How to choose a crypto exchange in South Africa

Direct answer

Choose a South African crypto exchange in this order: (1) the legal entity you contract with appears on the FSCA’s list of licensed crypto asset service providers (CASPs) under its own name and FSP number; (2) you can move rand in and, more importantly, out through a route you can actually use, to a bank account in your own name; (3) you have read the whole fee schedule, including instant-buy premiums and withdrawal charges, not just the headline trading rate; (4) you can supply the KYC documents it asks for; and (5) it offers the products you need and nothing you do not understand. Coin count, app design and sign-up promotions come after those five. This guide uses VALR, Luno, AltCoinTrader and Ovex as worked examples because their fee schedules, licence entries and verification pages were read on official pages on 6 September 2026.

Who this checklist is for

It is written for someone opening a first exchange account in South Africa, for someone who already holds crypto on an offshore platform and wants a rand on- and off-ramp, and for anyone comparing two local platforms and unsure which differences matter. It is not a ranking: the platforms named here appear only because their facts could be verified, and the order in which they are mentioned carries no meaning.

Step 1: check the licence on the FSCA list, not on the marketing page

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority began licensing CASPs under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS) Act on 1 June 2023. Its press release of 15 April 2026 reports that, as at 31 March 2026, it had received 533 CASP licence applications, approved 310 and declined 17, with a further 124 withdrawn; the same release states that any person conducting CASP activities without a licence is subject to enforcement action. The FSCA publishes the approved list as a PDF. The newest version we could read is dated December 2025, and its Section A gives each licensed provider’s FSP number, exact legal name, licence category and authorised activities. Sections C and D list licences that have lapsed or been provisionally withdrawn, so check those as well.

To verify a platform, find the FSP number on its own legal or disclosure page and match both the number and the legal name to the FSCA list. On the December 2025 list, VALR (Pty) Ltd is entry 270 with FSP 53308 (Category I and II), Luno (Pty) Ltd is entry 166 with FSP 53314 (Category I and II), AltCoin Trader (Pty) Ltd is entry 15 with FSP 53614 (Category I and II) and Ovex (Pty) Limited is entry 192 with FSP 53922 (Category I, intermediary services only). Note that the list spells the AltCoinTrader entity with a space; match the registration number, not the brand. A platform that describes its application as in process is not licensed, and a licence from another country’s regulator is not an FSCA licence.

Be clear about what the licence covers. The FSCA states that its powers are limited to advice, intermediary and investment management services relating to crypto assets, and that the South African Reserve Bank does not recognise crypto assets as currency. A licensed CASP is supervised; the coins it sells are not.

Step 2: check how rand gets in and, more importantly, out

All four platforms pay rand only to a South African bank account in the account holder’s own name, and VALR also requires rand deposits to come from an account in your name. If your banking does not fit that rule, no other feature matters.

Deposit rails differ more than people expect. VALR takes free EFT deposits with no minimum (funds may take up to 48 hours to clear) and South African card deposits at 3.9 %. Luno takes free EFT, instant deposits at 1.4 % (up to R100,000), Absa Pay at 1.4 %, Capitec Pay at 1.25 % under R1,000 or R9.00 over R1,000, and Apple Pay at 2.5 % (R50–R30,000). AltCoinTrader charges 0.5 % on EFT deposits (capped at R95 per transaction), adds 5 % on cash deposits, and routes Capitec Pay (2 %, capped at R95), Absa Pay (2.5 %) and cards (5 % local, 7 % international) through Stitch. Ovex accepts bank EFT only, with zero deposit fees and a R98 minimum; cash is not permitted.

Withdrawals are where the routes really diverge. VALR gives individual clients 30 free normal ZAR withdrawals per calendar month, R8.50 each after that, and charges R30 for a fast (RTC) withdrawal. Luno’s normal withdrawal is free and takes up to 2 business days; express costs R20.00 to RTC-participant banks or R80.00 to other banks. AltCoinTrader charges R16 plus 0.5 % (the percentage capped at R95), processes in scheduled batches, and adds R60 (under R100,000) or R140 (over R100,000) for near-instant processing; the minimum withdrawal is R17. Ovex charges a flat R60 per ZAR withdrawal with a R100 minimum. Judge a platform by the exit, not the entrance: a free deposit costs nothing if you never sell, but every withdrawal fee is paid on the way out.

Step 3: read the whole fee schedule, then do the maths

Three layers add up: the exchange fee (maker or taker), any convenience premium on instant buy and sell buttons, and the rails from Step 2. Published entry-tier rates are: VALR 0.18 % maker and 0.35 % taker on fiat-quoted pairs such as BTC/ZAR (0.08 % and 0.10 % on crypto-quoted pairs), with Simple Buy/Sell at 1.6 %; Luno 0.40 % maker and 0.60 % taker on crypto/ZAR pairs, but 0.20 % taker and a −0.01 % maker rebate on USDT/ZAR and USDC/ZAR, with instant buy/sell at 2 %; AltCoinTrader 0.50 % maker and 0.60 % taker; and Ovex 0 % on request-for-quote trades, because its cost sits in the quoted spread rather than in a fee. The three tiered schedules all fall with 30-day volume, so the entry tier is what a new user pays.

