Bank Safely

Cross-border payments to South African banks

On 23 September 2019, in compliance with the implementation of the Common Monetary Area Payment System Oversight Committee directive, Bank Windhoek successfully updated their iBank services to meet international standards relating to anti-money laundering practices.


This involved the addition of information fields in the beneficiary front pages which is compulsory to complete before an electronic funds transfer to banks in South Africa can be processed.


When making payments to benefici​aries or creditors, users will be required to update these additional fields for their South African beneficiaries or creditors. The mandatory fields on iBank which must be  completed include: country, province, city, first name, surname, gender, name of the entity, the reason for payment, residential address, and in the case of travel allowance, passport country and passport number.


Updating of beneficiaries or creditors takes place on the iBank platform in a secure environment. No links will be sent to customers to update their details, passwords or beneficiaries/creditors. 


Process to follow on Bank Windhoek iBank to make a payment to South Africa (All SA Banks):

For existing Beneficiary (single transaction or recurring payment):

  1. Log onto iBank

  2. Choose Beneficiaries, Maintain Beneficiaries and then select to Edit Beneficiaries.

  3. Complete fields for RSA Payment:

  • Beneficiary Detail (Name and Surname for individuals/ Organisation name)

  • Beneficiary Address (physical address, province, country)

  • Reason for Payment

For new Beneficiary:

  1. Log onto iBank

  2. Select Beneficiaries and then Add Beneficiaries.

  3. Select the RSA Bank.

  4. Complete fields for International Payment:

  • Beneficiary Detail (Name and Surname for individuals/ Organisation name)

  • Beneficiary Address (physical address, province, country)

  • Reason for Payment
     

Earlier this month, several banks in South Africa indicated that system enhancements to meet the directive would not be viable for them and opted out. As a result, payments from Namibian banks to these non-participating South African banks will be treated as international SWIFT transactions, which will be charged a transaction fee of 0.91% of value with a min of N$125.00 and max of N$925.00.​


All Namibian users need to note that SWIFT transaction payments will take a minimum of two working days from the action date, before payments reflect on recipient or beneficiaries' accounts. The same applies to recurring payments, such as salaries to individuals.


Bank Windhoek's SWIFT code is BWLINANX and can be used by all customers wishing to make payments to Bank Windhoek. 

List of non-participating South African Banks:​

 Bank

Origination / Initiating

Receiving / Processing

African Bank Ltd

No

No

Albaraka Bank Ltd

No

No

Bank Zero

No

No

Bidvest Bank Ltd

No

No

BNP Paribas Corporate and Investment Banking

No

No

Capitec Bank Ltd

No

No

Citibank NA South Africa

No

No

Discovery Bank

No

No

Finbond Mutual Bank

No

No

Grindrod Bank Ltd

No

No

Habib Overseas Bank Ltd

No

No

HBZ Bank Ltd

No

No

Investec Bank Ltd

No

No

JPMorgan Chase Bank

No

No

Mercantile Bank Ltd

No

No

Postbank (SAPO)

No

No

SA Bank of Athens Ltd

No

No

SARB

No

No

Sasfin Bank Limited

No

No​

Societe Generale

No

No

Standard Chartered Bank

No

No

State Bank of India SA

No

No

Tyme Bank

No

No

UBank (was Teba Bank Ltd effective 06/10/2010)

No

No

VBS Mutual Bank

No

No

HSBC Bank

No

No



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Customers are advised to make use of iBank or forms at any Bank Windhoek branch to make payments to South African banks.  The Mobile App is currently not set up to action these payments.

Should you require any further guidance, customers are encouraged to call our Customer Contact Centre at +264 61 299-1200 or email ibank@bankwindhoek.com.na.

