Thursday, April 01, 2010

Which bank has the lowest fees?

I wrote about this in a comment on one of the articles on this site, but I've decided it warranted a whole post instead.
I've been in the UK for the last couple of years, and only recently got back. And I just used the bank that I was using before I left when I got back. And that's FNB. But I've since noticed that my bank charges are R300-R400 per month. And I'm earning almost no interest. Even my 32-day notice account only earns 4% per annum.

So, I've decided to look at the various options.
Standard Bank : Looks just as bad
Nedbank : Looks worse!
ABSA : Very confusing to work out what you charges will be

But I see that two new banks have emerged.

Capitec seems truly amazing. Their fees are really, really low. Their Saswitch fees are only R7.50. No matter how much you withdraw. And to make it even better, you earn 7% interest per annum on your regular cheque/current account. I suspect I would earn more in interest that I would pay in bank charges.

And then there is BidVest Bank. Their fees are capped at R55. If this includes Saswitch fees, then this is truly amazing. Their interest on the cheque/current account is 4% which is quite a bit lower than with Capitec. However, their fixed deposits range up to 8%, which is great.

The last problem I have is this. I want one card that I can use to pay for goods, preferably with a pin code, pay for petrol and use online to purchase items. FNB doesn't allow you to pay for petrol (That requires their Debit Card) and buy online (That requires their Cheque Card) with the same card. Does anyone know if Capitec or BidVest offer a card that can?

Please let me know your thoughts on these two new banks.

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