African Bank’s free account is no longer free
Banking group African Bank has opted to introduce a fixed monthly fee to its previously free MyWORLD Account.
The group announced its fee changes for the account, which will come into effect from 1 October 2023.
Explaining the change in tack for the account, the group said it is steering towards a public listing and planned Initial Public Offering (IPO), which requires the group to maintain financial stability.
It said that it is following a “solidarity pricing” strategy, which will allow it to meet customer needs and affordability while also reducing losses.
“The solidarity approach refers to a wide range of economic activities that aim to prioritise social profitability instead of purely financial profits,” it said.
The group is pushing a drive to reduce losses on cost-intensive channels like ATMs, while concurrently capitalising on the recent integration with Ubank.
“Allied to this thinking is the continued promotion of digital banking and encouraging customer migration to digital platforms such as its App, Online banking, USSD and WhatsApp, while also considering a revised fee structure for specific ATM transactions that will easily be accessed digitally,” it said.
Specifically looking at the introduction of the monthly fee, the bank said it considered different options but settled on a nominal monthly fee of R5.
“While acknowledging the challenges that the small fee adjustment might present to some, the bank remains steadfast in its commitment to delivering unparalleled value,” it said.
Other notable changes include a significant reduction in deposit fees, provided cash deposits are made using an African Bank ATM, and a slight restructuring of withdrawal fees.
Withdrawals from African Bank ATMs have reduced slightly to R9.50 per R1,000 (previously R10 per R1,000), while withdrawals from other ATMs have been adjusted to R10 per R500 (previously R10 per R1,000).
The key transactional changes can be found below:
| African Bank MyWORLD | 2022/23 Fee | R500 Transaction | 2023/24 Fee | R500 Transaction | % Change |
| Withdrawal (Native) | R10.00/R1000 | R10.00 | R9.50/R1000 | R9.50 | -5.0% |
| Withdrawal (Other) | R10.00/R1000 | R10.00 | R10.00/R500 | R10.00 | – |
| Withdrawal (POS) | R2.00 | R2.00 | R2.00 | R2.00 | – |
| Deposit (Native ATM) | R3.50/R100 | R17.50 | R1.50/R100 | R7.50 | -57.1% |
| Debit Order (Inbound) | R3.00 | R4.00 | +33.3% | ||
| Monthly Fee | Free | R5.00 | +R5.00 |
The full pricing guide can be found here.
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