Survey highlights popular SA banking products

 ·18 Jul 2013
Absa Standard Bank Capitec FNB Nedbank banking bank

Capitec, FNB and Nedbank bank accounts are the most popular with South African consumers, according to a recent survey.

Research conducted by financial product comparison site, ThinkMoney, found that Capitec, FNB and Nedbank accounts are the most popular, both in terms of the number of reviews and a high average rating.

The findings were as a result of 7,000 bank account reviews written by ThinkMoney users, who were able to rate bank accounts out of a maximum score of 5 according to the following criteria: service, telephone banking, value for money, fee structure, integrity and Internet banking.

The outright leader in terms of overall ratings was the Capitec Global One Card, which scored an average of 4.4 out of 5. This account was also voted as offering the best value for money, scoring 4.6 out of 5, ThinkMoney said.

The site pointed to the account’s low monthly charge (R4.50 per month), making it highly affordable to most consumers. Capitec, it added is also focused on keeping banking simple, and this is reflected in its rating for “service”, for which it scored an average of 4.2 out of 5.

FNB’s Gold Cheque Account received 654 reviews and an average rating of 4.1 out of 5. The FNB Smart Cheque Account received 575 reviews, although its average rating was lower, at 3.8 out of 5.

The Nedbank Current Account also received a large number of reviews (536), but scored a lower average rating of 3.4 out of 5, ThinkMoney said.

The financial services comparison site stressed that, although other bank accounts – including those offered by Investec Private Banking and RMB Private Banking – scored higher than Capitec, FNB and Nedbank, many of these are only available to a smaller group of individuals such as high earners.

CEO of ThinkMoney, Gareth Mountain, said: “Capitec has an aggressive growth strategy, while FNB focuses on delivering excellent above-the-line marketing campaigns. These strategies have both obviously been very successful and are reflected in the opinions of ThinkMoney users.

“Those with a Capitec account also like to vocalise that they have taken the leap from ‘the traditional banks’ and are very satisfied with the service and fee structure.”

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