Are you looking to save money and wondering what the best banks in South Africa are? Then, you are on the right path. You might be a new immigrant or a resident of South Africa looking to open a new bank account and finding it difficult to decide on which bank to open the account with, your worries are valid and we are here to make it easier with this article on 10 Best Banks in South Africa- Top Banks in South Africa.
South Africa has one of the largest banking industries in Africa and they continue to dominate the financial sector in Africa. South Africa also has a very large economy. The South African Reserve Bank works with the South African Government to oversee the banking system and protect the value of the South African Rand(R). The Standard Bank, FirstRand Bank, Ned Bank, and Absa are the biggest banks in South Africa contributing about 80% to the banking industry of the country. Typically, the national banks are open for business from 9 am to about 4 pm on Mondays to Fridays, and 8:30 am to noon on Saturdays. These banks usually offer a variety of banking options depending on the type of account you intend to open.
List of 10 Best Banks in South Africa
-
Standard Bank
-
FirstRand Bank
-
Ned Bank
-
Absa Group Limited
-
Investec South Africa
-
Capitec Bank
-
Bidvest Bank
-
Grindrod Bank
-
Sasfin Bank
-
African Bank Limited
Best Banks in South Africa
-
Standard Bank
Standard Bank is a leading financial institution in South Africa that was established about 161 years ago under The Standard Bank of South Africa. The bank provides banking, insurance as well as asset management services to individuals, businesses, and corporations in Africa and beyond. With over 15 million active clients, Standard Bank has built a very strong reputation for delivering operational excellence and maintaining sustainable growth.
Standard Bank provides banking, insurance as well as asset management services to individuals, businesses, and corporations in Africa and beyond. They provide sponsorship and job opportunities for their members. There are various products that the bank offers, including credit cards, debit cards, savings accounts, deposit accounts, current accounts, investment deposits, business mortgages, overdraft loans, insurance solutions, and many more. They are one of the top 10 best banks in South Africa.
Worth: Standard Bank is worth about 142.9 billion dollars in assets and 8.61 billion dollars in revenue.
Minimum Account Opening Price: R250
Number of Employees: 50,451 staff members
Click here to learn more about the standard bank.
-
FirstRand Bank
FirstRand Bank Holding Company started as an investment bank in the 1970s and was finally established in 1998. The bank offers financial services in South Africa. They operate in South Africa as well as other African countries like Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, Lethoso, Tanzania, Mozambique, Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia, the United Kingdom, and India.
FirstRand is known for delivering its promise and has a track record of consistent growth in quality earnings and sustainable returns. They also provide customers with competitive value because of their distinct way of leveraging the most appropriate brand, license, and operating platform. They are committed to building a future of shared prosperity by enriching their customers and employees' lives.
The bank provides investments through its main subsidiaries namely, FirstRand Bank Limited, FirstRand Investment Holdings Proprietary Limited (FREMA), FirstRand International Limited (Guernsey), FirstRand Investment Management Holdings Limited, and FirstRand Insurance Holding Limited.
FirstRand provides corporate and investment banking solutions as well as deposit services, loans, debit, and credit cards.
Worth: FirstRand is worth 132.7 billion dollars in assets and 923 million dollars in profits.
Minimum Account Opening Price: R100
Number of Employees: Approximately 40,000 employees
Click here to learn more about FirstRand Bank Limited.
-
Ned Bank
Ned Bank was founded in 1888 and operates in South Africa, other African countries like Eswatini, Lethoso, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Namibia, Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates.
Ned Bank has various local and foreign subsidiaries, some of which include Syrets Securities Limited, Nedgroup Investment Proprietary Limited, Nedgroup Private Wealth Stockbrokers Proprietary Limited, Dr Holsboer Benefit Fund, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, MBCA Bank Limited, Nedbank(Eswatini), Nedbank(Lethoso), Nedgroup International Holdings Limited and many more.
They provide a wide range of wholesale and retail banking services, insurance management, asset management, and wealth management.
NedBank values include Integrity, Respect, Accountability, Client-driven and People-focused. They have the vision of being the most admired financial service provider in Africa.
Worth: Ned Bank has a total assets of about R1.3 trillion.
Minimum Account Opening Price: They have no minimum price for opening and maintaining an account.
Number of Employees: They have over 30,000 staff members.
Click here to learn more about Ned Bank.
-
Absa Group Limited
Absa Group Limited, popularly known as Absa was originally founded as Amalgamated Banks of South Africa from 1991-2005, later called Barclays Africa Group Limited till 2018, before finally becoming Absa Group Limited. The group provides personal and business banking, corporate and investment banking, wealth and investment management, credit cards, retail banking, private equity, and finally bank assurances. They are currently operating in African countries like Seychelles, Botswana, Tanzania, Zambia, Ghana, Mozambique, Kenya, and Uganda. Their subsidiaries include Absa Bank Limited, Absa Financial Services Limited, Absa Bank Ghana, Absa Bank Kenya, Absa Bank Mauritius, Absa Bank Seychelles, Absa Bank Zambia, Absa Bank Mozambique, Absa Bank Uganda, National Bank of Commerce Limited and Absa Bank of Tanzania.
Absa strives to provide the best experience for their customers and build products and services on their customers' needs and expectations.
