How the cheapest bank in SA stacks up against the rest

Cape Town - Capitec Bank is generally the cheapest bank for the needs of most people, despite strong competition from other banks, according to Solidarity's 2016 Bank Charges Report.

As a result of strong competition in the basic bank account market, all four major South African banks are now keeping the cost of the accounts relatively low, according to Paul Joubert, senior researcher at the Solidarity Research Institute.

“Therefore, all Capitec’s big competitors are now imitating Capitec’s low cost account model,” he said.

He said unlike in the past, even Nedbank, with its new Pay-As-You-Use account, now also competes well with the cheaper accounts offered by Capitec, Absa, FNB and Standard Bank.