Purpose of This Comparison
This tool is designed to help entry-level banking customers compare the cost of everyday banking services. It focuses on accounts that do not require a minimum amount to open and are widely accessible. All fees listed are based on publicly available data from the respective banks' websites as of March 2026.
Fee Breakdown for Banks
Follow the steps and examples that explains how to utilise the
Interactive Bank Fee Table below, please scroll down.
Step 1: Consider first what bank services you use or would like to use on a monthly basis.
Example:
Monthly Fee, Cash Send, ATM Withdrawal, EFT to Other Bank
Step 2:
Consider
how many of each transaction you normally do or would like to do - write these down.
Example:
1 x Monthly Fee
2 x Cash Send
1 x ATM Withdrawal
3 x EFT to Other Bank
Step 3:
For each transaction, write
how much that transaction costs.
Example: assuming that you bank with ABSA:
Monthly Fee is R7.50
Cash Send is R10
ATM Withdrawal is R10
EFT to Other Bank is R10
Step 4:
Calculate the total amount it will cost to do
all of the transactions = Transaction x number of transactions x cost.
Example:
Bank Fee Table
Interacting with the table:
1. The table compares all the services of the banks by default
2. To compare all the services of one or more banks to another do the following:
2.1 Press CTRL and click on the banks you want to compare
3. To compare the different services, click on the services tabs.
Explanation of Services -
Monthly Fee: Fixed cost to maintain the account.
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SMS Notification: Alerts for transactions or account activity.
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Cash Send: Sending money to others, who often don't have their own bank account.
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ATM/POS Deposit: Fee per R1000 deposited at ATMs or till points.
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ATM Withdrawal: Fee per R1000 withdrawn.
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Card Swipe: Charges for using your card at stores.
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Funds Transfer (Same Bank): Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) to accounts in the same bank.
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Funds Transfer (Other Bank): EFT to an account at a different bank.
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PayShap: Instant transfer using a cell phone number (ShapID) or bank account details
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Immediate Payment: Real-time EFT to another bank account.
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External Debit Order: Automatic monthly payments for bills or loans.
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Prepaid Airtime/Electricity: Mobile and utility purchases via banking app.
Hypothetical Monthly Transaction Basket
The table below shows how much it would cost a customer to use their bank for a complete range of basic banking services:
Monthly Costs (including monthly fee) per bank based on the above basket
Disclaimer
Data for the financial comparisons (day-to-day banking) is sourced from financial institutions’ public websites and is correct as of 12 March 2026.
The content provided is for information purposes. The content may not be used in a commercial context or for commercial purposes.
Nothing in this section is intended to be, or should be construed as:
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An invitation, offer or inducement to you or any other person to engage in investment activity, or to enter into any type of financial arrangement.
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Advice on the merits of, or a recommendation in relation to, any product or product provider.
The results from our basket are estimates only and may differ slightly from some financial institutions, as consumers may transact differently.
