STANDARD BANK BIZFLEX "TOP UP": R80,000 ADVANCED WITH R82,000 INTEREST. R100,000 ADVANCED WITH APPROXIMATELY R126,000 INTEREST. NOW THEY WILL NOT

STANDARD BANK BIZFLEX "TOP UP": R80,000 ADVANCED WITH R82,000 INTEREST. R100,000 ADVANCED WITH APPROXIMATELY R126,000 INTEREST. NOW THEY WILL NOT GIVE ME A PROPER ANSWER.

I am a small business owner, and I am appalled by my experience with Standard Bank BizFlex.

On one R80,000 TOP UP, the bank added R82,000 in PURE interest—a charge equal to 102.5% of the additional cash advanced. I challenged it. On 6 August 2026, a BizFlex operations manager confirmed in writing that Standard Bank had reversed both the R80,000 transaction and its interest charge.

What I had not realised was that an earlier R100,000 TOP UP carried approximately R126,000 in PURE additional interest—equal to about 126% of the new cash advanced. Thank goodness my accountant queried these exorbitant figures. I had understood the interest to be around R26,000, which was already almost 30% of the cash received for short-term funding. The charge identified was approximately R100,000 more than I understood it to be. These figures make loan sharks look cheap to me.

The words TOP UP gave me the impression I was paying to borrow the additional money. The BizFlex agreement I have reviewed shows that a fresh charge can be calculated on both the new advance and the balance of the existing loan. In my experience, calling that a TOP UP without making the full cost unmistakably clear is deeply misleading. The agreement also refers to an interest discount on the balance brought forward. Was that discount app**** to my R100,000 transaction? Standard Bank has still not shown me.

I reported this on 8 September. I followed up on 10, 13 and 14 September, and again asked for urgent assistance on 22 September. I was told the issue had been escalated. That is not a resolution. I still have no full calculation, no explanation of the discount, no complaint *** and no written decision. It is almost month end.

I demand that Standard Bank reverse the R100,000 TOP UP and its associated interest, just as it reversed the R80,000 TOP UP and its R82,000 interest charge. If the bank refuses, it must provide the signed quotation, a complete reconciliation, the discount calculation and a reasoned written decision.

It saddens me that I have to take this to social media simply to get a meaningful response from my bank. Standard Bank BizFlex: stop passing this around internally and account for your charges.