If you’re a low-income earner you’re probably concerned about transaction costs and monthly fees eating up your hard-earned money compared to getting benefits.
That said, in this comparative guide, I compared 9 bank accounts that have low or no monthly fees and more importantly low transaction costs because after all, that’s where the bulk of your charges will usually come from.
| Bank Account: | Monthly Maintenance Fee: | Minimum Account Balance: | Transaction Fees Compared: | Learn More: |
| African Bank My World Account | R0 | R0 | R14.40 | VIEW |
| Capitec Global One Account | R5 | R25 | R20.60 | VIEW |
| FNB Easy Pay As You Go Account | R4.95 | R0 | R20 | VIEW |
| Bank Zero Account | R0 | R0 | R21 | VIEW |
| TymeDigital Account | R0 | R0 | R21 | VIEW |
| Old Mutual Money Account | R4.95 | R25 | R21.90 | VIEW |
| Standard Bank Access Account | R5.80 | R20 | R21.45 | VIEW |
| Absa Transact Account | R4.90 | R20 | R23.10 | VIEW |
| Nedbank PAYU Account | R0 | R0 | R27.15 | VIEW |
Monthly Maintenance Fee
Just as a general rule of thumb, the more savings you’re willing to keep in your account the more likely the bank will waiver the monthly maintenance fee.
That said, I searched for banks with the cheapest fee but just try to remember that most of your fees will come from transaction costs, so if you had to choose, choose the bank with the lowest transaction fees.
Transactions costs
Nothing worse than getting unexpected steep transaction costs. To help you avoid going through that stress, I laid out some more important and commonly used transactions so that you can get an idea of which bank is cheaper, and how much you’ll pay in transactions per month.
IMPORTANT: When transacting, always use automated methods and avoid using manual transaction methods. The more manual the process the more expensive it’s going to be. If you’re not sure what I mean, here’s an example:
- Use EFT when sending or receiving money instead of bank cheques. Cheques are notoriously expensive. To give you an idea; Absa prosperity account charges R75 to cash a cheque, and only R10 to so an EFT.
- Draw money through a till point (point of sale) or an ATM. Avoid drawing money from the branch itself. Using the same example as above, Absa prosperity account charges R75 to draw money from the branch, compared to only R2 if you draw money from an ATM or a till point.
Now I’m just using Absa as an example here, but this holds true for all bank accounts. The more manual the transaction, the more you’ll get charged. So just following these tips alone will drastically reduce your transaction costs.
Right, now that you know how to transact with a bank as cheap as possible, now it’s time to dive into the different banking options with the lowest fees.
01. African Bank My World Account
Monthly account maintenance fee: R0
Minimum account balance: R0
Transaction fees
The table below shows African Bank fees. I’ve included a “total” row so that you can easily compare it to all other banks.
| Transaction: | Fee: |
| Purchases card machine | R0 |
| Payment to African Bank account EFT | R0 |
| Payment to another bank EFT | R0 |
| Cash withdrawal at till point (PnP/Shoprite/Checkers/Boxer) | R2 per R1000 |
| Cash withdrawal African Bank ATM | R6 per R1000 |
| Cash withdrawal Other ATM | R6 per R1000 |
| SMS notifications | R0.40 |
| Total Fees: | R14.40 |
Learn more about this bank account here.
02. Capitec Global One Account
Monthly account maintenance fee: R5.00
Minimum account balance: R25
Transaction fees
The table below shows Capitec Global One fees. I’ve included a “total” row so that you can easily compare it to all other banks.
| Transaction: | Fee: |
| Purchases card machine | R0 |
| Payment to another bank EFT | R1 |
| Payment to Capitec account EFT | R1 |
| Cash withdrawal at till point (PnP/Shoprite/Checkers/Boxer) | R1.20 |
| Cash withdrawal Capitec ATM | R8 per R1000 |
| Cash withdrawal Other ATM | R9 per R1000 |
| SMS notifications | R0.40 |
| Total Fees: | R20.60 |
Learn more about this bank account here.
03. FNB Easy Pay As You Go Account
Monthly account maintenance fee: R4.95
Minimum account balance: R0
Transaction fees
The table below shows FNB Easy fees. I’ve included a “total” row so that you can easily compare it to all other banks.
| Transaction: | Fee: |
| Purchases card machine | R0 |
| Payment to FNB Easy account EFT | R0 |
| Payment to another bank EFT | R0 |
| Cash withdrawal at till point (PnP/Shoprite/Checkers/Boxer) | R0 |
| Cash withdrawal FNB Easy ATM | R8 per R1000 |
| Cash withdrawal Other ATM | R12 per R1000 |
| SMS notifications | R0 |
| Total Fees: | R20 |
Learn more about this bank account here.
