“What do you think about some of the banks that offer high interest rates such as Finbond that guarantees their investments? Finbond has a banking license just like Capitec and it appears that they offer up to 9.5% on fixed deposits,” writes...
The most popular bank accounts
Maya Fisher-FrenchJul 23, 2013
In recent ThinkMoney research, Capitec, FNB and Nedbank were revealed as the leading consumer bank accounts in South Africa. This was according to nearly 7 000 bank account reviews written by Thinkmoney users, who voted Capitec, FNB and Nedbank...
Capitec Bank is South Africa’s fourth largest bank for main accounts
Maya Fisher-FrenchMay 8, 2013
AMPS results show Capitec has pushed out Nedbank to become the fourth largest bank in terms of the number of people using Capitec for their main account. According to a press release issued by Capitec today, the bank has overtaken Nedbank as South...
The small business banking challenge
Maya Fisher-FrenchApr 19, 2013
It is very difficult for a small business owner to try and compare banking products and understand which bank’s products best meet his needs. So we gave the banks a real example to see who could offer this entrepreneur the best banking package....
Profile of a reckless lending case
Maya Fisher-FrenchMar 19, 2013
Without a proper record of credit, can a provider be responsible for reckless lending asks Maya Fisher-French How does someone get into the position where their debt levels reach 217% of their income and who is responsible? While a desperate...
Group saving bank accounts
Maya Fisher-FrenchJan 13, 2013
If you form an investment club you will still need to have a bank account for the group in order to collect money and pay out withdrawals. Speak to your bank about the best account for your needs. These bank accounts are specifically aimed at...
Tap and pay
Maya Fisher-FrenchJan 11, 2013
Absa recently launched the first fully functioning bank card that enables customers to simply tap and pay for low value items. Building on Absa’s PayPassTM technology which is behind the roll out of the My Citi transit card in Cape Town and the BRT...
Getting your admin in order
Maya Fisher-FrenchOct 16, 2012
While it is very important to keep track of your day to day expenses as well as your longer term financial goals, you also need to ensure that your financial administration is up to date. If you need to urgently get hold of vital paperwork do you...
Money management tools
Maya Fisher-FrenchOct 14, 2012
One thing all financially savvy people have in common is that they have a good handle on their money. They know how much they are worth, what they spend each month and where their money is going. They have savings goals and they understand their...
A bank for children and their grandparents
Maya Fisher-FrenchJun 26, 2012
Bidvest Bank’s offering is perfect both for the young and old. Grandparents often want to open a bank account for their grandchildren to encourage them to save. The problem with many existing products is that there is always a monthly bank fee that...

Previous Articles
The power of the debit order
May 18, 2012
A monthly debit order is undoubtedly one of the most powerful investment tools. It creates a savings discipline as it goes off your account before you have spent your money on consumables. But now studies show that, rand cost averaging, which effectively is what you...
How the banks’ service and products stack up
May 16, 2012
We sent our new City Press intern Liziwe Ndalana to do some field research on opening a bank account. Liziwe’s experience highlights how important service is to us as customers. Liziwe was so impressed with Absa’s service she was nearly convinced to switch banks,...
Banking wars are good for your pocket
Apr 3, 2012
A banking price war is under way and is doing more to drive down bank fees than any government regulation could ever hope to achieve. Recently Standard Bank slashed its banking fees which, it claims, makes its range of transactional accounts amongst the cheapest in...
What do you want from your bank?
Mar 7, 2012
This week I received a survey on what customers want from their banks. The Speak UP Report commissioned by Capitec aims to "draw attention to what people want from their bank and ultimately help give them what they really need". I have to confess that when I read some...
Bank fee comparison is smoke and mirrors
Feb 22, 2012
FNB was the first bank to challenge Capitec in offering a no frills, simple bank account when they launched EasyPlan nearly two years ago. The other banks have followed and are now all aiming to provide low cost banking for under R30 per month. In July last year...
Banking for less than R30
Feb 21, 2012
Absa recently extended Absa Transact in a bid to attract clients looking to pay less to transact and bank smart customers could pay as little as R29.15 in banking fees each month. Absa Transact was introduced in 2010, but has been completely upgraded as a product and...
The best way for your money to travel
Dec 24, 2011
Whenever I land overseas I withdraw some cash at the airport ATM using my credit card. However on my last overseas trip I discovered that my Mastercard was not accepted at the airport’s ATM’s which were all on the Cirrus network. It was a good reminder of the...
Chip and PIN not as safe as you think
Nov 14, 2011
Chip and PIN cards were introduced in order to reduce the level of fraud on credit cards. The argument is that without the PIN your card cannot be used. However many bank customers have found that their cards are still being used fraudulently and the only difference...
EasyPay fights back
Nov 14, 2011
Next week an estimated 180 000 Easy Pay customers will receive an email offering money back rewards on all their EasyPay transactions. This is part of EasyPay’s strategy to restore credibility and regain customers’ confidence after the site was hit by credit card...
Absa taking on EasyPay?
Nov 13, 2011
Last week I wrote an article for Mail&Guardian on how EasyPay is fighting back after banks prevented their customers from using their credit cards to do transactions via EasyPay (see Easy Pay fights back). This was after a crime syndicate used stolen credit card...










