First National Bank South Africa Reviews 

The lack of communication and customer support.
I feel they are quite arrogant in the way they manage (or not as the case may be) client accounts.
Under no circumstances would I suggest anyone uses FNB.

My cost of banking has suddenly doubled. The monthly charge increased as usual, but suddenly I'm charged on transaction level as well. FNB has so much money, they sponsor events left right and center, good grief, they even sponsor the xray trays at the airports! Why does the consumer have to cough up more than CPI?

They failed me while I need them, someone scammed me on the app but they couldn’t track the guy.

Months of Delays & No Response - Extremely Poor Service
We’ve been trying to update the signatory on our business account for MONTHS. Despite repeated follow-ups, nothing has been resolved.

The lack of communication, ownership, and urgency from FNB’s team is extremely disappointing. This matter is not complex, yet it has dragged on unnecessarily for months.

Absolutely up to shit service. Pay for private client experience and have had more issues than a damn savings account!!! Private banker is MIA and necer reachable. Cannot report fraud on the app need to call fraud number, fraud number doesn't connect so therefore no assistance. What a joke.

Terrible terrible terrible! They have blocked my card and I can't seem to get hold of anyone to help! Unacceptable

What isn’t wrong with this bank?

My issues began in April 2025 when I opened an account and never received a physical bank card — despite making multiple requests.

The most concerning incident involved a six-figure transfer between my own accounts at the same bank. The funds were deducted from the first account and the transaction appeared there, yet nothing was credited to the receiving account. It wasn’t pending, there was no notification, and no explanation — the money had simply disappeared.

After four days, I contacted the bank and was told by the fraud department that the transfer had been held for investigation due to the large amount. My question was simple: How can a transfer between my own accounts be considered fraud? I also asked who was earning interest on those funds while they were being “investigated.” Neither question was answered satisfactorily.

On January 22, 2026, I went into a branch to close my account after transferring all my funds to another bank. It is now February 20, and the account is still not closed. Each time I follow up, I’m told “24 hours,” then “48 hours,” then “try again next week.” Meanwhile, account fees continue to be charged, and I have to repeatedly request reversals.

I have visited the branch in person and explained the situation, yet no one seems concerned about the delays or the ongoing charges. The lack of urgency, transparency, and accountability is extremely disappointing.

I cannot recommend this bank based on my experience.

I had car insurance policy with fnb, when I called them after 2 & half years later for policy review they couldn't find my policy and told me that they will contact me after their technician restart their system which they didn't call back. I called again after a month and still it was the same story(no policy on the system), also for the third month. I emailed them my details for them to cancel and it took them 2 weeks to cancel. I requested the money they took from the time they couldn't find my policy which they said I should call disputing department and disputing department refused as the policy is from FNB they are not allowed to refund customers even if insurance department say they can dispute the money...So FNB users its a double risk for having car insurance from your bank be AWARE!

Try to get funds release in my account. They don't answer emails. No phone answers when transferred. Always high volume of calls. No more client service. Complaints contacts send only reference number and that is last you hear from them.
What a pathetic service

It took Fnb 11 years to contact me for non payment on my homeloan after I payed up my homeloan in 2011 and closed all my accounts two months later they started deducting insurance for 11 years with out stopping the account or insurance for non payment it accumulated to R80000 I will not recommend Fnb to any body in south Africa worst bank ever

Would like to rate FNB new application credit card division a zero
Extremely poor service all round. The journey with the application was a tale of back n forths, unclear voice prompts, pauses when they answer and respond, no customer eticet in resolving or understanding a query
Probably spoke to 9 different consultants over a 2 day period and the final blow was a decline based on affordability that bears no merit At that point I was no longer interested and requested a cancellation but instead was declined.
First application ever with this bank, was approved by 3 others instead.
Had I known I would have disregarded and avoided them completely for all the above factors.

Very poor service.

We are policy holders for household insurance. I logged a geyser replacement after this burst. What followed has been one of the most negligent and frustrating experiences we have ever had with an insurer.
FNB expressly instructed us not to appoint our own plumber and to use their approved contractor. We complied in good faith. The result was a dangerously installed geyser positioned loosely on uneven bricks, unsecured and able to shift with minimal force. Copper piping is exposed and presents a burn risk.
We have 2 year 8 month old twins who play in the garden daily. The installation poses a real and immediate safety risk.
For weeks we have requested clarity and corrective action. We received no written updates, no plan of action and no meaningful communication. A commitment was made to revert with a resolution. That commitment was not honoured. There has been silence since.
We relied on FNB’s instruction to use their appointed contractor. The defective and hazardous installation sits squarely with them.
We are now forced to escalate this matter formally and legally. If injury or property damage occurs as a result of this negligence, FNB will be held fully liable.
This experience shows a complete lack of accountability and care. We expected far better from a large financial institution entrusted with protecting families and their homes.

I've been with FNB for almost 7years i had a partnership deal that was supposed to pay me back after every five to six months for my funeral policy if I kept my monthly payment up to date they never paid me a penny, I qualified for e bucks for up to R500 I'm not able to use that i don't know why....I just fall behind with my policy for two months they close the policy with immediate effect i lost all that money just like that

What an absolute horrific experience to try and open a business account with FNB. It's been 6 weeks without any success. I receive emails to submit documents 3 times a week from two email addresses, meaning that I submit the same documents at least 6 times per week. Every week they request that I submit the same documents. Moved my business over to Capitec and what an absolute pleasure. My account was live with 24 - 36 hours and my bank card delivered shortly after.

Taking my husband 2 months so far to close his account and every month there are bank charges ..he keeps paying the fees to ensure account is clear and lo and behold next month more charges , promises made by customer services are a joke. Whatsapp queries on app are computer generated,calls made to customer service, another nightmare, promises.to get back, nothing happens, promised account will be closed immediately, 10 days ago nothing

If I could rate it lower I would. FNB is really unacceptable and greatly disappointing.

The worst bank I’ve ever dealt with very poor customer service and very very difficult to close account absolutely no help from them. They also automatically let my bank going into overdraft without any permission, and don’t want to help me solve the problem. When I have a problem they keep transferring me to other departments. Very terrible experience with them.

My biggest mistake was to move to FNB. I made a payment this morning which didn't go through but the money is out of my account. No one from FNB was able to help me and so I lost R3000. I'm Immediately changing to capitec !!!!

As a foreign who lives in SA for almost 4 years now I can only say this was the worst BANK that I ever had account with. Every Sunday no matter what you do even if you just stay at home and don't use your card money just disappear and then on Monday morning comes back again to your account. If you have R1000 and it's your last money, on Sunday it will go away so be careful. Second very important thing, if FNB need to send money back to some other account or even worse to some other country you will wait for too long. I'm waiting now more then 40 days for FNB to return money back to USA and after 35 days they finally after 20+ emails showed me that money is stuck in between them and US Bank, at Nedbank... If I could attach my emails here I would to show you that FNB will not respond to you on emails at all. To open your account to show you the app all of that will be nice and smooth but trust me as soon as you have a problem you are going to be very angry. My advice to everyone don't use this Bank, they are scammers and they will at the end steal your money.