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BL Premium reports that according to the Solidarity Research Institute (SRI), banks are now more affordable, and their pricing structures are “more aligned” as the overall competitiveness of the sector has improved since the beginning of 2025.
This is across all four transaction profiles. The 2025 Bank Charges Report released on Thursday found that banks were becoming more competitive, making it easier for consumers to determine exactly what they would pay for transactions. The report focused on the Big Five lenders, namely Absa, FNB, Standard Bank, Nedbank and Capitec, and included TymeBank and Bank Zero in the online category. Absa was ranked the cheapest bank in the low-income or basic needs category this year. Theuns du Buisson, economic researcher at the SRI, said the report showed a significant change in the manner in which instant transfers were made between the accounts of different banks. The PayShap transfer feature allowed free transfers to almost all banks for transactions valued at less than R100 if the customer has a ShapID. For the middle class, the study was conducted based on customer profiles with 25 transactions per month, focusing on accounts marketed to people with appropriate incomes and more sophisticated banking needs. The SRI report found that this market was highly competitive, with banks offering various incentives such as loyalty programmes and associated credit cards. “Capitec is the cheapest at R107.50 [a month] but for only R2.50 more Nedbank’s MiGoals Plus account offers significantly more added value and is regarded as the most cost-effective option in this segment,” Du Buisson indicated. In the higher middle class banking segment, for which 30 transactions per month were considered, added value and reward programmes played a bigger role than pure costs. The report found Nedbank’s MiGoals Premium account to be the most cost-effective at R240 a month, with FNB’s Fusion Premier and Absa’s Ultimate Plus strong competitors.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Noxolo Majavu at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
- Access the full SRI 2025 Bank Charges Report here
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page