How did you choose the current financial institution that you bank with? What are the metrics that you use to measure what bank you use for your personal or business banking? There are generally three metrics that people use to choose who they bank with, namely:
- Low fees and high rates
- Banking technology
- Location of ATM’s and branches
We’re exploring the most crucial aspect on this list, and that’s the fees. The country is going through some difficulties due to a national recession as well as the global pandemic COVID-19. Preserving your monetary resources would be advantageous right now. To help you save as much money on bank fees as possible, we’re comparing the fees of transactional accounts from the main commercial banks in South Africa.
This comparison is also important because you might discover that you’ve been paying way too much for banking and most of the variable costs are avoidable.
We’ll be comparing the six biggest commercial banks;
- ABSA
- FNB
- Standard Bank
- Nedbank
- Capitec
- Bidvest
Transactional Everyday Account Comparison:
We’ll be comparing the most essential factors in entry-level transactional accounts:
Transaction fees:
| BANK | Cash Withdrawal (branch) | Cash Withdrawal (own bank ATM) | Cash Deposit (ATM) | Cash Deposit (Bank Branch) | Purchase fee (debit card) | Payment fee (ATM) | Payment fee (Bank branch) | Transfer fee (ATM) | Transfer
fee (bank branch) |
| ABSA (Gold Account) | R 55 + R 1.60 per R 100 | 5 free per month, thereafter R 3.95 + R 1.35 per R 100 | 5 free per month, thereafter R 3.95 + R 1.35 per R 100 | R 8 + 1.55% per R 100 (min R 30) | Free | Free | R 55 | Free | R 55 |
| Standard Bank (Elite Account) | R 40.35 + R 1.82 per R 100 | R 1.82 per R 100 | R 1.82 per R 100 | R 8.07 + R 1.80 per R 100 | Free | R4.04 + 136% max. R25.22 | R 55.84 | R 4 | R 50 |
| FNB (Gold Cheque acc) | R60 + R2.10 per R100 | R1.90 per R100 | R5 000 per month, thereafter R0.95 per R100 | R60 + R2.10 per R100 | Free | Free | R70 | Free | R70 |
| Nedbank (Savvy Bundle Account) | First free per billing cycle, then R 40 plus R 1.40 per R 100 or part thereof | Free | First free per month, then R 11 plus R 1.40 per R 100 or part thereof | First free per month, then R 11 plus R 1.40 per R 100 or part thereof | Free | Free | R 65 | Free | R 40 |
| Capitec (Global One Account) | N/A | R6.50 flat fee | 80 c per R100 | R1.70 per R100 | Free | Free | R4.75 | Free to your own link account | R5 flat fee |
| Bidvest (Bank Account) | 1.25% of withdrawal amount (min R 20.00) | R 5.00 | – | 0.80 % of deposit value | Free | – | – | – | R 8.00 |
Admin fees and charges:
| BANK | Internet Banking | Balance Inquiry (branch) | Balance Inquiry (own bank ATM) | Statement (bank branch) | Statement (own bank atm) | Monthly Fee |
| ABSA (Gold Account) | Free | R 6.25 | R 1.50 | R 25 | R 6.25 | R 98 |
| Standard Bank (Elite Account) | Free | R 7.31 | Free to display; R 1.51 to print | R 25.22 | R 5.04 | R 60.53 |
| FNB (Gold Cheque acc) | Free | R6 | Free | R27 (per statement) | R 3.50 (per page) | R105 |
| Nedbank (Savvy Bundle Account) | Free | R 5 | Free | First free per billing cycle, thereafter R 25 | Free | R 180 |
| Capitec (Global One Account) | Free | Free | Free | R5 flat fee | R2.25 flat fee | R5.50 flat fee |
| Bidvest (Bank Account) | – | – | R 3.00 | – | – | R 85.00 |
Sources:
https://www.justmoney.co.za/banking/current-accounts/
https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/careers/companies/top-banks-in-south-africa/
https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/banking/faq-choose-checking-account/
