24,847
Accounts Analyzed
โ 47% from Q4
R2.4B
Total Fees Tracked
R97 per user average
73%
Don't Understand Their Fees
"What is 'admin fee'?"
WORST BANKS FOR HIDDEN FEES
| Rank |
Bank |
Avg Monthly Fees |
Hidden Fees Found |
Yacht Index |
User Complaints |
| 1 |
๐ฆ
Standard Bank
|
R189 |
R112 hidden |
๐๐๐๐๐ |
2,847 complaints |
| 2 |
๐ฆ
Absa
|
R167 |
R94 hidden |
๐๐๐๐ |
2,102 complaints |
| 3 |
๐ฆ
FNB
|
R145 |
R89 hidden |
๐๐๐๐ |
1,934 complaints |
| 4 |
๐ฆ
Nedbank
|
R134 |
R67 hidden |
๐๐๐ |
1,456 complaints |
| 5 |
๐ฆ
Discovery Bank
|
R99 |
R47 hidden |
๐๐ |
892 complaints |
| 6 |
๐ฆ
TymeBank
|
R25 |
R12 hidden |
๐ |
234 complaints |
| 7 |
๐ฆ
Capitec
|
R0 |
R0 hidden |
๐ |
87 complaints |
TOP 3 WORST OFFENDERS
"I paid R189 in fees last month. When I asked what for, they said 'admin'. Admin of WHAT?"
Monthly admin fee
R99
Payment notification fee
R5 per SMS
Card swipes (50x)
R75
R112 in fees users didn't expect
"They charged me R150 to close my account. To leave. They wanted money for leaving."
Monthly fee
R110
Account closure fee
R150
International receiving
R125
73% of users surprised by at least one fee
"They increased my fees 'due to inflation'. My salary didn't increase 'due to inflation'."
Monthly fee
R95
eWallet payments
R8 each
Paper statement
R15
R89 in hidden fees average
THE YACHT INDEX
How much of your fees are funding the CEO's lifestyle? We track executive pay vs fee increases.
๐
Level 1
Fees fund snacks
๐๐
Level 2
Fees fund bonuses
๐๐๐
Level 3
Fees fund company cars
๐๐๐๐
Level 4
Fees fund a yacht
๐๐๐๐๐
Level 5
Fees fund a FLEET of yachts
Standard Bank CEO pay R42M + 23% fee increase
๐๐๐๐๐
Absa CEO pay R38M + 18% fee increase
๐๐๐๐
Capitec CEO pay R15M + 0% fee increase
๐
PUBLISHES THURSDAY 8AM
This report will be sent to every major news outlet in South Africa.
Standard Bank, Absa, FNB โ your banks appear in the top 3 worst positions.
Partnership Program
What partners receive:
- โ
Private quarterly reports with user feedback
- โ
Early warnings on potential fee backlash
- โ
Custom data insights not public
- โ
Partners receive these instead of appearing in public rankings
*Why partners are excluded: They're paying for private insights. Public rankings are for non-partner banks. This keeps public data focused where it's needed most.
R250,000
per quarter ยท 12-month minimum
Request Information โ
I'm sandtonstreets, one person building this. If you're a bank, email me directly: southafricanapp@outlook.com
* Partnership program available to all banks equally. I do not accept payments for editorial control. Rankings are based solely on user data. Partners pay for private insights, not for favorable treatment.
© 2026 sandtonstreets. All rights reserved.
DISCLAIMER: This document contains aggregated, anonymized data voluntarily provided by users. All figures are estimates based on user-submitted information and publicly available fee schedules. I do not provide financial advice. Rankings are for informational purposes only. "Hidden fees" refers to fees users reported not expecting โ not legal or regulatory non-compliance. The "Yacht Index" is a satirical metric and should not be construed as factual evidence of executive misconduct.
No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission. For inquiries: southafricanapp@outlook.com