Africa Common Law
Fintech founders raising and selling on the continent, South Africa
Stripe is live in South Africa and the FSCA Crypto Asset Service Provider licence has been operational since 2023, alongside SARB regulated banking. Year-1 costs run ZAR 1,500-5,000 with bank account opening in 21 days.
Stripe liveFSCA CASPSARB regulated
Start setup {placement} 4 min · no card required
Corp tax
27%
Fastest setup
2 weeks
Tax treaties
80
Region
Africa
What you'll need
- No resident director required
- Local registered office required
- Economic-substance test applies
- Minimum capital: ZAR 1
- Administrative language: English
- Legal system: Common law
Tax and treaty profile
- Corporate tax 27%
- Tax treaties 80
- VAT rate 15%
- Withholding on dividends 20%
Key treaty partners
UKUSAGermanyNetherlandsMauritiusIndia
Banking and payments
- Banking is straightforward
- Stripe supported
- Wise supported
- Crypto banking available
- EMI license framework available
Considerations
If tax efficiency or capital mobility is the binding constraint
South Africa runs a 27% CIT, 20% dividends withholding, exchange controls under SARB and remains on the FATF grey list (since 2023). For lower tax and free capital flows:
FATF grey list27% CITSARB exchange controls