South Africa’s cheapest bank accounts: Capitec vs the rest

Capitec has announced its new fees for 2019, bringing price cuts almost across the board as it positions itself in a new digital banking age – and to compete with several new entry-level accounts.
While banks offer different value propositions, one of the main criteria consumers look at when it comes to choosing who to bank with, is cost.
Capitec’s rapid growth over the past decade, and more has been driven primarily through its simplified approach to banking – offering one account with fixed fees – which undercut the pricey and often complicated pricing structures of its competitors.
The bank’s approach forced the likes of Absa, FNB, Standard Bank and Nedbank to respond with entry-level accounts of their own – a market segment that had long been neglected in favour of the more lucrative middle-market ‘gold’ accounts.
More banks have entered into Capitec’s space of late, with Old Mutual launching its Money Account, and Bidvest Bank moving into transactional banking with its GROW Account.
African Bank, meanwhile, has announced that it will launch its re-entry into transactional banking with its MyWORLD account set for the first half of 2019.
BusinessTech looks at the basic fee structures of all the entry-level bank accounts, and how they compare to Capitec’s new fees for 2019. The banks are ordered from lowest monthly fee, to highest.
Capitec’s new fees kick in from 1 March 2019.
Old Mutual Money Account | 2017/18 Fees | R500 transaction in 2017/18 | 2018/19 Fees | R500 transaction in 2018/19 | % Change from 2017/18 to 2018/19 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Withdrawal (Native) | – | – | R6.50 | R6.50 | – |
Withdrawal (Other) | R8.50 | R8.50 | R8.50 | R8.50 | – |
Withdrawal (POS) | R2.50 | R2.50 | R1.50 | R1.50 | -40.0% |
Deposit (ATM) | R7.00 | R7.00 | R7.50 | R7.50 | +7.1% |
Monthly account fee (PAYT) | R4.50 | R4.50 | – |
You can view the Old Mutual Money Account fee schedule for 2018/19 here.
Capitec Global One | 2018/19 Fees | R500 transaction in 2018/19 | 2019/20 Fees | R500 transaction in 2019/20 | % Change |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Withdrawal (Native) | R6.50 | R6.50 | R6.00 / R1 000 | R6.00 | -7.7% |
Withdrawal (Other) | R8.75 | R8.75 | R8.00 | R8.00 | -8.6% |
Withdrawal (POS) | R1.60 | R1.60 | R1.00 | R1.00 | -37.5% |
Deposit (ATM) | 95c / R100 | R4.50 | R1.00 / R100 | R5.00 | +11.1% |
Monthly account fee (PAYT) | R5.75 | R5.00 | -13.0% |
You can review Capitec’s full 2019/20 pricing here.
Absa Transact Account | 2018 Fees (15% VAT) |
R500 transaction in 2018 | 2019 Fees | R500 transaction in 2019 | % Change from 2018 to 2019 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Withdrawal (Native) | R6.05 | R6.05 | R6.50 | R6.50 | +7.4% |
Withdrawal (Other) | R12.11 | R12.11 | R10.50 + R1.50 / R100 | R18.00 | +48.6% |
Withdrawal (POS) | R1.31 | R1.31 | R1.60 | R1.60 | +22.1% |
Deposit (ATM) | R4.54 + R1.41 / R100 | R11.59 | R4.50 + R1.50 / R100 | R12.00 | +3.5% |
Monthly account fee (PAYT) | R4.99 | R5.30 | +6.2% |
Absa’s full 2019 pricing can be found here.
Nedbank PAYU Account | 2018 Fees (15% VAT) |
R500 transaction in 2018 | 2019 Fees | R500 transaction in 2019 | % Change from 2018 to 2019 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Withdrawal (Native) | R6.50 | R6.50 | R7.00 | R7.00 | +7.7% |
Withdrawal (Other) | R8.00 + R1.51 / R100 | R15.55 | R8.00 + R2.00 / R100 | R18.00 | +15.8% |
Withdrawal (POS) | R2.00 | R2.00 | R2.00 | R2.00 | – |
Deposit (Intelligent depositor ATM) | R1.00 / R100 | R5.00 | R1.00 / R100 | R5.00 | – |
Monthly account fee (PAYT) | R5.50 | R5.50 | – |
Nedbank’s PAYU 2019 pricing can be found here.
Standard Bank Access Account | 2018 Fees (15% VAT) |
R500 transaction in 2018 | 2019 Fees | R500 transaction in 2019 | % Change from 2018 to 2019 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Withdrawal (Native) | R1.82 / R100 | R9.10 | R1.85 / R100 | R9.25 | +1.6% |
Withdrawal (Other) | R8.07 + R1.82 / R100 | R17.80 | R9.00 + R1.85 / R100 | R18.25 | +2.5% |
Withdrawal (POS) | R1.82 | R1.82 | R1.40 | R1.40 | -23.1% |
Deposit (ATM) | R1.61 / R100 | R8.05 | R1.65 / R100 | R8.25 | +2.5% |
Monthly account fee (PAYT) | R5.30 | R5.60 | +5.7% |
Standard Bank’s full Access 2019 pricing can be found here.
FNB Easy Account | 2017/18 Fees | R500 transaction in 2017/18 | 2018/19 Fees | R500 transaction in 2018/19 | % Change from 2017/18 to 2018/19 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Withdrawal (Native) | R1.85 / R100 | R9.25 | R1.90 / R100 | R9.50 | +2.7% |
Withdrawal (Other) | R8.00 + R1.85 / R100 | R17.25 | R9.00 + R1.90 / R100 | R18.50 | +7.2% |
Withdrawal (POS) | R1.40 | R1.40 | R1.60 | R1.60 | +14.3% |
Deposit (ATM) | R0.90 / R100 | R4.50 | R0.95 / R100 | R4.75 | +5.6% |
Monthly account fee (PAYT) | R5.25 | R5.75 | +9.5% |
You can find FNB’s Easy 2018/19 pricing guide here.
Bidvest Bank Grow Account (PAYT) | 2017/18 Fees (Transact) |
R500 transaction in 2017/18 | 2018/19 Fees (Grow) |
R500 transaction in 2018/19 | % Change from 2017/18 to 2018/19 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Withdrawal (Native) | R5.50 | R5.50 | R6.00 | R6.00 | +9.0% |
Withdrawal (Other) | R9.60 + R1.40/R100 | R16.60 | R6.00 + R1.40/R100 | R13.00 | -21.7% |
Withdrawal (POS) | R4.00 | R4.00 | R5.00 | R5.00 | +25.0% |
Deposit (Branch) | 0.80% of value | R4.00 | 0.80% of value | R4.00 | – |
Monthly account fee (PAYT) | R22.00 | R6.00 | -72.7% |
You can view the Bidvest Bank Grow fee schedule for 2019 here.