capitec vs fnb

[wez1007]

Hi guys,

I'm currently with Standard Bank and as of late ive been having loads of issues.

Started with my card being swallowed randomly, then not being able to do fixed deposits, then not being able to do once off payments and also having constant issues with prepaid electricity...

So im thinking of opening a second account elsewhere and balancing between the 2 (and possibly switching over for good)

So the question is which one is better?

Mostly doing online payments (efts) occasionally use standard banks app on my phone/tablet. looking into doing international purchases online (so mastercard/visa is a must)

Im just looking for a simple debit/savings account... still a student just BTW

What are your opinions/suggestions?

 

[TehStranger]

I'm not sure on their Student account offerings, but FNB have always treated me well, never had any issues. Their app is also quite good FWIW.

Haven't used Capitec before.

 

[DrJohnZoidberg]

I'm not sure on their Student account offerings, but FNB have always treated me well, never had any issues. Their app is also quite good FWIW.

Haven't used Capitec before.

Same as my answer. But I would like to add that I moved from Absa a few years ago and I'm far happier with FNB.

 

[wez1007]

You guys havnt had any problems with FNB online?

I was looking at the fnb smart account... R11 bucks per month but then R7 per eft (done online) :|

as far as i can tell Capitec doesnt charge a monthly fee and it only costs R1.5 per EFT... pretty big difference that

FNB has a whole lot of rewards plans and such... like the 15% off on groceries / airtime and what not and i wouldn't mind the paypal integration


Anyone with Capitec that can report on what they are like?

 

[Greig Whitton]

Mostly doing online payments (efts) occasionally use standard banks app on my phone/tablet. looking into doing international purchases online (so mastercard/visa is a must)

Im just looking for a simple debit/savings account... still a student just BTW

I opened up an ABSA Trusave account for precisely the reasons you described. I just needed a very basic account for occasional online payments, and the Trusave account comes with practically no service fees (I think I only pay for teller transactions and ATM withdrawals, but I never use those services).

I opened up a Capitec account originally, but making international deposits into a Capitec account is all sorts of frustrating (Capitec has a swift code, but you have to route it through one of their partners - like Nedbank - and provide their swift code as well, except some international payment gateways only accept one swift code ... not worth it).

 

[DrJohnZoidberg]

You guys havnt had any problems with FNB online?

I was looking at the fnb smart account... R11 bucks per month but then R7 per eft (done online) :|

as far as i can tell Capitec doesnt charge a monthly fee and it only costs R1.5 per EFT... pretty big difference that

FNB has a whole lot of rewards plans and such... like the 15% off on groceries / airtime and what not and i wouldn't mind the paypal integration


Anyone with Capitec that can report on what they are like?

Ye, I don't know about FNB for student accounts, maybe you should rather go Capitec then. I've got a Gold Cheque account so don't pay for EFTs.

 

[wez1007]

I opened up an ABSA Trusave account for precisely the reasons you described. I just needed a very basic account for occasional online payments, and the Trusave account comes with practically no service fees (I think I only pay for teller transactions and ATM withdrawals, but I never use those services).

I opened up a Capitec account originally, but making international deposits into a Capitec account is all sorts of frustrating (Capitec has a swift code, but you have to route it through one of their partners - like Nedbank - and provide their swift code as well, except some international payment gateways only accept one swift code ... not worth it).

Payments to international accounts from capitec is fine though?

Biggest thing is obviously the cost, then second would be linking my card to the google play and other various online based stores...

I dont see myself getting payments from overseas anytime soon..

 

[wez1007]

Ye, I don't know about FNB for student accounts, maybe you should rather go Capitec then. I've got a Gold Cheque account so don't pay for EFTs.

I looked at one of the higher accounts (think it was thr smart infinity of something) costs around R50pm with free efts but then again some months im doing up to 10 efts others i do like 2 :/

 

[Ockie]

I opened up an ABSA Trusave account for precisely the reasons you described. I just needed a very basic account for occasional online payments, and the Trusave account comes with practically no service fees (I think I only pay for teller transactions and ATM withdrawals, but I never use those services).

I opened up a Capitec account originally, but making international deposits into a Capitec account is all sorts of frustrating (Capitec has a swift code, but you have to route it through one of their partners - like Nedbank - and provide their swift code as well, except some international payment gateways only accept one swift code ... not worth it).

I only provided the swift code to my friend in the UK that was provided by Capitec on their website. Capitec phoned me in a day or two to enquire what the payment is for (standard procedure) and after telling them she said she will release my funds and it will show latest the next day. It was pretty painless.

@ wes, I am very happy with Capitec. I cant think of a single time that I could not access online banking with Capitec due to downtime. The few times that I go into a branch to do a deposit it is super quick. Granted the branch I use is not a busy one.

 

[TehStranger]

You guys havnt had any problems with FNB online?

I know they've had one or two problems, but can't say I remember being personally affected by them.

