A while back when I was buying a car, I posted about Standard Bank’s ridiculous charges for car finance. Their charges for everything else are equally ridiculous. I noticed that they were recently placed at number two hundred and something in the Forbe’s global top companies list (up from five hundred something). I can tell you why they are so high up the list, it’s because they charge ridiculous fees to use your money.
I’ve been with Standard Bank for many years (15 or so) and I have a basic achiever account, nothing fancy (I’m just a poor boy from a poor family). The minimum monthly fee is R57, internet banking is R22, which is nearly R80 a month for nothing. If you actually have to transact, you’re in bigger trouble. Withdrawing R1000 from a Standard Bank ATM will cost R14. I don’t even want to talk about the cost of making payments as my blood is starting to boil. To add insult to injury,you earn no interest on your current account!
I’ve decided to leave Standard Bank and move to Capitec. Monthly account admin fee is R4, to withdraw R1000 from ANY ATM is R6.50 (or R1 if you use a Capitec ATM) and internet banking is free. All the other account charges are equally reasonable and you earn 10% interest on your current account balance.
I opened my account on the weekend, it took about an hour and everything seems to be in order. I plan to close my Standard Bank account next month and will let you know how everything goes.
UPDATE:
It is now 4 and a half years later and I am very happy I made the move. Over this time I have saved at least R5,500 in bank fees and have had no hassles. The Capitec bank fees have gone up marginally and the interest rate is about 5% now, but my interest on my current account more than covers my fees for the month.
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