On the face area than me, there are just 3 good reasons one would ‘upgrade’ with a private account: the ‘status’ or ‘prestige’ of flashing a black/titanium card, the actual of experiencing an authentic ‘dedicated’ private banker (in other words, personalised service) and the means to access airport lounges.
Status is significant, especially among younger customers who are generally enamoured via the idea of a black plastic card, but who should not always be repaying around R300 monthly for your banking account. Banks have slowly dropped salary requirements for these particular forms of accounts, and even when they remain in existence in marketing material, they can be quietly waived.
But, apart from the travel benefits (we’ll make it happen in just a moment), a passionate private banker who ‘owns your banking’ and who you can contact for virtually any request or issue is maybe the major reason customers choose private banking. Banks have found out the right way to scale the very thought of ‘relationship banking’, an anachronism from a bygone era.
Comparing the offerings in the different banks on these vectors is actually difficult. Especially since price surely doesn’t enter into the equation. Fees each month (for bundled accounts) hover inside R400 range: from R325 to R465 over the eight options. Service is highly subjective and, during this level, is frequently finer quality than what you’d endure in branches and call centres. Your ‘dedicated’ banker is ‘shared’ across many hundreds of customers. Plus, can there be really any difference in ‘prestige’ between one private banking accounts and the other?
One could debate that truly the only useful comparison is around the actual utility based on the bundled airport lounge access. Bidvest Premier lounges have long been things as they are in South Africa and access is bundled with nearly all private savings accounts. The Slow Lounge, created by Comair together with RMB/FNB, upended this market and possesses been a firm differentiator for the FirstRand Group’s private banking offerings. However, when using the direct link to the group’s eBucks rewards programme, visits could be limited. Investec cardholders can easily access SAA lounges free of charge.
Absa
Bidvest Premier: No charge
DragonPass (inherited from Barclays, and other to the Priority Pass programme, with entry to over 800 lounges worldwide): First six visits 12 months free, thereafter R160 (domestic/R300 (international)
FNB Private Clients
Slow Lounge: 6/12/36/48 unlimited visits per season, dependent upon eBucks Reward Level
FNB Private Wealth (effectively what we should know as RMB Private Banking, but an FNB logo): ?????????? Slow Lounge or?Bidvest Premier: 12/24/48 unlimited visits per year, relying on eBucks Reward Level
Priority Pass international lounge visits: 0-12 per annum, determined by eBucks Reward Level
Investec
Bidvest Premier: No charge
SAA Lounges: No charge
Nedbank
Bidvest Premier: No charge
RMB Private Banking
Slow Lounge or?Bidvest Premier: 12/24/48 unlimited visits per year, dependent on eBucks Reward Level
Priority Pass international lounge visits: 0-12 every year, reliant on eBucks Reward Level
Standard Bank: Bidvest Premier + selected other lounges (including over 600 worldwide): 15 free visits per quarter, provided minimum of R15 000 is spent per quarter on Diners Club card
If you’ll need a decent degree of access to Slow Lounges, you’ll need to (get a banker to) work out how eBucks rewards levels work and expend effort to keep up these. Many would consider that these lounges simply aren’t like the Premier lounges, so that the effort is likely to be more than worth it. For frequent domestic travellers who aren’t keen to concern yourself rewards levels, Investec’s account is among the cheapest (even climax the highest priced) because the SAA lounge access. Over and above lounge access, most private banking accounts offer getting some travel (and ‘lifestyle’) concierge service too.
Per-transaction pricing on a great number of private banking accounts is undoubtedly strange, with Absa and Standard Bank somehow intent on charging over R1 per prepaid airtime top-up! Nedbank and Standard also charge a monthly fee for any overdraft facility, despite these being so-called ‘bundled’ accounts. Some people charge for replacement cards! Investec, given its insufficient a branch and ATM footprint (it has partnered with Absa), provides the most transactions at ‘no charge’. At R300-plus per thirty days for private banking accounts, surely banks could bundle any and all transactions and stop with all the absurd ad-hoc charges?