It is important to note that our service agents will only provide guidance on the relevant fields that need to be completed. Do not divulge passwords, usernames or any other personal details over the telephone. We anticipate that fraudsters may attempt to take advantage of the Bank Windhoek iBank enhancements. They will likely request customers to update personal information on a link in an email, via SMS or phone call.  The message can even be crafted in a manner that would seem to warn customers that failure to comply may result in Internet Banking service restrictions or suspension. Bank Windhoek urges customers to ignore such communication as the Bank will never request customers to share their personal details via an email or SMS or update account information via a link.​


Contactless Cards

The new Bank Windhoek Credit or Debit Cards issued since August 2020 are contactless enabled, which means that you only need to tap your card at Point-of-Sales (POS) devices that are also contactless enabled to make payments. Once you tap your contactless enabled card on a contactless enabled device, you will be prompted to enter the card PIN.  The terminal will authorise the transaction by validating your PIN and the available funds in your account.

Contactless cards are convenient and safe because the card never leaves your hand. This innovation, eliminates any chance for your card being skimmed or cloned.  When making payments at terminals, you can request if the POS has a tap feature or you can look out for this icon ContactlessImage.jpg  at payment points.

A contactless POS reader cannot scan more than one card at a same time, nor can a transaction be duplicated.  A transaction can only be effected when the contactless reader inside a contactless enabled device and the card in question are very close to each other, generally within a centimetre or two. 

Globally, there is an upward trend for customers to pay for their purchases at POS using the contactless method. 

Can I still Dip and Swipe?

Yes, you will be able to dip or swipe your card at any POS devices without the contactless functionality.

Contactless card identity

All cards using this technology have a contactless symbol indicated below. 

Fees and charges​

Standard POS fees and charges still apply.  Click here for more information on fees and charges.

Card Security

Protecting your card data is about more than just protecting your PIN.

In the modern Digital savvy world that we live in, information seen on your Bank card becomes crucial in completing online transactions.  This is why it becomes important to not only protect your PIN but also the details on the surface of your Bank card. 

Be vigilant to:

  • Never share your full card number or any information on your Bank card with anyone, such as, the full card number, the expiry date and the card verification value.  These information are the gateway to your account and to completing a telephonic or online transaction. Protect this information like you would protect your wallet. Anyone with access to this information can use it to conduct a CNP (Card Not Present) transaction. 

  • If you have to share your card details with another person, only give them the first 6 and last 4 digits of your card number, masking the most critical numbers. Do this in all your communications whether hard or soft copy or telephonic. Omitting the middle 6 numbers of the Bank card protects your account from unauthorized access. No one, not even your bank, should ask you for the full card number under any circumstances. Be suspicious of anyone (or any email) requesting this information.

  • Never take a photo or make a copy of your Bank card for any reason.  This in effect creates a duplicate of your card and it increases the risk of confidential information getting into the wrong hands. Most Smart phones have embedded apps like Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook and these phones enable easy sharing and distribution of photos. Sometimes sensitive and confidential photos are shared by mistake on these platforms, and once 'out there', it is near impossible to retract them. You can delete it on your wall but someone else could have already taken a photo and is now in possession of your Bank card details.

  • Destroy expired Bank cards and card related information properly. An expired Bank card number combined with a non-expired date and a random CVV number (three or four digit number at the back of your card) can sometimes still 'authorise'. Destroying expired Bank cards by fire or by cutting it up into small pieces and disposing of these pieces separately will greatly reduce the chances of an unauthorised 'hack' of valid information.

  • Only transact with trusted and secured websites.  Do research to confirm that a site is a legitimate online merchant. This can be as simple as asking a trusted friend if they know and have used the site. Look out for the 's' in the HTTPS, which it denotes a secure or encrypted link, and a green padlock icon in the URL (in the first part of a web address).

  • When conducting a POS transaction in a shop, always keep your card within view and watch out for skimming devices. Skimming devices at Point of Sale equipment are sometimes bulky and obvious. If your card is swiped on your behalf or out of your sight, it might be subjected to an alien device that copies the confidential information needed to create a clone of your card. Always swipe or 'dip' your card personally, and familiarise yourself with what a typical POS device looks like, so that you can spot any anomalies. 

Keep your card and PIN safe at all times.  If your card is lost, log-in to the Bank Windhoek Mobile App and switch the card “off” or call the bank’s Customer Contact Centre on (061) 299 1200 immediately.


​​Be aware of Vishing attacks:

Download the Vishing Post​er here.




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