The new bank taking over South Africa

The group confirmed that Capitec has now joined other major retail banks in offering services through its retail network, allowing cash deposits.

“With the addition of Capitec cash deposits at tills, Pick n Pay now empowers all banked customers to deposit cash, withdraw funds, and transfer money instantly at the checkout—making Pick n Pay the most accessible banking point in retail,” the group said.

While retail point of sale cash withdrawals have been part of the picture for some time, Pick n Pay launched more expansive services like cash deposits in 2020.

The service launched with 10 banks on board, and four years later, it managed to bring South Africa’s biggest bank, Capitec, into the fold.

Capited is the country’s biggest bank by customer numbers, servicing about a tihrd of the country’s entire population.

Pick n Pay said its banking sevices now span over 11 financial institutions nationwide. Banking services are available at over 1,400 stores in the retailer’s network.

The compatible banks include:

• African Bank
• Albaraka Bank
• Bidvest Bank
• Capitec Bank (New)
• Discovery Bank
• FNB
• Grindrod Bank
• Nedbank
• TymeBank
• Sasfin Bank
• Standard Bank

The Pick n Pay Group operates over 2,200 stores across Southern Africa under the Pick n Pay and Boxer brands.

This puts its potential ‘bank branch’ network far higher than Capitec, which has the highest number of bank branches at 880.

“Customers can now conveniently take care of their banking at the checkout, with no need for a separate trip or to queue at a bank or automated teller machine (ATM),” it said.

“Deposits are secure and reflect in the customer’s account within minutes. The simplicity of the process requires no app, special onboarding process, or bank account, making Pick n Pay’s cashpoint banking solution one of the most accessible in the country.”

Pick n Pay said that its partnerships with South African banks are a major benefit to the banks themselves, coming at a time when branch and ATM networks are declining.

With the exception of Capitec, banks have been cutting down the number of physical points of presence over the past decade.

Over the past five years, the number of ATMs operated by four South African banks declined by 8,345.

Due to of the high maintenance costs, security, and limited reach of ATMs, banks are turning to strategic partnerships with retailers like Pick n Pay to expand their footprint more cost-effectively.

While South Africa is pushing towards a more cashless society, cash transactions remain crucial, particularly in more informal markets.

However, the convenience does come at a cost.

While Pick n Pay does not charge any additional fees when using tillpoints to do banking, the different banks do carry charges.

For FNB, while withdrawals at tillpoints carry no charge up to R2,000 per month, this moves up to R2.00 after that point. Deposits carry a flat fee of R19.95.

For Capitec customers, deposits are charged at R1.40 per R100 deposited—the same as depositing cash at ATMs.