DURBAN - There are not a lot of days when South Africans can take advantage of a strong rand and save in international currencies.
In fact the rand's recent improvements, an increase to 9 month high after the Deputy President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa was elected as the next leader of the ANC by a small margin, could not happened at a better time.
The South African Reserve Bank allows South African adults to save or spend a maximum of R1 million in foreign currency without being required to present additional documents.
However there are only a few days left to take advantage of this allowance because 2017 is almost over.
Those who want to take advantage of the R10 milion yearly investment allowance require a tax certificate.
The rand is a particularly unstable currency. It most recently shifted as much as 4% and could change again without notice depending on the international investor's penchant for risk.
The recent good movement does point out that the market has welcomed Ramaphosa's appointment, however there is no guarantee this trend will continue and it could fall out of favour again.
Because of this it is sensible to invest with foreign currency at favourable moments like Monday night.
One way of doing this is through International Savings which is a route that give investors the capacity to save in international currencies without moving out from South Africa.
International saving is a "pro-South Africa" choice because savings stay here with easy access along with other accounts through an online profile.
This method allows South Africans to save in strong-performing currencies without adversely affecting the economy, while providing the capacity to hedge against the fluctuations of a unstable rand.
Foreign currency investments accounts are tools that the "democratic" savings because they give people personal freedom to simply put some of their savings in foreign currency using online banking.
This does not mean that a customer seeking for the freedom for borderless savings can not access their money, it can be transferred back into the local currency.
Opening and maintaining the account has no cost, the fees for transactions is R75 which covers the exchange control desks required by the Reserve Bank.
Having to open a currency account online cuts down on paperwork, this allows investors to be worry free about the rand shifting while the same account is being opened.
A foreign currency account can also be managed from an online banking profile, opening this option up to many more South Africans because it takes away the need to pay a broker.
There a lots of ways to protect your assets and still invest in the future of this country and hope many South Africans see in it.
Daniel Buntman is the Head: International Banking, Retail and Business Banking at Absa
The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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