After three
and a half years of unbelievably poor service with our bank account at Standard
Bank — it took 99 days to open the account —
we finally took the risk and applied for an alternative bank account at FNB.
To be fair, it's naturally more difficult to open a bank account as a non-resident
than as a resident — which we are now.
However, even after being handed over from the
Standard Bank Non-Resident Department to the regular Customer Department, nothing
changed.
The fraud department repeatedly blocked our account “for security reasons” —
most recently after an instant transfer of just 500 ZAR (about 25 euros).
It seems we have been lost in their (bad) system and procedures.
As mentioned
before:
It took 99 days to get an account at Standard Bank —
compared to 66 days to buy a holiday home in South Africa.
So naturally,
we were concerned about how long the process with FNB might take.
We asked
about the procedures for opening a new account at FNB and tried to get the
local branch “prepared” in advance.
They did not even understand what we meant by "preparation."
Their answer:
“Just pop in and open an account. Bring your ID and
documents.”
We shared
our long story, and eventually received an email contact for an FNB employee in
Hermanus who offered to support us through the process.
He asked whether we wanted to go through the quick procedure at the branch or
do everything from home in Struisbaai.
We were skeptical but asked for a home meeting.
As promised,
the bank employee arrived at our holiday resort and we started our meeting in
the backyard — to show that we indeed have a property
and only need a savings account.
We presented our passport, retired visa (which makes us residents), and a
municipal statement as a proof of address.
Within one hour, I had my new bank account number.
Honestly, we couldn’t believe it. I even asked to test the new account
with a transfer from my old Standard Bank account,
just to be sure it wasn’t fake (just kidding). I transferred a small amount to
the new account — and then back to Standard Bank.
Instant transfer — real-time confirmation. Everything worked perfectly.
We were then informed that we could pick up the new debit card
(with the cardholder’s name on it,
needed for online banking) at the local FNB branch in Bredasdorp.
Minutes later, we received several confirmation emails — including the pickup
instructions for the debit card the following week.
We did not
expect this smooth and flawless process. We were genuinely happy.
And? No "but"s.
FNB’s online
banking apps are very professional.
If you need help with a new process, the help center provides clear and useful
responses.
For us, that
means periodic transfers from a foreign account, which must
be declared (to comply with anti–money laundering regulations).
We were able to establish an almost automatic confirmation process, so
funds arrive without delay.
With Standard Bank, this process was long-winded and confusing — with no
helpful answers at all in the beginning.
Everything is working well.
This level of service quality would be hard to find even at many banks in
Austria.
THANK YOU, FNB.
Yes — the good
stories are often short.
Feedbeack
welcome at franz.reinisch@maint.at
Link to the
detailed Standard
Bank Memo (draft version)
To be published at:
·
maint.at