04. Bank Zero Account
Monthly account maintenance fee: R0
Minimum account balance: R0
Transaction fees
The table below shows Bank Zero fees. I’ve included a “total” row so that you can easily compare it to all other banks.
| Transaction: | Fee: |
| Purchases card machine | R0 |
| Payment to Bank Zero account EFT | R0 |
| Payment to another bank EFT | R8.50 |
| Cash withdrawal at till point (PnP/Shoprite/Checkers/Boxer) | R2 |
| Cash withdrawal Bank Zero ATM | R9 per R1000 |
| Cash withdrawal Other ATM | R9 per R1000 |
| SMS notifications | R1.50 |
| Total Fees: | R21 |
Learn more about this bank account here.
05. TymeDigital Account
Monthly account maintenance fee: R0
Minimum account balance: R0
Transaction fees
The table below shows TymeDigital fees. I’ve included a “total” row so that you can easily compare it to all other banks.
| Transaction: | Fee: |
| Purchases card machine | R0 |
| Payment to TymeDigital account EFT | R0 |
| Payment to another bank EFT | R0 |
| Cash withdrawal at till point (PnP/Shoprite/Checkers/Boxer) | R3 |
| Cash withdrawal TymeDigital ATM | R9 per R1000 |
| Cash withdrawal Other ATM | R9 per R1000 |
| SMS notifications | R0 |
| Total Fees: | R21 |
Learn more about this bank account here.
06. Old Mutual Money Account
Monthly account maintenance fee: R4.95
Minimum account balance: R25
Transaction fees
The table below shows Capitec Global One fees. I’ve included a “total” row so that you can easily compare it to all other banks.
| Transaction: | Fee: |
| Purchases card machine | R0 |
| Payment to Old Mutual account EFT | R0 |
| Payment to another bank EFT | R1.20 |
| Cash withdrawal at till point (PnP/Shoprite/Checkers/Boxer) | R1.20 |
| Cash withdrawal Old Mutual ATM | R7.50 per R1000 |
| Cash withdrawal Other ATM | R11.50 per R1000 |
| SMS notifications | R0.50 |
| Total Fees: | R21.90 |
Learn more about this bank account here.
07. Standard Bank Access
Monthly account maintenance fee: R5.80
Minimum account balance: R20
Transaction fees
The table below shows Standard Bank Access fees. I’ve included a “total” row so that you can easily compare it to all other banks.
| Transaction: | Fee: |
| Purchases card machine | R0 |
| Payment to Standard Bank Access account EFT | R1.20 |
| Payment to another bank EFT | R0 |
| Cash withdrawal at till point (PnP/Shoprite/Checkers/Boxer) | R1.40 |
| Cash withdrawal Standard Bank Access ATM | R7.50 per R1000 |
| Cash withdrawal Other ATM | R10.00 per R1000 |
| SMS notifications | R1.35 |
| Total Fees: | R21.45 |
Learn more about this bank account here.
08. Absa Transact Account
Monthly account maintenance fee: R4.90
Minimum account balance: R20
Transaction fees
The table below shows Absa Transact fees. I’ve included a “total” row so that you can easily compare it to all other banks.
| Transaction: | Fee: |
| Purchases card machine | R0 |
| Payment to Absa Transact account EFT | R0 |
| Payment to another bank EFT | R3.50 |
| Cash withdrawal at till point (PnP/Shoprite/Checkers/Boxer) | R1 |
| Cash withdrawal Absa Transact ATM | R6.50 per R1000 |
| Cash withdrawal Other ATM | R11.50 per R1000 |
| SMS notifications | R0.60 |
| Total Fees: | R23.10 |
Learn more about this bank account here.
09. Nedbank PAYU Account
Monthly account maintenance fee: R0
Minimum account balance: R0
Transaction fees
The table below shows Nedbank PAYU fees. I’ve included a “total” row so that you can easily compare it to all other banks.
| Transaction: | Fee: |
| Purchases card machine | R0 |
| Payment to Nedbank PAYU account EFT | R0 |
| Payment to another bank EFT | R5.50 |
| Cash withdrawal at till point (PnP/Shoprite/Checkers/Boxer) | R2 |
| Cash withdrawal Nedbank PAYU ATM | R8 per R1000 |
| Cash withdrawal Other ATM | R10.50 per R1000 |
| SMS notifications | R1.15 |
| Total Fees: | R27.15 |