A worked example (assumptions, not quotes)

Assume you deposit R10,000 by EFT, buy bitcoin with one taker order at the entry tier, later sell the same way, and withdraw R10,000 with one normal withdrawal. Ignore the price move, bank charges, spread and crypto network fees.

• VALR: taker 0.35 % × R10,000 = R35 on the buy and R35 on the sell; EFT and the withdrawal are free (within the 30 per month). About R70 in total. Using Simple Buy instead: 1.6 % × R10,000 = R160 per side.
• Luno: taker 0.60 % × R10,000 = R60 per side; EFT and normal withdrawal free. About R120. Funding through the 1.4 % instant deposit adds R140; instant buy at 2 % would be R200 per side.
• AltCoinTrader: EFT deposit 0.5 % = R50; taker 0.60 % = R60 per side; withdrawal R16 + 0.5 % of R10,000 = R66. About R236.
• Ovex: 0 % fee, but the spread is not published as a number, so the trading cost cannot be calculated in advance; the withdrawal is R60.

The maths is only as good as its assumptions: maker orders, higher tiers, stablecoin pairs and the spread you actually receive all change the answer. Crypto withdrawal fees are a further layer. VALR quotes a network-dependent fee on the withdrawal screen that can exceed the raw network cost; Luno shows a dynamic send fee before confirmation; AltCoinTrader publishes fixed per-asset fees (BTC 0.00012 BTC; USDT 5 USDT on TRC20 or 2 USDT on Arbitrum and Solana); Ovex charges flat per-asset fees (BTC 0.00015; USDT and USDC on Ethereum 8.0).

Step 4: know what KYC you will be asked for

All four verify identity, but the timing differs. Ovex requires full verification before any deposit, withdrawal or trade: real-time capture of a physical ID with facial recognition, a recent proof of address, source of funds and a tax number; unverified accounts have a USD 300 lifetime withdrawal limit. VALR’s semi-verified level cannot deposit or trade; fully verified requires a government-issued ID (SA ID card or book, passport or driver’s licence) plus tax information and allows 0.2 BTC per day in crypto withdrawals, rising to 100 BTC per day with authenticator-app 2FA. Luno accepts the ID card (front and back), ID book, driver’s licence or valid passport, not temporary IDs, may ask for a colour selfie, and wants proof of address dated within 3 months; Level 1 is capped at R15,000 in lifetime deposits and withdrawals, Level 2 at R50,000 per month, and fully verified accounts have no limits, with verification usually automatic within minutes. AltCoinTrader lets you deposit and trade before FICA verification but limits withdrawals to a once-off R100 until your documents are verified; its list includes a colour selfie holding your ID with a handwritten note, and the verified limits are R200,000 per 24 hours at Level 2 and R1,000,000 per 24 hours at Level 3, which requires 2FA to have been active for a month.

Practically: have your ID and a proof of address under three months old ready, expect a selfie, and make sure the bank account you plan to use is in exactly the same name as your ID.

Step 5: match products to what you actually need

Spot buying and selling is the only product all four share, and it is the one to start with. VALR’s schedule also covers perpetual futures, spot margin, staking, earn and an OTC desk; futures are provided by a group entity that VALR says holds FSP 54897, which we did not check on the FSCA list, and may be restricted for some account holders. Luno offers staking, with a service fee of 20–40 % of rewards, and an OTC desk from about USD 50,000; no futures or margin product page was found. AltCoinTrader’s Easy Save stakes balances on your behalf but showed a maintenance notice on 6 September 2026. Ovex has no order book; it sells through instant quotes and an OTC desk from R250,000, and its interest account is marked as available only in certain jurisdictions. Treat products as optional: a platform with more of them is not better for a beginner, and every additional product carries its own terms and risks.

Warning signs

Walk away when the FSP number is missing, does not match the FSCA list, or belongs to a different legal name from the one on the terms of service; when the contact was unsolicited or the pitch includes certain or promised returns; when you are asked to pay into an individual’s or a third party’s bank account rather than the platform’s own; when fees are only disclosed after you have deposited; or when a withdrawal is made conditional on paying a further fee or a so-called tax first. The four platforms named here each publish a legal entity name, a company registration number, an FSP number and a fee schedule; if a platform makes any of those hard to find, that is your answer.

Risks

Crypto asset prices move sharply and an FSCA licence does not protect you from that; the licence covers the service, not the asset, and the Reserve Bank does not treat crypto assets as currency. Platform terms change without notice: the figures above were read on 6 September 2026, the FSCA list used is dated December 2025, and the 15 April 2026 press release does not itself name providers, so re-check licence status on the FSCA site before relying on it. Convenience features (instant deposits, simple buy, near-instant withdrawals) cost multiples of the exchange rate, and the spread on quote-based platforms is a real cost even when the fee is 0 %.

Next steps

Shortlist with the exchange finder, which filters by ZAR deposit method and verification status; run your own amounts through the fee calculator; and read the side-by-side VALR vs Luno comparison if those are your two candidates. For the licence step on its own, see FSCA-licensed crypto exchanges in South Africa.