Standard Bank and Nedbank fraud warning
Standard Bank and Nedbank have both warned South Africans to stay alert this Black Friday amid the rise in scams.
Black Friday, which falls today, 28 November 2025, is arguably the most significant retail day of the year.
With many South Africans continuing to face cost pressures, Black Friday offers many cheaper prices for essentials and luxuries that they would not normally splurge on.
The day also offers low prices for those who prefer to complete their Christmas shopping early.
However, Dr Belinda Rathogwa, Head of Digital & eCommerce at Standard Bank, warned that Black Friday is a busy time and scams rise during this period.
Rathogwa shared the following tips for South Africans to avoid scams this festive season:
- Keep your PIN and passwords private
- Shop on trusted sites
- Avoid public Wi-Fi when paying
- Look out for fake links and fake websites
- Use your virtual card to pay online
- Don’t approve payments that you did not initiate
Standard Bank is not the only ‘Big Four’ bank to highlight the potential risks facing consumers in the nation, with Nedbank also highlighting the dangers.
Nedbank also highlighted the following ways that its clients can protect themselves against scammers.
- Never share your banking login or card details over the phone or via links in emails or messages.
- Read banking notifications carefully and report suspicious activity.
- Use virtual cards for 1-time payments and cancel them after use.
- Report lost/stolen devices or fraudulent
- Research unfamiliar retailers and read reviews before making a purchase.
- Be cautious of ‘too good to be true’ deals – verify them through official channels.
Set for a strong Black Friday
Discovery Bank client spending behaviour for November 2025, month-to-date, compared to the same period in 2023 and 2024, with the belief that the trend will continue in the future.
Transaction volumes are already ahead of both 2023 and 2024, with the average number of transactions per client for the month-to-date in November 2025 being 5% higher than in 2024 and 13% higher than in 2023.
The average spend per client for November 2025, month-to-date, is 3% higher than in 2024.
Long-standing in-store merchants remain stable in our rankings year after year, with no significant changes in the top positions based on transaction volumes.
Online, the leading merchants are broadly the same names, but there are early signs of reshuffling in the rankings – particularly increased use of international platforms.
This points to a more globalised online shopping basket, even as everyday in-store spending habits remain anchored to familiar local brands.
Discovery Bank is also tracking real-time spending, which has already shown strong Black Friday activity.
By 5:00 am, Discovery had said that its clients had already spent on average R872 on Black Friday deals.
Those in Joburg were spending the most, sitting at R965 compared to Cape Town’s R906 and Durban’s R880.
One Discovery Bank client spent just under R100,000 in a single transaction in the early hours of this morning.
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