Duplicate transactions and delayed transaction postings on my FNB account

Dear FNB Complaints Team,

I am writing to formally lodge a complaint regarding duplicate transactions that have appeared on my cheque account.

On 01/03/2026, the debit order on my credit card of R1148,41 was processed twice. These duplicate charges have negatively affected my available balance and caused unnecessary inconvenience.

I request that:

The duplicate transaction(s) be urgently investigated.

The incorrect amounts are reversed immediately.

I received written confirmation of the outcome of this investigation.

Any fees or interest incurred as a result of this error be refunded.

Please treat this matter as urgent. Kindly provide me with a formal complaint reference number and advise on the expected turnaround time, as this problem is not just an isolated incident, but occurs every single month when I check my bank statement.

If this issue is not resolved promptly, I will consider escalating the matter to the appropriate regulatory body.

Furthermore, I am also lodging a complaint regarding the delayed posting of transactions on my FNB cheque account and the resulting mismatch between my “available balance” and my statement/ledger balance. While I understand the concept of pending transactions, I am experiencing consistent delays in the posting of transactions that should reasonably reflect immediately on my statement, including:

Cash withdrawals at FNB ATMs

FNB-to-FNB payments

Card transactions where funds have already been deducted from my available balance

In practice, the funds leave my account immediately, yet the statement ledger is only updated many hours later or the following day. As a result, my available balance and statement balance almost never align.

This design creates serious and recurring customer impact:

It makes it extremely difficult to determine my true financial position at any given time.

It has directly resulted in debit orders failing due to “insufficient funds”, even though I had not overspent in real terms.

It exposes me to unnecessary reversal fees, creditor penalties, and financial risk.

It places the burden of interpreting internal banking processes onto the customer.

For comparison, I hold an account with Capitec, where transactions (including card swipes, ATM withdrawals, and internal transfers) post to the statement in near real time, providing a single, reliable balance. This demonstrates that real-time ledger posting is both technically feasible and achievable in the South African banking environment.

Given that I am paying in excess of R200 per month in account fees, I find it unreasonable that basic balance accuracy and transparency are inferior to those offered by significantly lower-cost banks.

I would appreciate:

A formal explanation as to why FNB continues to delay posting of transactions that have already affected my available balance.

Confirmation of whether FNB plans to modernize its posting and ledger processes to provide real-time balance accuracy.

Clarification on how FNB justifies charging premium account fees while exposing customers to financial penalties caused by delayed ledger updates.

Unless this issue can be meaningfully addressed, I will regrettably be forced to reconsider my banking relationship with FNB, as well as escalate the matter to the appropriate regulatory body.

I look forward to your swift response.

Kind regards, Robert Brown