No more aliens at Capitec.
The Mail and Guardian's "Smart Money" recently reported that only foreigners with permanent residency permits may bank at Capitec due to a Reserve Bank directive.
Pansy, who loves the concept of free markets, is serviced by most of South Africa's banks: in each instance utilising the best financial product in each respective category (best according to Pansy).
For the ins, outs and whys of this directive, I refer the reader to the Mail and Guardian.
Pansy feels this is a worrying development. In the six years that she has been in South Africa, this country has become more and more foreigner-unfriendly. Little niggly things that for most people would go unnoticed. Like the credit bureau charging foreign residents for their "free" annual credit report - according to legislation it's meant to be free for everyone - but the bureau initially informed Pansy that dealing with a passport rather than an ID book would incur an extra fee. To Transunion's credit, when Pansy gently pointed out to them, in writing, that according to legislation the report is meant to be free, they agreed to do it at no extra charge.
But back to the Reserve Bank and Capitec. Pansy is concerned for two reasons:
- This directive is anti-competitive: Capitec's loss is automatically another bank's gain. And currently there are no other banks which come close to Capitec's pricing, especially the interest rates on cash in a transactional account. This means that the consumers lose out because their only alternatives are much more expensive.
- It could be setting a precedent for future policy directives which limit the extent to which foreign nationals resident in South Africa may participate in economic activity.
What to do? A query to the Banking Association and Reserve Bank could be an option. A long shot, but hey, it's worth a try. The Reserve Bank is very accessible, members of the public are welcome to attend their monetary policy forums (Pansy has attended several of these). Their contact page is only two clicks away from the landing page. If a lot of people with an alien interest would take 3 minutes to write to the Reserve Bank about this, perhaps they would reconsider the policy or invite public participation on the matter. Many people have an alien interest: aliens, friends of aliens, past aliens and future aliens.
So we should get writing, before the next directive comes our way.
The reserve bank has responded to a query I submitted to them about their directive regarding Capitec. The response was from one of the managers. She said they are investigating and engaging with Capitec. The response came 3 months later but better late than never.
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