Top 10 Cheapest Business Accounts In South Africa (2023)

What makes a good business bank account? The mind of a small business owner is occupied with the survival of his business. That means he has to constantly find ways to make his business profitable and efficient- reduce waste of money. A good small business and cheapest business account in South Africa should enable the businessman to hold large sums of money, disburse the money in a timely and accountable manner: cheques, online transfers, ATMs, and so on.

A good business account for a small business owner should also afford him the opportunity to make said disbursements without incurring too many costs: yes, the withdrawals should be extremely cheap. You can disburse money all you want, but if you do not do it accountably you will most likely spend yourself in financial crises. Therefore, a good account for small businesses must steadily provide your account balance and history in a timely manner. That will also help you audit your finances, and avoid unauthorized withdrawals.

Small businessmen/women want the cheapest business accounts in South Africa with the same treatment as their larger counterparts: a good relationship with their bankers, and quick access to credit facilities.  

Top 10 Cheapest Business Accounts In South Africa

1. FNB Easy Account Smart

The FNB Easy Account can be a great option for small businessmen. There are actually two variants of this FNB Account: they are the Easy Smart Option, and then the Pay-As-You-Use option. We will treat them separately because they are indeed unique in their own ways. 

The FNB Easy Account Smart is very easy to open and is packed with benefits and goodies. The account only charges a monthly fee of R59 per month and offers the advantage of issuing cheques which can come in handy to send employees to make purchases or even for paying your employees. Furthermore, the FNB easy account smart takes advantage of technology to make things cheaper for you. We will highlight below:

You get all payment notifications at no extra charge. 

You can withdraw or deposit from R1 to R2 000 per month at any FNB ATM at no charge.

You can make unlimited card swipes at no extra charge. 

Communication is central to good business; the bank gives you 300 MB of data, 30 voice minutes and 30 SMSs on your FNB Connect SIM. Interestingly, you also get an extra 300 MB when you spend up to R51 or more on your FNB Connect SIM each month. 

You also get to enjoy additional benefits such as:

You can get free R50 in eBucks at Checkers, Shoprite, Usave, Clicks or Intercape

You can decide to pay your monthly account fee with eBucks instead of deductions from your account.

2. FNB Easy Account Payu

FNB Easy Account PayU is a pay-as-you-use account. That means if you don’t use it, then you don’t pay. This is a business account that would be attractive to the businessman who is looking to put money aside for some future use. With this account, the only real payment you make is an R4.95 per month service charge for maintenance of your account.

You get unlimited card swipes at no extra fees or charges.

You can purchase airtime and data purchases on the FNB App and perform online banking transactions at no extra cost to you.

Receive notifications at no extra fees or charges.

Use your black Easy debit card for groceries and get cash at Shoprite, Checkers, Pick ‘n Pay, Boxer and selected Spar & Usave stores at no extra fees or charges.

You can get rewarded with weekly grocery coupons when you buy from Shoprite/Checkers/ Usave

Keep in mind that the best thing this account can do for you is saved. Therefore, no unnecessary spending.

3. Discovery Bank Transaction Account

Many small business owners no doubt find the Discovery Gold account very attractive because it is one of the cheque accounts in South Africa with low fees and extended benefits. Many readers may find this unbelievable, especially because Discovery has so many high-end products designed for people with a lot of money to spend. However, you will find it interesting that the bank has this option with some of its fees quite low. Please find them below.

With this account, you pay a monthly account fee of R5.

You get automatic membership to Vitality and pay a monthly premium of R5.

For cash withdrawals at local ATMs, you only pay R4.50 + 1.5% of the withdrawal amount.

For each cash withdrawal at the local point-of-sale, you pay R2.

For each cash withdrawal at an international ATM, you pay R65.

Point-of-sale swipes, both local and international are Free.

Balance enquiries at ATMs are Free of charge. 

Payment notifications are Free of charge. 

4. Standard bank’s Access Account

Access account from Standard bank is next on our list. This is another cheque account, that can be tailor-made for the small businessman who needs to disburse money efficiently to run a business without running up the costs. This bank account is attractive because of its low fees and ease of use.

