Business payments · across Africa
Moving money across Africa.
Orchura Realtime Settlement (ORS) moves business money into, out of and across South Africa: paid in one currency, delivered in another, in real time. Every payment is reconciled as the evidence arrives.
What it delivers
Every route in and out, behind one integration.
ORS chooses the route for each payment on its amount, destination and urgency. The payer sees one price, one delivery window and one record.
The money reaches the beneficiary's bank account in real time. Where cost matters more than speed, the next business day, on the lowest-cost route.
The exchange rate is quoted before the payment is confirmed and held for a stated window. The amount the beneficiary receives does not move while the payment is in flight.
Every payment is matched against every record as the evidence arrives. Anything unmatched carries a reason and is already being worked.
South Africa's neighbouring countries, delivered in rand with no second conversion at the border.
- Supplier · Cape Town R 184,200.00 Delivered
- Payroll · Johannesburg R 1,262,480.00 Delivered
- Supplier · Windhoek R 96,750.00 Delivered
- Partner · Durban R 2,410,000.00 Next business day
How it works
How a payment moves.
- Step 1
Paid in
The payer funds the payment in their own currency: dollars, euros, pounds, rand or another African currency.
- Step 2
Converted
ORS quotes the exchange rate, holds it for a stated window, and converts the payment at that rate.
- Step 3
Delivered
The money lands in the beneficiary's bank account. As the evidence arrives, the payment is reconciled and on the statement.
| Outcome | Through correspondent banks | Through ORS What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery | Days, and longer over weekends | Real time, or the next business day on the lowest-cost route |
| Rate | Set somewhere along the chain, known on arrival | Quoted up front and held for a stated window |
| Fees | Deducted by each intermediary, resolved on arrival | One price, agreed before the payment is confirmed |
| Record | Batch statements, reconciled by hand days later | Every payment matched as the evidence arrives |
| Neighbouring countries | A second conversion at each border | Delivered in rand, with no second conversion |
What changes when a payment moves through ORS rather than a chain of correspondent banks.
See the full processThe rate
The rate holds while the payment moves.
You see the exchange rate before you commit, and we hold it for a set time. The amount your supplier receives does not change while the payment is on its way.
Paid in your own currency.
- ZAR
- USD
- EUR
- GBP
- African currencies
- See the rate
- Hold itfor a set time
- Send
- The price
- The mid-market rate plus the fee you agreed with us
- What you get
- A rate you can rely on. You see it before you confirm, and we hold it for a set time. Once that time is up, a new rate applies.
South Africa · Neighbouring countries
All paid in rand, with no second currency exchange along the way.
US dollars · Euros · Pounds sterling · Rand · African currencies
Paid into an account that belongs to your business. We handle the currency exchange.
These are the countries and currencies ORS covers.
Where your money sits
Your money is never ours to hold.
Your money sits with licensed banks and custodians the whole way. Orchura moves it and keeps the record.
We give the instructions
- You The money is yours
- Orchura Moves it and keeps the record
- Licensed custodian Holds the money in transit
- Licensed bank Holds it at the destination
Your money: held by licensed institutions the whole way
- Kept separate
- Your money sits with licensed institutions from the moment it arrives to the moment it lands, and it is never mixed into an Orchura account.
- Reconciled payment by payment
- Every payment is matched against every record as the evidence arrives. Anything unmatched carries a reason and is already being worked.
- Screened and reported
- We check who you are before you go live, we check everyone involved in each payment, and we report payments to the regulator where the rules require it.
Which institutions hold the money, and what the record looks like, are covered in a scoping conversation. Talk to our team →
Who we build for
Built for organisations moving money across Africa
The same service, shaped to how each of them pays and what each has to prove afterwards.
Enterprise
Paying suppliers, staff and partners across the region, at volume, and knowing when the money lands.
Know when it arrives · One clear record
Institutional
Fewer payments, much larger amounts, and a record that stands up when someone checks it.
A record that holds up · Checked payment by payment
Public sector
Every payment recorded, screened and reportable. Control and evidence come before speed.
Extra checks · Reported to the regulator
Payment service providers
Build Orchura into your own product, and carry the other three behind one connection.
One connection · Your brand stays in front
Moving money across Africa?
It starts with a conversation. Orchura's team scopes each integration directly.