How Bank Zero’s prices stack up against Discovery Bank and TymeBank

Bank Zero has published its pricing guide for its individual and business customers, revealing how much users will be charged for their banking activities.

Bank Zero only offers one account type, stating it does not believe in the practice of luring customers in with an entry-level account that has limited functionality.

It claims it is the first bank in South Africa to charge nothing for both EFT payments and debit orders, and noted that it is free to open an account, maintain your account, swipe your card, make a transfer, and make payments to other Bank Zero customers.

The bank will compete with other digital-focused banking products from Discovery Bank and TymeBank, both of which have already been available for some time.

TymeBank is the most similar to Bank Zero – focusing on low monthly fees and cashless functionality – while Discovery Bank’s products are aimed at higher-end customers and include rewards programmes and Discovery Vitality integration.

Banking fees compared

Using the pricing guide published by Bank Zero, we compared account fees charged by Bank Zero and TymeBank with those of Discovery Bank’s cheapest Gold account below.

Note that Discovery Bank’s Gold account is significantly more expensive, but includes a number of features lacked by the other banks’ accounts, such as credit facilities, rewards integration, and international transactions.

Fees that are not comparable are omitted from the table below and are listed for each bank separately below the basic fee comparison.

Bank Zero

Bank Zero is currently live in a beta stage, and customers who are selected for the beta may sign up through the Bank Zero app for Android and iOS.

Bank Zero offers a number of free services, the full list of which can be found in its pricing guide.

It does, however, charge for third-party services such as using its SendMoney tool, which is priced at R8.50 per transaction except for when you send money to a Bank Zero recipient, which is free.

There is certain fee information which is not listed in the bank’s pricing guide, such as the fee for depositing cash into a Bank Zero account at an ATM.

Bank Zero charges for the following value-added services:

TymeBank

TymeBank offers a single personal banking account – called its EveryDay Account – designed around accessibility and affordability.

The bank charges customers no monthly fees, account initiation fee, card issuing fees or card usage fees.

It also offers a SendMoney feature which lets users transfer funds to other via their South African cellphone number, as well as a TymeCoach App that gives users free access to their credit score and tops to help customers make better financial decisions.

The EveryDay Account includes a GoalSave saving tool which allows users to create up to 10 different savings account and earn up to 7% interest.

The full list of TymeBank charges is shown below.

Discovery Bank

Discovery Bank offers four accounts with the following income requirements:

• Gold – Less than R350,000 per year
• Platinum – From R350,000 to R850,000 per year
• Black – From R850,000 to R2.5 million per year
• Purple – More than R2.5 million per year

The bank offers unlimited free savings accounts and access to a number of value-added features and rewards programmes.

These include Vitality Money and Discovery Miles, the former of which incurs a monthly charge of R35.

Vitality Money lets customers benefit from dynamic interest rates, control their financial behaviours, and receive financial activity coaching through the Discovery app.

Discovery Bank customers can also earn Discovery Miles through spending at partnered stores and connecting their Vitality Active Rewards account with their bank account.

Discovery Miles can be redeemed for shopping vouchers, airtime, or electricity, and they can be exchanged for cash.

Discovery Bank also offers Transaction Accounts with lower monthly fees. These accounts operate on a pay-as-you-transact model and are detailed on the Discovery Bank website.

For its Discovery Gold account, the bank charges the following unique fees:

• Monthly Vitality Money premium – R35
• Monthly single credit facility fee – R60
• Discovery Instant Pay (real-time payments) – R10
• Cash deposits at Pick n Pay and Boxer stores – R19.95 per R5,000

Now read: Bank Zero reveals account pricing and details