This year’s Bank Charges Report by the Solidarity Research Institute, its ninth report, may give you a sense of déjà vu. The themes, if not the results, have remained the same for the past four years: competition among banks for consumers in the low-income segment of the market, thanks to Capitec, which is generally the cheapest option for a large segment of the population; the continued demise of pay-as-you-use options on accounts aimed at consumers in the middle-income market; and the value derived from belonging to a loyalty programme offered by a bank, which could offset some of the costs of transactional banking. Until 2015, the report was very much a Capitec story, with the newbie a clear front-runner based on fees alone. That was before FNB and Absa began snapping at Capitec’s heels, with their Easy and Transact accounts, respectively. Standard Bank’s Access account on the pay-as-you-transact option was not far behind. This year, for the first time, an outsider — Old Mutual B...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.