I was looking at the fnb smart account... R11 bucks per month but then R7 per eft (done online) :|

as far as i can tell Capitec doesnt charge a monthly fee and it only costs R1.5 per EFT... pretty big difference that

FNB has a whole lot of rewards plans and such... like the 15% off on groceries / airtime and what not and i wouldn't mind the paypal integration

How many EFTs do you do per month? Nowadays as a platinum baller I don't pay much attention to account fees (10k/day CEO checking in), but is your usage high enough to justify saving R5.50 EFT + R11 monthly? And what sort of value does FNB offer on the student accounts, does it make up for this? Personally I would go for the bigger bank with the more expansive infrastructure, my R0.02.

 

[wez1007]

I only provided the swift code to my friend in the UK that was provided by Capitec on their website. Capitec phoned me in a day or two to enquire what the payment is for (standard procedure) and after telling them she said she will release my funds and it will show latest the next day. It was pretty painless.

@ wes, I am very happy with Capitec. I cant think of a single time that I could not access online banking with Capitec due to downtime. The few times that I go into a branch to do a deposit it is super quick. Granted the branch I use is not a busy one.

This is all good to hear I know ill be avoiding doing deposits around the end of month though... local branch had a que all the way around it when i went there on friday :|

I know they've had one or two problems, but can't say I remember being personally affected by them.



How many EFTs do you do per month? Nowadays as a platinum baller I don't pay much attention to account fees (10k/day CEO checking in), but is your usage high enough to justify saving R5.50 EFT + R11 monthly? And what sort of value does FNB offer on the student accounts, does it make up for this? Personally I would go for the bigger bank with the more expansive infrastructure, my R0.02.

most month i do about 2. a couple of months i have done closer to 10. I'll be doing a lot more transaction over the next couple of months because ive just applied for my own Afrihost account and will be moving my hosting and such to it.

Whats a little different with my situation is i study through my past high school and work here too. Not sure if ill still be here next year as my contract does expire this year. Thats why im not awfully keen on a student account.

my girlfriend happens to know the branch manager here for the local FNB branch... Which is nice because we know our problems should be sorted out fairly easily...

At FNB 5 efts PM + the PM fees comes to R46, Capitec is R7.5 :/

 

[TehStranger]

At FNB 5 efts PM + the PM fees comes to R46, Capitec is R7.5 :/

R38.50 saving, nice, but the equivalent of a (semi) good evening at the Steers drive through. Heck even after 12 months that only around R460, not even worth a (semi) good blowjob. Weigh up the saving versus the support you get from knowing the FNB branch manager, plus any benefits FNB has that Capitec might not.

 

[Ockie]

, plus any benefits FNB has that Capitec might not.

Like? Especially seeing that he is a student. Trust me, when I was a Student I would at times have sold my left ball for R38.50 for a propper meal so that I could buy a Steers burger

I dont see Ebucks and all that crap as a benefit. You have to spend a certain amount and howl at the full moon on the second day of every month before you start earning, and even then you need to earn like a gazillion Rand or something before you can buy a R100.00 PnP gift card or something stupid! I will rather pay less per month on my banking fees.

 

[TehStranger]

Like? Especially seeing that he is a student. Trust me, when I was a Student I would at times have sold my left ball for R38.50 for a propper meal so that I could buy a Steers burger

I'm not sure, not familiar with the offerings, just mentioning that he should weigh up any potential FNB benefits against the Capitec savings. I missed out on the student life in that I was doing my degrees while working full time, so there was always cash available, and never any time to grab a steers burger with the mates. Twas a sad, lonely existence.

I dont see Ebucks and all that crap as a benefit. You have to spend a certain amount and howl at the full moon on the second day of every month before you start earning, and even then you need to earn like a gazillion Rand or something before you can buy a R100.00 PnP gift card or something stupid! I will rather pay less per month on my banking fees.

I don't think ebucks are useful at his level, but I know at mine I earn enough ebucks to get a nice toy each year (high end GPS, a Gopro etc) for free, and I sure as hell don't bend backwards (though I do swipe my card for nearly everything). When I last checked (was some time last year) my ebucks earning netted me more than all of my various banking charges for the year combined, that's a win in my book.

 

[wez1007]

R38.50 saving, nice, but the equivalent of a (semi) good evening at the Steers drive through. Heck even after 12 months that only around R460, not even worth a (semi) good blowjob. Weigh up the saving versus the support you get from knowing the FNB branch manager, plus any benefits FNB has that Capitec might not.

Like? Especially seeing that he is a student. Trust me, when I was a Student I would at times have sold my left ball for R38.50 for a propper meal so that I could buy a Steers burger

I dont see Ebucks and all that crap as a benefit. You have to spend a certain amount and howl at the full moon on the second day of every month before you start earning, and even then you need to earn like a gazillion Rand or something before you can buy a R100.00 PnP gift card or something stupid! I will rather pay less per month on my banking fees.

