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Banking

How banking works in South Africa

A bank takes deposits and makes payments. A brand, a payments app and a registered bank are not always the same firm.

Reviewed 29 October 2026 by the WiT Money editorial team. This is general information, not a recommendation from a named adviser.

Key points

  • Only a registered bank takes deposits under the Banks Act.
  • A transactional account is for paying. A savings or notice account is for keeping money.
  • The interest rate on a small balance can be wiped out by the monthly fee.

A registered bank holds your deposits and moves money through the national payment system. The Prudential Authority, inside the Reserve Bank, supervises the bank's safety. The Financial Sector Conduct Authority looks at how customers are treated. A fintech app can sit in front of a bank. The name on the advert is not automatically the bank that holds the deposit.

A transactional account is the one your salary lands in and your debit orders leave from. A savings account, a notice deposit and a fixed deposit are for money you are not spending this week. Credit on a card is a loan, not a deposit. The savings guide explains CODI. This page is about how the account works.

Choosing an account

Write down a normal month: salary in, debit orders, card purchases, cash deposits and immediate payments. Then price that month from the fee guide. A bundled account can be cheaper if you do everything inside the bundle, and more expensive if you do not. Pay-as-you-use is the reverse. The bank-fee calculator adds only the fees you type.

Interest

Interest on a deposit may be nominal or effective, and it may be paid monthly or at maturity. A nominal rate compounded monthly is not the same rand outcome as the same rate paid once. Use the savings or fixed-deposit calculator with the rate on the product sheet. Do not treat a 'from' rate as the rate on your balance.

Students, pensioners and joint accounts

Some banks price youth and pensioner accounts differently. The discount is in that bank's guide, not in a national rule this page can print. A joint account means both people can usually transact. It also means both are exposed to the other person's debit orders. Read who must sign, and what happens if one person dies.

Questions readers ask

Is every digital wallet a bank?

No. Ask which registered bank holds the money, or whether the balance is not a deposit at all.

Related

Sources

Page updated 29 October 2026. A source date is the day WiT Money checked that page, not a promise the institution has not changed it since.