In fact, the account does not require you to make regular deposits. The account comes with an R5.80 monthly fee.

With this account, you also get access to instant money and prepaid top-up for free. This account also entitles you to UCount rewards and R25 airtime or 250MB data free, every month from Standard bank mobile. 

However, this bank account type does not offer overdraft facilities.

5. Old Mutual Money Account

The Money Account from Old Mutual is a cheque account that can serve very well for a small businessman. However, this account is a rather unique account because it combines the attributes of cheques and savings account. With this account, you pay a monthly administration fee of R4.95.

Money account charges R40.40 per 12 outbound transactions, so depending on the volume of your withdrawals you can potentially make some good savings with this account. This could be one of the better choices for those who want to be conservative about their savings.

The Money Account from Old Mutual comes with a card, and you get free card swipes.

You get free access to online and mobile banking. 

You get access to your savings at any time. 

You get free notifications.

6. ABSA Transact Debit

People who are just starting out in life and in business may find the ABSA Transact account convenient for their needs because it does not charge much in fees, and does not require a huge flow of money. As a matter of fact, this account was created for young people just coming up: who may be making below R3000 per month and may even not even make any income in some months.

A minimum balance of R20.00 has to be kept on the account to keep it active.

The account monthly fee is just R4.90 per month.  

With this account, you can borrow funds with the overdraft feature.

You can use the mobile banking app.  

You get free card swipes.

You get free balance enquiries, as well as SMS or email notifications.

7. Capitec bank Global One Account

The Capitec Bank’s Global One account is another entry-level cheque account that gives you all the convenience of a business account without weighing you down with huge fees and charges. This account gives you all the freedom to pay your workers or make purchases with cheques, also the convenience of making purchases using cards both online and at POS. This cheque account is a pay as you use an account and you are billed as you transact.

 With this account, you pay just R13.33 for every 12 transactions. Depending on the volume of your transactions you are potentially going to make some huge savings.

You can use mobile, internet and app banking services. 

They can make online purchases with this card at third party websites.

You get free card swipes and point of sale purchases.

8. Nedbank Ke Yona Bundle Account

The Nedbank Ke Yona Bundle Account is ideal for those small business owners who want to be able to issue cheques, and still want to control the expenses of their banking by knowing exactly how much the bank will charge them every month. The account comes with unlimited transactions so you can keep paying and spending, and at the end of the day, you will not need to spend more on bank charges.

The monthly fee on the account is R49.00, which is a maintenance fee.

You can access the mobile app, mobile and internet banking for free.

You get unlimited card swipes for free.

Free account balance checks at ATMs.

You get free notifications. 

9. TymeBank Everyday Account

Tymebank everyday account which some people also call the Tyme bank savings account can serve as a great small business account because it enables you to save money, or disburse it through cheques for the effective running of your business.

Despite being a cheque account this account charges you R0.00 monthly as maintenance fees.

SMS notifications are free

Cash deposits up to R5000.00 per month are free

You get to do online shopping completely free of charge. 

You can use your TymeBank card to make purchases online at any store.

You get benefits such as smart shopper points when you pay or swipe at Pick ‘n Pay. 

You can make free cash withdrawals at Pick’n Pay and boxer

10. Nedbank pay-as-you-use-account

The Nedbank pay as you use account is another very good option from Nedbank which is aimed at those customers who prefer pay for their services immediately, rather than having their money deducted at the end of the month even when they do not make any transactions. This is a cheque account and it will be attractive to those who have a lot of disbursements to make each month.

 There is a zero maintenance fee for this account.

You get free unlimited card swipes, debit and stop orders and annual fees. 

Bbalance enquiries on self-service channels are free.

Related:

• FNB Cheque Account Fees
• FNB Business Account Requirements
• Types Of Bank Accounts In South Africa

Conclusion

Technology is fast evolving, and as such having huge amounts of money before operating cheque accounts is now a thing of the past. This is because the start-up and small business owners cannot be left outside the banking system if the economy is to move forward, so they need the cheapest business accounts in South Africa. With many of these cheque accounts being pay as you use, there is a lot of consideration to be made as to whether your spending patterns make them suitable for you.