| ? |
Absa |
FNB |
Investec |
|
| ? |
Excecller |
Private Clients |
Private Wealth |
Private Banking Platinum |
| ? |
No clear requirement |
R750,000 p.a. |
R1.5 million p.a. |
No clear requirement |
|
Monthly fee |
R399 |
R365 |
R4193 |
R465 |
|
Monthly fee to url to rewards programme |
Included |
Included |
Included |
Included |
|
Monthly fee for credit card |
Included |
Included |
Included |
Included |
|
Monthly fee for overdraft |
Included |
Included |
Included |
Included |
|
Cash withdrawal (Own ATM) |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
N/A |
|
Cash withdrawal (Other ATM) |
No charge |
R7 + R1.85/R100 |
No charge |
No charge |
|
Cash withdrawal (Point of Sale) |
R3,95 |
No charge |
No charge |
N/A |
|
Cash deposit (Automated deposit own ATM) |
No charge |
Free approximately R20,000 |
Free about R20,000 |
N/A |
|
Purchase/Swipe (Pos) |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
|
Account payment (Own ATM) |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
N/A |
|
Account payment (online/mobile) |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
|
Inter-account transfer (electronic) |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
|
Internal debit order |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
|
External debit order |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
|
Cash send (ATM) |
No charge |
R9,95 |
No charge |
R25 |
|
Cash send (online/mobile) |
R7,95 + R1,35/R100 |
R9,95 |
No charge |
R25 |
|
Balance enquiry (Own ATM) |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
N/A |
|
Prepaid airtime top-up (electronic channels) |
R1,15 |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
|
Declined transaction (insufficient funds) |
R5,50 |
R8,50 (free at ATM) |
No charge |
No charge |
|
Dishonoured/returned payment |
R501 |
R552 |
No charge |
R130 |
|
Debit card replacement |
R120 |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge4 |
1 First 3 per 12 months, thereafter R150
2 First 3 per 1 year, thereafter R145
3 Rebate if balance that has reached over R100,000 is maintained
4 R210 if card is replaced more often than once in two-year cycle
| ? |
Nedbank |
RMB |
Standard Bank |
|
| ? |
Private Wealth Platinum |
Private Banking (Bundled) |
Private Banking |
Signature Banking |
| ? |
R1.5 million p.a. |
R1.5 million p.a. |
R696,000 p.a. |
R1.A million p.a. |
|
Monthly fee |
R384 |
R4196 |
R325 |
R425 |
|
Monthly fee to backlink to rewards programme |
Included |
Included |
R20 |
R20 |
|
Monthly fee for credit card |
Included |
Included |
Diners Club included |
Diners Club + World Citizen Mastercard included |
|
Monthly fee for overdraft |
R45 |
Included |
R68,40 |
R68,40 |
|
Cash withdrawal (Own ATM) |
No charge |
No charge |
8 per thirty days, thereafter R1,80/R100 |
8 per month, thereafter R1,80/R100 |
|
Cash withdrawal (Other ATM) |
R11,50 + R1,40/R100 |
No charge |
R6,70 + R1,80/R100 |
R6,70 + R1,80/R100 |
|
Cash withdrawal (Pos) |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
|
Cash deposit (Automated deposit own ATM) |
No charge |
Free up to R20,000 |
3 per month, thereafter R1,80/R100 |
3 monthly, thereafter R1,80/R100 |
|
Purchase/Swipe (Point of Sale) |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
|
Account payment (Own ATM) |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
|
Account payment (online/mobile) |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
|
Inter-account transfer (electronic) |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
|
Internal debit order |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
|
External debit order |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
|
Cash send (ATM) |
R6 (R14 over R1000) |
No charge |
R9,957 |
R9,957 |
|
Cash send (online/mobile) |
R6 (R14 over R1000) |
No charge |
R9,957 |
R9,957 |
|
Balance enquiry (Own ATM) |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
No charge |
|
Prepaid airtime top-up (electronic channels) |
No charge |
No charge |
R1,10 |
R1,10 |
|
Declined transaction (insufficient funds) |
R5 |
No charge |
R7,90 |
R7,90 |
|
Dishonoured/returned payment |
R1105 |
No charge |
R115 |
R115 |
|
Debit card replacement |
No charge |
No charge |
R130 |
R130 |
5 First 3 per Year, thereafter R140
6 Rebate if balance of more than R100 000 is maintained
7 Via InstantMoney
?* Hilton Tarrant works at immedia. He could still be contacted at hilton@moneyweb.co.za.
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