Comparative banking
After having been a client of Std Bank for 19 years I finally had enough of the ridiculous bank fees that I was paying (R185 flat fee) and moved to Nedbank (R65 for the same thing and an annual saving of R1440!). The process was a lot easier than I had anticip
ated and is something that I should have done years ago.
I did quite a bit of shopping around and apart from Capitec Bank, Nedbank was the cheapest option that I could find. They offer a flat fee of R65 per month for what appears to be unlimited transacting on a current account. I dont get a cheque book and I dont get any paper statements (big deal). The best that Std Bank could offer was R87 and then it was not unlimited transacting. At the time, FNB’s option was R79 pm and ABSA had nothing to offer in that price range.
So I moved to Nedbank and so far so good, except for internet banking.
I am in the fortunate position to be able to compare all of the major banks’ internet banking offerings. I have used Std Bank for years (and still use it for a business account), I am now using Nedbank and I do internet banking for 2 ABSA clients and 1 FNB client.
Sadly, Nedbank is the worst. It seems their site was developed when computers were developed – it is archaic, restrcitive and not very user friendly. ABSA and Std Bank are good and pretty user friendly but I think that from an internet banking experience, FNB has got to be tops. It feels good, looks good and it is easy to use! You appear to be able to do just about anything.
For example you can set up a monthly payment to someone else with no end date. At Std Bank you can load it for 12 months at a time while at Nedbank you can only do it 1 month at a time – still need to get used to that but am hoping too that they will “get with it” soon!
All of the internet offerings have similar secuirty levels to log in (FNB only requires a user name and password) but all of them require you to enter a one-time password to add or amend beneficiaries. Nedbank has a very frustrating “terms and conditions” page which you need to accept each time you log in. I guess the danger is that you get so used to it that you dont read it and miss them making changes to it…let the banker beware!
One very concerning feature about ABSA internet banking is the amount of “phishing” that I am subject to. Each time I use their internet banking I get an email the next day advising me that there has been “unusual” activity on my account and that I need to login in to sort out some or other details – it is quite clearly a scam but what is very worrying is that “they” know that I have been on the ABSA site.
All in all I am still happy at Nedbank and will give it a few more months. What this whole experience has taught me is that it is a mission to move bank accounts, but not nearly as much of a mission as we think and not even close to what the banks would have us believe. If you are not getting the service and fees you think you should then vote with your feet – it is the only way that the banks will take notice.
That’s all for now!
Gregg