Payout issues resolved in South Africa

[Diane1557]

Hey guys. So I had not received my payouts at all since the beginning of 2024. Four bookings payouts were sent but then there were continuous errors with my payout method and I was told to delete and re-add the account. I was told to check with my bank as the error could be with them. I was advised that the payouts were sent and that I should be patient. (But they were not sent and subsequently returned to airbnb) Any way after a lot of messaging and calls with so many absolutly clueless airbnb ambassadors, I finally worked out that we need to complete a mandate form at the beginning of each year with Exchange4Free. Airbnb only gives you one email and an international number for them. You can contact Exchange4Free locally on +27 10 5007819

They will email the mandate to you. It is quick to complete and you get your payouts. I got all my payouts on the same day when completing the mandate.

Wish you all well

Diane

Cape Town

South Africa

[Joan2709]

@Sian628 

Frustrating I'm sure!...

A last ditch suggestion was to contact Velma Corcoran at Airbnb. Here is the info from another post:

I follow short term rental trends and upcoming new regulations as part of my STR consulting business; mostly in the USA. I have been seeing that South Africa is actively considering national short term rental regulations. Been seeing alot more issues with KYC and payout issues for South Africa Hosts. Perhaps this is a precursor to increased STR regulations at the national level?

Since so many Hosts are having issues with no resolution regarding payouts and KYC issues in South Africa, you might wish to try and contact Airbnb's Regional Lead for the Middle East Africa, Velma Corcoran. I believe you can try to reach her through LinkedIn, or maybe try ** 

. Not sure if she still has that position with Airbnb, but it's worth a try.

Here is the YouTube video of a podcast on the topic with her as the guest:

Airbnb and Regulations in South Africa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZelQ94qWfxA&t=648s

**[Contact details removed - Community Center Guidelines]**

[Emilie]

Hi @Sian628, 

I'm really sorry you were experiencing a similar problem earlier this month! I wanted to check back in and see if you'd had found a solution in the end, with the help of the customer support teams? 

Let us know if you need any more help!

Emilie 

[Garth76]

We are having the exact same problem! It’s like dealing with clueless idiots. The bank account  is not being validated and we kept being told to wait another 10 business days. 

Does anyone have any legal advice? 

[Roger1121]

You can add me to the list - same thing - mandate to sign from bidvest- details sent from Airbnb is a person account rather than a business account- Airbnb profile in the business name- bank account payout method is a business account and verified by Airbnb- how do we get this resolved??

[Angela4564]

Good day,

I am a host and am struggling with this exact problem. I completed the Bidvest form and Bidvest said I must tell airbnb to resubmit the payment. I tried contacting Airbnb on the online support and telephonically, however, they do not seem to know what to do (they didnt even know what Bidvest was). Now Im trying to contact Airbnb via email, no email address that works. I contacted Bidvest back and they said I should continue trying to get hold of Airbnb to resubmit the payment. I have no idea what to do anymore, could somebody please advise?

Kind regards,

Angela

South Africa

[Joan2709]

@Angela4564 

I seem to recall other Hosts with the same problem eventually solved it by working with Bidvest directly...something to do with the Bank coding and when they sent their confirmation letter to Bidvest they were able to discover the issue and correct it. Don't waste your time trying to work with Airbnb CS on this. 

Below are the entities involved for payments from Airbnb for SA Hosts and one minor detail that is incorrect can cause issues:

Bidvest

AZA Finance

Below is a thread on that and how another Host resolved it:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help-with-your-business/Payout-issues-in-South-Africa/td-p/20370...

Also, seems there is a Bidvest Mandate Form that must be completed annually:

Do I Need to Complete A Bidvest Form Annually

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2495

Do I need to complete the Bidvest form that’s sent to hosts in South Africa?

South Africa has restrictions on bank transfers from abroad. In order for South African hosts to receive funds in their local currency (ZAR) without fees, account owners are required to complete an annual reporting form for the South African Reserve Bank. 

At the beginning of the calendar year, or after your first payout, Bidvest will email you the request to sign the mandate. Once the form has been completed, Bidvest will process your form and notify the South African Reserve Bank and your payout will continue to process. If your payout is released before the form is completed, the payout will not be processed and the funds will be returned to Airbnb.

We encourage you to complete the form as soon as possible in order to prevent any delays with your Airbnb payouts. The form is valid for one calendar year, so you’ll need to complete a new one each year.

If you have questions about the form, contact Bidvest directly:

• Email address: mandates@bidvestbank.co.za  
• Contact number: 0105007819

[Bhumika]

Hi @Angela4564 , whenever you get a chance to look over Joan’s advice, let us know if you were able to connect with Bidvest directly to sort things out. Thanks so much!