Deeply Disappointed by Standard Bank’s “Immediate Payment” Service

I am an intern and recently opened a Standard Bank account to receive my small monthly stipend. On the morning of 31/10/2025, before 7:00 AM, I made two immediate payments of R2,000 each — one to my own Capitec account and another to my sister’s account. I paid extra for the “immediate payment” option so that the funds would reflect instantly, as I urgently needed the money to cover basic expenses. However, despite paying for the service, neither of the payments has reflected, even after more than 48 hours. This delay has caused me extreme hardship. As an intern, this stipend is the only money I have. Because of the delay, I have been unable to: Pay my stokvel contribution, which now incurs a 50% penalty, Repay a colleague who helped me previously, and Provide food and medication for my 81-year-old grandmother, who depends entirely on me. This situation has left my family without food and has caused me immense emotional stress. I am also in the early stages of pregnancy, and the worry and frustration over this issue are affecting my health. After spending hours on hold trying to reach Standard Bank’s call centre (which is not toll-free — meaning I’ve had to use borrowed airtime just to get help), I was finally told that the matter was “escalated” and that I should wait up to 24 hours. Yet more than two full days later, nothing has changed. One consultant even told me that “this happens to a lot of clients,” as if that made my situation acceptable. It doesn’t. Every customer’s circumstances are different — and for me, this delay has had real-life consequences. I trusted Standard Bank with my only source of income, paid extra for an immediate service that was not delivered, and have been left feeling helpless, anxious, and completely unsupported. This experience has deeply shaken my confidence in the bank. I truly hope Standard Bank takes accountability for this failure and ensures no other customer has to go through what I’ve experienced