Questions, answered plainly

A South African ID number, a phone number and a bank account you can link. There is no paperwork and no branch visit: your ID is verified in the app, your bank links through its own sign-in, and you are set up in a few taps. Your ID number is encrypted the moment you tap Verify and never shown back to anyone.

Round-ups need one, because they are calculated from what you spend. If you would rather not link a bank, you can still put money away with a recurring amount or a once-off boost from a verified card.

No. There is nothing to trade and nothing to time. You name a dream, choose the funds it grows in, and Dreamer collects your change into it every week.

No, it is an investing app. Change in a savings jar stays the size it is. Dreamer invests your change in the funds you choose, so it can compound: growth earns growth of its own, the same principle as compound interest. The longer it is left, the more of the total is growth rather than what you put in. Investments can fall as well as rise, and your capital is at risk.

iPhone and Android. Dreamer is a mobile app; there is no web version of the account.

The gap between what you paid and the next round amount. A R47.20 coffee rounded to R50.00 puts R2.80 toward your dream. You choose the round amount: R2, R5, R10, R20, R50 or R100.

It does, because it is invested rather than saved, and then it compounds. The app's own example: R450 a month for 30 years at 10% growth a year, about 9% after all fees, comes to R823 834, of which R162 000 is what you put in and R661 834 is growth. Projections are estimates based on your current contributions, not guarantees. Your capital is at risk.

Every Friday. Dreamer adds up the week's round-ups and moves the total into your Dream Account in one collection, so your bank statement shows one line a week, not fifty.

Yes. Pick the round amount, add an optional percentage of whole purchases, and set a monthly cap of R200, R500 or R1 000 if you want a ceiling. You can pause round-ups at any time.

No. The bank link is read-only, through a licensed open-banking provider. Dreamer can see your transactions to calculate round-ups; it can never move money out of that account. You disconnect it whenever you like.

Nine funds, from managers including Satrix, Sygnia, Ninety One, Coronation, 1nvest, 10X and FNB. Dreamer groups them by how long you have, and shows every fund's fee before you choose. Dreamer never recommends a fund; you choose every one.

Yes. A dream can live in a tax-free Dream Account. The limits are R46 000 a year and R500 000 in a lifetime, and Dreamer keeps count so a round-up never takes you over.

You decide when you create it: keep the money invested, or have Dreamer withdraw it to your bank account automatically.

Yes, plainly. Every dream shows whether it is on pace for its date and what would close the gap, for example how much more a month reaches the same month. It is information, not an alarm.

Two things, both in the open: your membership, and a 0.5% yearly platform fee on what you invest - that keeps the automation, the bank feeds and the reports running. The fund manager charges at most 0.39%, so everything you pay is at most 0.89% a year - always under 1%, nothing hidden. And it shrinks as you grow: fund fees step down as your balance rises, and past R150 000 the monthly subscription falls away entirely.

Anytime, free. Withdrawals usually land within two business days.

Your investments are held with a regulated custodian in your name. Dreamer never holds your money.

You keep access until the end of the period you've paid for. Your money stays invested until you withdraw it.

Withdraw to a verified bank account in your own name, anytime, free. Withdrawals usually land within two business days.

Sign-in uses one-time codes. Two-step verification stays on for any money leaving your account. Your ID number is stored as a hash and the last four digits only, and documents are encrypted at rest.

Dreamer is a product of Cedar Digital, a South African software company. Your investments are held with a regulated custodian in your name; Dreamer never holds your money.