Capitec announces simplified fees for 2018 to help clients to #bankbetter

Francois Viviers, Exec Marketing & Communications at Capitec Bank.

Capitec Bank - South Africa’s most affordable bank - has announced its fees for 2018. Access to remote banking (online and app) remains free with zero-rated data for the app, fees for payments in branch increased marginally to R5.30 per transaction, and the monthly admin fee increased with 25c to R5.75.

Statements and Transfers between own accounts on cell phone and internet banking remain free, while the price of payments on these channels increase marginally for the first time in four years, from R1.50 to R1.60 per transaction. Debit orders increase by 20c, from R3.50 to R3.70, still well below competitor offers. It’s worth noting that this is still about a third of the cost of branch transaction fees – another plus to skipping queues and banking from the couch.

The cash withdrawal fee at tills is R1.60, while cash withdrawals from a Capitec branded ATM now cost R6.50 –All other bank ATM withdrawals now cost R8.75, only R2.25 more than Capitec Bank ATMs. This means clients can use any of the over 30 000 ATMs across the country without fear of excessive fees or penalties. All cash withdrawal fees are flat fees regardless of the amount of money Capitec clients withdraw. This is different from industry practice of ad valorem fees where people pay more when they draw more.

Francois Viviers, Exec Marketing & Communications at Capitec Bank, says that new pricing was kept deliberately simple in order to be as transparent as possible for clients, “We believe that everyone should easily understand what they pay, and what they get. It’s about helping our clients to bank better and thereby capitalise on opportunities to save – like transacting online rather than at a branch or paying with a card rather than cash.”

More than 9.2 million clients banked with Capitec Bank in 2017, with 120,000 new sign-ups each month, on average. The majority of clients – over 5 million – pay under R50 in bank costs each month, and many clients earn more in interest than the fees they pay. Viviers says this is a big factor influencing individuals to switch banks.

“In tough financial times, people seek value for money. This is why Capitec has seen 185 000 new clients this January alone. They don’t pay bundle fees and only pay for the transactions they perform. In addition to low fees, our clients earn at least 5.1 % interest on positive balances from the first rand in their transaction account, and they get 4 free savings plans which they can fix to earn even higher interest. .”

Viviers says that digital banking solutions are playing a significant role in facilitating smart money management. He says that the convenience of transacting on your phone helps people save time and money as app transactions cost clients 33% less than branch transactions. It also has a positive knock-on effect for the branches, “If more of our clients move to transacting online, it frees up capacity in our branches for new credit and banking clients. This facilitates better service delivery.”

New Bank Fees 2018 as of 1 March 2018

Here are the most important fees to know to help you bank better:

R0:

• Pay with your card or shop online worldwide
• Transfer money between your accounts
• Access your accounts on your banking app or internet banking
• Create recurring payments on your app or internet banking

R1.60

• Cash withdrawal at card machine
• Payments and transfers on your app or internet banking

R3.70

• Debit orders

R5.30

• Payments and transfers in branch

R5.75

• Monthly admin fee

R6.50

• Cash withdrawal at Capitec branded ATM

R8.75

• Cash withdrawal at any other ATM in South Africa

For the bank’s full 2018 price list, visit https://www.capitecbank.co.za/global-one/transact/fees