South Africa has a well-organised banking sector, as a matter of fact, you’ll get some of the most vibrant African commercial banks in South Africa with most of the major banks located in the towns and major cities like Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria with the aim of boosting financial stability across the nation.
With the steady economy, you’ll discover that South Africa is such an inexpensive destination for tourists, a real value for your money when you go visiting there.
South African commercial banks are able to offer favourable exchange rates for many international currencies whether you are changing from rand to dollars, dollars to rand; rand to pounds; pounds to rand or any other currencies such as Japanese Yen or Mexican Pesos.
All transactions are usually rounded down to the nearest 5c. Commercial banks in South Africa are world-class and will always meet your needs, with no shortage of bureaux de change and automatic tellers machines (ATM).
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To a very large extent, South Africa’s banking system is well-developed. In fact, it has a strong resemblance with that of the United States and has three key elements. These elements include; The South African Reserve Bank (the country’s central bank), Mutual banks, and Private sector banks (which comprise commercial banks, merchant banks, and general banks).
The responsibility of the Reserve Bank of South Africa include:
- Ensuring that the South African money, banking and financial system as a whole is sound, meets the requirements of the community and keeps abreast of international developments.
- Implementation of macroeconomic policy.
Informing the South African community and all stakeholders abroad about monetary policy and the South African economic situation. - Assisting the South African government, as well as other members of the economic community of southern Africa, with data relevant to the formulation.
In Africa, South African banks occupy the first six places among the top 100 banks, with ABSA (Amalgamated Bank of South Africa, now owned by Barclays PLC), FirstRand Bank, Standard Bank of South Africa, and Nedbank collectively accounting for around 85% of banking services in the country.
Interestingly, South African banks cannot be said to be ‘over-banked’, as approximately 9,500 persons patronize one branch. Most banks in the country notably offer a comprehensive range of products and services with the help of extensive and sophisticated branch and electronic banking infrastructures.
Here is a List of Top 50+ Commercial Banks in South Africa
Foreign-Controlled Banks in South Africa
- Absa Bank Limited
- Albaraka Bank Limited
- Habib Overseas Bank Limited
- Habib Bank AG Zurich
- Mercantile Bank Limited
- South African Bank of Athens Limited
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Locally Controlled Commercial Banks in South Africa
- African Bank Limited
- Bidvest Bank Limited
- Capitec Bank Limited
- FirstRand Bank – A subsidiary of First Rand Limited
- Grindrod Limited
- Imperial Bank South Africa
- Investec Bank Limited
- Nedbank Limited
- Sasfin Bank Limited
- Teba Bank Limited
- Standard Bank of South Africa
Foreign Bank Representatives in South Africa
- AfrAsia Bank Limited
- Banco Africano de Investimentos
- Banco BPI SA
- Banco Espirito Santo e Comercial de Lisboa
- Banco Santander Totta S.A.
- Bank Leumi Le-Israel BM
- Bank of America
- Bank of Cyprus Group
- Bank of India
- Barclays Bank Plc
- Barclays Private Clients International Limited
- Commerzbank AG Johannesburg
- Credit Suisse AG
- Ecobank
- Export-Import Bank of India
- Fairbairn Private Bank (Isle of Man) Limited
- Fairbairn Private Bank (Jersey) Limited
- First Bank of Nigeria
- First City Monument Bank Plc
- Hellenic Bank Public Company Limited
- HSBC Bank International Limited
- ICICI Bank Limited
- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
- KfW Ipex-Bank GmbH
- Lloyds TSB Offshore Limited
- Mauritius Commercial Bank Limited
- Millennium BCP
- National Bank of Egypt
- NATIXIS
- Royal Bank of Scotland International Limited
- Société Générale
- Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
- The Bank of New York Mellon
- The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Limited
- The Export-Import Bank of China
- The Royal Bank of Scotland N.V.
- UBS AG
- Unicredit Bank AG
- Union Bank of Nigeria Plc
- Wells Fargo Bank
- Zenith Bank Plc
Branches of Foreign Commercial Banks in South Africa
- Bank of Baroda
- Bank of China
- Bank of Taiwan
- BNP Paribas
- Calyon Corporate and Investment Bank
- China Construction Bank Corporation
- Citibank N.A.
- Deutsche Bank AG
- JPMorgan Chase Bank
- Société Générale
- Standard Chartered Bank
- State Bank of India
- Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation
- Royal Bank of Scotland
- Wittelsbach Princely Trust Bank
Co-operative Banks in South Africa
- Ditsobotla Primary Savings and Credit Co-operative Bank
- OSK Koöperatiewe Bank Beperk
Mutual Banks in South Africa
- GBS Mutual Bank
- VBS Mutual Bank
- Finbond Mutual Bank
- Bank Zero
Other Banks
- Development Bank of Southern Africa
- Land and Agricultural Development Bank of South Africa
- Postbank