Worth: Absa is worth 105.4 billion dollars in assets, 9.7 billion dollars in revenue, and 1.3 billion dollars in profits.
Minimum Account Opening Price: R50
Number of Employees: Over 35,000 employees
Click here to learn more about Absa Group Limited.
-
Investec South Africa
Investec is an international banking and wealth management organization that was established in 1974. They provide major financial services including, private banking, investment banking, capital markets, property activities, wealth management, investment management, corporate, business and institutional banking, and property activities. They provide the best private banking in South Africa. Investec also has a lot of subsidiaries, some of which include, Investec Assets Management Limited, Investec Holdings (Australia) Limited, Investec Asset Finance Limited, Investec Irish Branch, Investec Property Group Holdings Limited, and many others.
They create deep client relationships based on trust and integrity.
Worth: Investec is worth 57,183.8 million pounds in assets.
Minimum Account Opening Price: R100,000
Number of Employees: There are 7,400 staff members.
Click here to learn more about Investec.
-
Capitec Bank
Capitec Bank is a retail bank in South Africa that was founded in 2001. The bank has 850 retail branches and 6.2 million customers. Their key services include Loans, Investment Banking, Savings, Investments, Debit Cards, Credit Cards, and Commercial Banking.
Capitec serves both individuals and businesses but they do not provide business banking for close corporations, companies, partners, or trusts. They are more focused on creating value at low cost for their customers, providing the opportunity for them to pay as they transact and giving the highest interest rates on their deposits. They are one of the largest banks in South Africa. Capitec Bank is very customer oriented and they provide solutions to make the experiences of their customers easy. They have an all-inclusive banking solution called Global One that helps their customers transact, save, insure, and access credit in real-time services are also highly accessible and affordable.
Worth: They are worth R62.945 billion in assets.
Minimum Account Opening Price: Minimum balance of R30 with a maintenance fee of R7.50 monthly
Number of Employees: They have 11,400 staff members.
Click here to learn more about Capitec Bank.
-
Bidvest Bank
Bidvest Bank is a locally controlled business bank that was founded in 1998. They offer a variety of products including Loans, Foreign Exchange, Savings, Private Banking, Debit Cards, Business Banking, Transactional Banking, Private Banking, and Investments. They provide and deliver convenient, secure, and customized solutions to their customers.
The bank has 140 retail banking outlets throughout South Africa. They also focus mainly on meeting the banking requirements of business people that travel and also have a lot of different other options. The bank itself is a subsidiary of its parent company, Bidvest Group Limited. Their main goal is to change how businesses view financial solutions and try to turn every existing opportunity into success.
Worth: The bank is worth about R85.78 billion
Minimum Account Opening Price: R1,000
Number of Employees: Bidvest has over 1000 employees.
Click here to learn more about Bidvest Bank.
-
Grindrod Bank
Grindrod Bank is a locally controlled commercial bank established in 1994. The bank is a subsidiary of Grindrod Limited and it is a financial service provider based on assets. They provide services such as Loans, Investments, Savings, Invoice Discounting, Corporate Finance, and Property. The bank has branch networks in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pretoria and Durban.
Grindrod Bank is a private bank and they ey provide innovative and sustainable solutions that best service their customers' needs. They also provide value, security, and insights to manage clients' assets.
Worth: The bank has a total of over 550 million US dollars in assets.
Minimum Account Opening Price: R50,000
Number of Employees: Grindrod Bank has about 190 employees.
Click here to learn more about Grindrod Bank.
-
Sasfin Bank
Sasfin Bank is a bank controlling company that was established in 1951. They provide services like loans, Savings, Investment, Checking, Credit Cards, and Debit Cards. They are known for providing financial services and products for Businesses and Wealth clients. Their financial products and services focus on the needs of entrepreneurs, institutions, corporations, and high-net-worth individuals. They go above the expected traditional methods of financial services to provide and deliver personalized solutions for their customers.
Sasfin Bank has three major pillars of business, which include Assets Finance, Bank, and Wealth. They have regional offices in eight cities in South Africa. Their values include greatness, integrity, respect, and partnership.
Worth: R529 million
Minimum Account Opening Price: R20,000 and R10,000 for tax-free investments
Number of Employees: Sasfin Bank has approximately 1,000 employees.
Click here to learn more about Sasfin Bank.
-
African Bank Limited
African Bank Limited is a South African retail bank that was founded in 1975. The bank’s major services are Loans, Banking, Savings, Investments, Credit Cards, Debit Cards and Personal Loans.
African Bank allows its clients to borrow, save, invest, and insure. They prioritize the importance of financial freedom and are committed to helping customers stimulate positive change by providing a range of financial products that offer assistance, comfort, and security.
The bank's values include collaboration, transparency, empathy, creativity, and sustainability.
Worth: They have a total of 1.583 billion dollars in assets and 18.81 million dollars in revenue.
Minimum Account Opening Price: R500
Number of Employees: They have 3,886 staff members and 389 branches.
Click here to learn more about African Bank Limited.
Conclusion
South Africa has a lot of financial institutions and is filled with numerous banking options most of which focus on customer satisfaction and providing ease and opportunities to their clients. We hope this article on 10 Best Banks in South Africa- Top Banks in South Africa has helped make up your mind on which banking institution you would like to go with. Thank you for taking the time to read this article.