Everything Counts | Episode 41: Global Shopping for South Africans

Loading player...
Earning, spending, investing and shopping overseas has never been easier, but it has never been more complex either. If your money is constantly moving between currencies, countries, and platforms, it can feel like you’re doing everything right on paper while still losing value through fees, exchange rates and timing.

In this episode of Everything Counts, Motheo Khoaripe explores what it really means to live a global financial life. He’s joined by Dan Buntman, Product Lead for International Banking at Investec, and Bonnie Dalglish, Private Banking Forex Lead, to unpack how South Africans are spending, earning and investing in an increasingly borderless world.

The conversation dives into the explosive growth of online and global shopping, the rise of multicurrency lifestyles, and why so many people feel their money is harder to track than ever before. From foreign income and international subscriptions to offshore investing, travel, and digital nomad life, the episode highlights the hidden costs and blind spots that can quietly erode your finances.

You’ll learn how exchange rates, fees, and payment timing impact your money, why separating currency conversion from spending can be a game changer, and how new banking technology is simplifying global payments behind the scenes. The experts also explain how multicurrency accounts and intelligent routing can help reduce friction, avoid unnecessary conversions, and give you more control when your life stretches across borders.

If your lifestyle, income, or investments are international (or heading that way) this episode will help you understand how to make your global money work harder for you, with less stress and more control.

00:00 Introduction
02:00 How popular is online shopping?
04:00 How are South Africans online shopping overseas?
05:10 Banking allows global shopping
06:10 How are South Africans living and spending across borders?
09:00 What to consider when it comes to multi currency spending
09:30 Buying foreign currency vs global spending
11:00 How banking innovations make international spending easier
12:00 What is a multi currency account?
13:00 The technology behind multi currency accounts
15:15 Benefits of a multi currency account
17:05 How many people are using multi currency accounts?
19:30 Key takeaways for international spending
21:00 Conclusion
9 Feb English South Africa Business · Investing

Other recent episodes

No Ordinary Wednesday | Mini-Budget 2026: More revenue, less borrowing?

Stronger revenue offers an opportunity to reduce borrowing. Will spending pressures limit the gains? Ahead of the 2026 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), Investec’s Annabel Bishop and Tertia Jacobs to examine the choices facing National Treasury. Higher precious metals prices offer the prospect of better-than-budgeted tax revenue. But weaker growth,…
11 Oct 26 min

Macro Monday Ep134: Fixed income investors are having a tough time

There’s been an almost universal rise in bond yields around the world over the past few months. According to Global Chief Investment Officer Chris Holdsworth, developed markets have seen the biggest rises, with France one of the hardest hit, as it grapples with a worsening fiscal situation.
5 Oct 9 min

Macro Monday ep 133 | US growth is running hot

The US economy is running hot, with the latest indicators pointing to 5% GDP growth, ahead of market forecasts for third-quarter growth of 2.8%. This comes despite high oil prices and rising inflation and has implications for the US dollar and the prospects of the US being able to grow…
28 Sep 8 min

No Ordinary Wednesday | South Africa’s race to get connected

South Africa’s digital infrastructure is expanding rapidly, from data centres and fibre networks to satellites. But can the country provide the power, capital and regulatory certainty needed to turn digital investment into lasting growth? On No Ordinary Wednesday, Jeremy Maggs speaks to Investec CIB’s Louise Pillay, a telecoms and media…
23 Sep 19 min

Investec Minds Ep 4: Chris Griffith on leading mining through crisis

In conversation with Head of Investec Equity Research Nkateko Mathonsi, former Gold Fields CEO Chris Griffith reflects on the high-stakes decisions that shaped his mining career, from investing through downturns to balancing business survival with its human cost. In this episode: 00:00: Introduction 01:08: A $1bn ambition for Africa 02:28:…
21 Sep 32 min