export crypto. However, this clarity is now uncertain, as the SARB has since applied to appeal the ruling, leaving the legal standing of cryptocurrencies in limbo.

Swiss private bank hit with USD 4,8Mio fine ››

Bank Julius Baer has been ordered to pay the fine by the Swiss’ financial regulatory body.

This comes after the bank failed anti-money laundering and compliance measures.

The fine relates to business from 2009 to 2019. This is a big setback for the bank, after it put new management in control, following large losses from the collapse of the property group Signa.

SARS goes digital, employs debt collectors and tax filing season has opened ››

The South African Revenue Service (Sars) has officially discontinued the printing and posting of all system-generated letters, effective May 31, 2025. From this date forward, all Sars correspondence will be delivered electronically via eFiling and other digital platforms.
Now that Sars has moved entirely to digital correspondence, taxpayers must ensure that their contact and profile information is accurate and regularly maintained. This includes:

• An active and accessible email address linked to your Sars profile
• Updated mobile numbers for notifications
• Correct details of the registered representative for entities
• Regular access to your Sars eFiling account or MobiApp

Failure to maintain up-to-date information may result in missed communications, with serious consequences for your tax compliance status.

Tax season 2025 dates:

The revenue service said that all taxpayers who have not been processed through auto-assessments will have to file their returns manually. Taxpayers who earn less than R500,000 a year are not required to file a return if they meet the requirements.

SARS is on the hunt for an additional R20 billion in tax this year at minimum, meaning it will likely leave no stone unturned. The fact that they are hiring 1700 debt collectors is sufficient indication of their commitment. They have R 400bn undisputed funds to be collected and another R 100bn of debt in dispute.

The collection of these funds is crucial for next year’s budget, after the proposed VAT increase was turned down and the fuel levy increased.

SASRIA increases rates as from 1 October 2025 ››

Sasria (the South African Special Risks Insurance Association) has announced premium increases for 2025. These increases are part of a strategy to rebuild their reserves, which were depleted by the 2021 riots. The weighted average increase is 25%.

For further clarity and to access the rates schedule, please refer to the attached Sasria circular 538 by clicking here.

Are you a commercial tenant – have you insured your fixtures and fittings? ››

We often see our commercial clients, who have entered into a lease agreement, forgetting to insure their own improvements to the property.
These are typically fixed items like:

• Signs or advertising boards
• Shelving units bolted to walls
• Kitchen units or counters installed by the tenant
• Fixed lighting (not plug-in lamps)
• Partition walls added by the tenant
• Carpeting or flooring installed by the tenant
• Built-in display units in commercial properties
• Aircon units
• Mirrors installed in gyms and studios

These items are not covered by the landlord’s building insurance policy. You can add them under your fire section of the policy for a very low premium.

For more information, please contact our short-term insurance department.

New HIC geyser claim number ››

Please note as from now, HIC has their own preferred Service Provider for Geysers. Clients and Brokers to make use of CLC 24 hours, 7 days a week.

Please call 010 271 3132 and save this number on your phone if you are an HIC policyholder.

Old Mutual Insure changes power surge excess structure ››

Effective 7 April 2025, the insurer has changed the excess due to power surge.
Please click here to read the circular for domestic policies and here for commercial policies.

Discovery Insure is inspecting all thatch roof buildings ››

The insurer has launched this initiative recently. If you are an owner of a thatched roof building, you will be contacted for a survey to mitigate the fire risk.

Renasa engages with a private firefighting company ››

We welcome the innovative step taken by Renasa, to allow their clients to use Fidelity Securefire in the event of a fire. If you are a Renasa client, please save this number on your phone: 0861 000 460.
The service is available to all policyholders, whether domestic or commercial customers.

Please click here to see the circular with more details.

AMI not affected by the sale of Lombard’s broker division to Hollard ››

Should you as an AMI client received a notification regarding the above, please ignore it.