HAHA these had me in stiches!!

I have been weighing it up!

Since the capitec account is free im going to open one for the sake of trying it out... Will see what its like. Prolly moving into a flat with the GF end of this year and the FNB account might be more worthwhile then (R500 in groceries equates to R75 back :| )

ATM still living with me mum so my "salary" is my spending money and project money (and yes savings too).

The thing i like about standard is i can link it up with the stanlib investments i have... but eh... could always do debit orders and just logon to the different websites...

It'll be capitec for now mostly because i wont be paying much for benefits i wont really be putting to use

 

[Ockie]

@ OP. Just remember, if you want to use your Capitec MasterCard for online shopping, then you need to request this in branch otherwise they do not activate the feature for you. This happened to me.

 

[wez1007]

@ OP. Just remember, if you want to use your Capitec MasterCard for online shopping, then you need to request this in branch otherwise they do not activate the feature for you. This happened to me.

Wish i saw this sure i asked the consultant but it seems she forgot... will go in again tomorrow and fix this


Honestly. Capitec has a really nice set up...never done FNB before but holy balls was the set up leaps and bounds ahead of my local (sub) Standard Bank branch.

Tried to log onto my Standard Bank account tonight and guess what... Its decided to reactivate my OTP :/ so i get an OTP and then put it in... and nada...
went onto my cellphone banking to transfer the funds to my new Capitec account... parrently the branch code is incorrect now :/ WTF is wrong with Standard Bank? Think im going to get my Salary put straight into Capitec and get rid of this hassle...

/rant over

 

[Ockie]

Wish i saw this sure i asked the consultant but it seems she forgot... will go in again tomorrow and fix this


Honestly. Capitec has a really nice set up...never done FNB before but holy balls was the set up leaps and bounds ahead of my local (sub) Standard Bank branch.

Tried to log onto my Standard Bank account tonight and guess what... Its decided to reactivate my OTP :/ so i get an OTP and then put it in... and nada...
went onto my cellphone banking to transfer the funds to my new Capitec account... parrently the branch code is incorrect now :/ WTF is wrong with Standard Bank? Think im going to get my Salary put straight into Capitec and get rid of this hassle...

/rant over

Sorry you did not see my post and have to go back to have it activated.

Ja, my salary also just goes into my Capitec account. I actually have a old Standbard Bank bank card still linked to one of those free accounts where you can only draw money in the branch or something. Think I will close it today. One less card to keep in my wallet

 

[Flidiot]

Actually wish I saw this thread earlier...

I have been with both FNB and Capitec. Granted, I am not a student and I do transact often.

Both banks are fantastic. I never had a days trouble with Capitec - they also have a few more branches than way back when, so the fact that some things have to be done in branch is not as much of a PITA as it used to be.

For me, Capitec was actually just more expensive. Some months I would pay either just under or just over R100 in banking fees (debit orders, SMS fees etc.) so Capitec started working out quite a bit in a month.

I now have a Platinum Cheque account with FNB (+-R130 pm) BUT on a slow month I get about 800 eBucks back - that's R80, which technically brings my fees down to R50pm. For unlimited DO's/EFT's etc.

One snag though is that if you aren't earning a salary which warrants going on one of their cheque account offerings, you are going to have to howl at the moon (as Ockie said) and occasionally sacrifice a small animal to earn eBucks.

My advice, stick it out with Capitec for a while. Get a feeling for how you transact and keep an eye on the fees you are being charged. If they are low and stay low, great! Otherwise you really can't go wrong switching to one of the basic cheque account offerings - don't jump straight into Gold though. Start small and upgrade if/when needed.

 

[ichigo]

Hi guys,

I'm currently with Standard Bank and as of late ive been having loads of issues.

Started with my card being swallowed randomly, then not being able to do fixed deposits, then not being able to do once off payments and also having constant issues with prepaid electricity...

So im thinking of opening a second account elsewhere and balancing between the 2 (and possibly switching over for good)

So the question is which one is better?

Mostly doing online payments (efts) occasionally use standard banks app on my phone/tablet. looking into doing international purchases online (so mastercard/visa is a must)

Im just looking for a simple debit/savings account... still a student just BTW

What are your opinions/suggestions?

Capitec Global One Savings account wins the fight easily.

With R5 per month monthly fee and you can use the gold mastercard on paypal and with online purchasing with no extra cost. You don't get charged for receiving money or getting sms' and the cellphone banking app works well.

Swiping your card at till points is also free too and the only thing you get charged for is depositing cash into your account which is under R1 per R100 less than other banks.

Also a plus side is that you don't need the stupid forms to deposit cash, all you give is your card and the cash and put in your pin code then it's instantly in your account.

oh and you don't have stupid queues you just get a tab for deposit etc. and wait on the chair till they call your number. Only takes me 5 mins to do my stuff in their as it is always nice and quiet.