Iran traveller can’t buy euros

I AM a South African citizen intending to travel to Iran. A few days ago I went to Absa bank in Cresta to buy €1 000.

They refused to sell my travel allowance for this small amount and when I asked the reason, they said because they have banking sanctions against Iran.

I do understand that South African banks have an American instruction to sanction Iran, but I fail to understand what that has to do with my travel allowance, even if my destination is Iran.

To be sure about this puzzle, I approached two other local banks with which I also have accounts and I had no problem buying my foreign currency.

I would like to know where Absa bank policy comes from to act like that.

Is Absa not another South African bank? And if yes, why do they have this policy that differs so much from the rest of the banks in South Africa.

I would also like to highlight the fact that our president strongly objects to the sanctions against Iran and so do our economists who encourage trading with Iran as this can greatly benefit South Africa for oil and many other commodities as well. Bijan Rahmatzadeh

Natasha Andrykowsky, head of International Banking at Absa, responds: “Absa operates controls and safeguards in relation to international sanctions and the detection and prevention of financial and prohibited business activities within and outside of South Africa.

“As a result, transactions may be delayed or we may not be in a position to execute on a transaction.

“Certain transactions are, however, permissible and follow an escalation process. In this particular instance, the consultant should have sensitised the customer to the aforementioned procedure.

“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused to the customer, and we will ensure that going forward the procedure is reinforced at branch level.

“We cannot speak for the internal processes and procedures of other South African banks.

“We however, thank you for bringing this incident to our attention and assisting us in ensuring we better our customer experience in future.”