Ami Underwriting Managers operates as a UMA (Underwriting Management Agency) with Lombard, not as a broker. As such, this transfer has no impact whatsoever on AMI’s operations or on any policies underwritten through Ami.

Please note MUA’s new banking details! ››

With the change from Auto&General to Compass as the insurer, the banking details changed as well. Please delete the one on your banking profile and use the following:
Account name: COMPASS INSURE MUA PERSONAL PREMIUM
Bank: First National Bank
Branch code: 250655
Account number: 63139096704
Swift code: FIRNZAJJ

Bryte amends hospitality commercial policy wording ››

The insurer has listened to concerns of guesthouse, hotel and other hospitality owners and have made adjustments where possible. For example, they have redefined the flood excess and reduced the fire excess on certain products, and various wordings have been redefined for better clarification. Please click here to download the key highlights and revised policy wordings that will become effective on 1 September 2025.

Constitutional Court reinstates citizenship for thousands of South Africans ››

In a landmark judgement on May 6, 2025, the Constitutional Court of South Africa ruled that section 6(1)(a) of the South African Citizenship Act – which previously led to the automatic loss of South African citizenship upon acquiring foreign citizenship, was unconstitutional.

All individuals who lost their South African citizenship under this provision are now deemed to have never lost it. The ruling affirms the right to retain South African citizenship even when holding another nationality.

The ruling is effective from October 6, 1995, when the law was enacted.

Travelling to Namibia? You might need a visa! ››

The Namibian Government has changed its visa requirements as from 1 April 2025.

Visitors from many African countries are visa-exempt (i.e. South Africa), other travellers will receive a visa upon arrival at the border, but others have to apply online before departing.
Please click here for more information: Visa Information – Visit Namibia

“My BDAE” App now available in your browser ››

You can now use the portal conveniently on your PC or laptop.

This is how it works: Go to https://app.bdae.com/en, and log in with the same access data you use to access the “My BDAE” app on your phone. If you do not yet have an app user account, you can easily create one. To do this, use the same e-mail address that you have registered with the BDAE as an insured person.
Please note that the access data for the old policyholder portal, which will be replaced by the new service, can no longer be used from 1 June 2025 on. You can find further information on this page: https://www.bdae.com/en/customer-portal

Turnberry Gap Cover increases overall limit and extends concessions››

We are pleased to inform you that the annual overall limit will be increased from R 210,580 to R 219,845 per insured person per year, or any higher amount the Regulator may publish, effective from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026.
This adjustment ensures that our coverage remains in line with the regulations and rising medical expense shortfalls, particularly in cases where specialist charges exceed medical aid rates.
Please note that premiums will remain unchanged. All claims submitted from 1 April 2025 onwards will be assessed using the updated overall limit.

Turnberry Gap Cover have also extended the below concession until the end of December 2025.
New policy holders:
– A 3 month general waiting period applies to all benefits (except in the event of an accident, which occurred while on the policy)
– A 10 month condition specific waiting periods applicable – pregnancy and childbirth
– A 12 month condition specific waiting periods applicable – cancer, colonoscopies, gastroscopies, sigmoidoscopies, muscular-skeletal (except in the event of an accident while on the policy)

For clients transferring from another gap provider:
Turnberry will waiver ‘like on like’ benefits, should the policy holder been on their current policy for 12 months / longer, alternatively the remaining waiting periods will apply:
– A 10 month condition specific waiting periods applicable – pregnancy and childbirth
– A 12 month condition specific waiting periods applicable – cancer, colonoscopies, gastroscopies, sigmoidoscopies, muscular-skeletal (except in the event of an accident while on the policy)

Should you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Janien Ryke –

Foreign driver’s license conversion – you have to hand in your foreign licence! ››

We have come across surprising intervention by the Western Cape Department of Mobility. Contrary to previous rules, you now have to hand in your foreign driver’s license when
converting it to a South African one. We have engaged with the Department and were affirmed, that this is now a standard requirement and not negotiable!

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.