Standard Bank, what a shameful service really!

I have banked with Standard Bank since 1986 as a university student. Currently I pay them +/- R10 000 per month on service charges alone. Their international transactional fees are excessive, compared for example ABSA bank. In February 2026 I was nearly stuck in Brazil as I could not transact with their cards and emails to their so called private banker went unanswered. This is despite having informed them about my travels. On my return I was told that they are afraid of *****….really??and how paternalistic.. So best that I get stuck in a foreign country as the bank is protecting my account from *****? Thank God I had another bank ‘s card and could get an airline ticket to get back home. In 2024 I reported a faulty card machine to them. Each time I was given a reference number. Meanwhile my clients were getting frustrated as they could not pay for my services using their cards. Eventually I went to Builders Warehouse and got a machine which was simple to setup and my clients are now very happy. To my surprise, the bank kept on charging me a fee of R1000 per month for a non-functional machine for 9 months. My attempts to be refunded were unsuccessful as they simply ignored my emails. I am now taking them to the banking Ombudsman in the hope that at least I can recoup the charges they took even though they knew their machine was not working.

So, in summary this is a bank which does not seem to care much about loyalty and really behaves pretty much like most of our municipalities or dysfunctional government ‘s departments. To them you are just a number, not a customer worthy of a professional service. I would not recommend them to my worst enemy.