Banking23.01.2023

Capitec beats Absa, FNB, Standard Bank in online banking fees comparison

South-African-banks-Nedbank-Absa-Capitec-Standard-Bank-FNB-2019

Capitec’s GlobalOne transactional account has the most affordable online banking fees across the major South African banks, a MyBroadband analysis has revealed.

Gone are the days of physically visiting a bank branch to make payments, get statements, and dispute debit orders, with all of South Africa’s major banks offering these services and more online and via their apps.

We compared the online banking fees of Absa Gold, Capitec GlobalOne, First National Bank (FNB) Aspire, Nedbank Savvy Plus, and Standard Bank MyMo Plus accounts for various transactions and processes.

Capitec’s GlobalOne transactional account has the lowest monthly account fee — and by some margin — at R6.50 per month.

In comparison, the Absa Gold, Nedbank Savvy Plus, and Standard Bank MyMo Plus accounts carry a monthly management fee of R115.00 a month. FNB’s monthly fee for its Aspire account is R105.00.

FNB and Capitec are the cheapest when it comes to immediate payments, with FNB charging R7.00 and the latter charging R7.50 per transaction.

Absa, Nedbank, and Standard Bank all charge R10.00 per immediate payment up to a threshold. However, these thresholds differ from bank to bank.

For instance, Absa charges R10.00 for immediate payments up to R1,000. It charges customers R49.00 to transfer larger sums instantly.

Nedbank’s threshold is R3,000, over which it charges R49.00, while Standard Bank’s threshold is set at R2,000. Larger transactions cost customers R50.00 each.

All the banks listed let customers dispute debit orders online and through their apps for R5.00, assuming it’s done within a specific time frame.

It should be noted that Capitec is the only bank in the comparison that charges its customers per debit order. The bank charges R3.50 per debit order

A debit order to another Capitec account costs R1.00, while customers will pay R1.50 per debit order for other banks.

All the banks listed let customers access statements online and through their apps free of charge.

For an indicative monthly cost of using each account, we created a group of transactions and services often used by banking customers.

This group consisted of the following:

  • Five payments
  • One instant payment of R1,000
  • One debit order dispute
  • Three prepaid airtime purchases
  • Monthly fee

On Capitec, the basket costs R28.00 a month — significantly less than the other banks included in the comparison.

However, it should be noted that most of the savings revolve around Capitec’s much lower monthly maintenance fee. The basket price could increase substantially with multiple debit orders.

Absa’s Gold and Nedbank’s Savvy Plus accounts both worked out to R134.50 for the basket, while FNB’s Aspire and Standard Bank’s MyMo Plus accounts were slightly lower at R117.00 and R130.00, respectively.

Online banking fees for Absa Gold, Capitec GlobalOne, FNB Aspire, Nedbank Savvy Plus, and Standard Bank MyMo Plus accounts are compared in the table below.

Online banking fee comparison
Fee Absa Gold Capitec GlobalOne FNB Aspire Nedbank Savvy Plus Standard Bank MyMo Plus
Monthly fee R115.00 R6.50 R105.00 R115.00 R115.00
EFTs No charge R1.00 (to Capitec account);
R1.50 (to other banks)
No charge No charge No charge
Debit orders No charge R3.50 No charge No charge No charge
Instant payments Up to R1,000: R10.00; over R1,000: R49.00 R7.50 R7.00 Up to R3,000: R10.00; Over R3,000: R49.00 Up to R2,000: R10.00; Over R2,000: R50.00
Online statements No charge No charge No charge No charge No charge
Debit order dispute R5.00 R5.00 R5.00 R5.00 R5.00
Currency conversion 2.75% of transaction value R1.00 for transactions under R200; R3.00 for transactions over R200 2% of transaction value 2% of transaction value 2.75% of transaction value
Top-ups R1.50 R0.50 No charge R1.50 No charge
Basket cost R134.50 R28.00 R117.00 R134.50 R130.00

Now read: South African digital banking battle

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