First National Bank South Africa Reviews 

403
TrustScore 1.5 out of 5

1.4

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Review summary

Created with AI, based on recent reviews

Looking at 133 reviews, most reviewers were let down by their experience overall. Customers frequently complain about unhelpful customer support, experiencing frustratingly long wait times and being transferred repeatedly across departments without ever getting clear answers to their problems. Many people also struggle with unexpected and unexplained account charges, as well as severe difficulties when attempting to resolve payment issues or contact customer service channels. Some reviewers were happy with specific branch staff, noting that individual employees provided friendly, welcoming, and professional assistance during their visits. Consumer feedback highlights that certain dedicated consultants went above and beyond to help customers navigate complex account processes and resolve issues efficiently.

What people talk about most

Customer service

Customers had negative experiences with customer_service, consistently reporting an utter lack of functional... See more

Service

Consumers find service to be negative, reporting widespread frustration with unhelpful support, unexpected... See more

Payment

Reviewers mention negative feedback about payment, highlighting severe frustrations with unexpected fees and... See more

Customer communications

Customers consistently note negative experiences with contact, highlighting persistent difficulties in... See more

Reviews shaping this summary

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

@fnbsa I need urgent assistance with my account. My account has been on hold since August 18, 2025, and the investigation under case number 2025-3230505 has gone unanswered. I have provided all n... See more

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

The online customer service is so time consuming in 1hr and 35 i was given 4 Agents every time it said the call disconnected you are being rerouted and a notice this agent will be with you shortly n... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Have been with FNB for at abt least 35 years. Feel quite sad but know I have to move on. In the last year, it seems they have lost the plot. Their system does strange things, like unjustified ban... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

FNB Credit Card - Disgusting service. Email received requetsing contact FNB the number suppplied is not valid. Called 4 people over 2 weeks everytime its well send the information through, no response... See more


Company details

  1. Bank

Information provided by various external sources

First National Bank (FNB; Afrikaans: Eerste Nasionale Bank) is one of South Africa's "big four" banks.


Contact info

1.4

Bad

TrustScore 1.5 out of 5

403 reviews

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1.4

All reviews

(403)

135 reviews in the last 12 months

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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

No service in horrible fnb

I deposited my money into my account and they hold it for ever I went to the bank and they said I should provide proof that the money belongs to me and I did now its almost 20 days and when I call nobody wants to assist me
I regret using this horrible bank but I'm planning to expose them on social media by this coming Monday
Horrible
Horrible
Horrible
Now I don't even have money to feed my family hence I have money in the horrible bank

31 March 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

FNB and Old Mutual = Same Whatsapp group. FNB is hell😡😡😡

FNB and Old Mutual = Same Whatsapp group but FNB is worse!!! 😡😡😡
App**** a Section 14 from Old Mutual to FNB.
Now Old Mutual cannot pay the money because FNB fails and keep on failing to assist with simply sending the Banking details to send the money into.

The reason for my disinvestment was that Old Mutual's processes were slow and they didn't care about their clients but now it seems FNB is worse than Old Mutual.

All they do is to "Escalate". They can escalate a simple request for months.

8 April 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Stupid rude inept heffers on fraud line

Stupid woman on the cheque fraud account was supposed to assist me. I requested her help and she asked for the case number. Then she became rude and raised her voice at me when asking for my ID number. When I reproached her for being rude she put the phone down in my ear. Is that how these stupid people treat clients who desperately need help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2 April 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

FnB is scamming their clients with…

FnB is scamming their clients with Tempory Loans. You can take x amount over 30 days as per their terms and conditions- there is interest charged on that. Once active you have the option to stop activity based payments since you have 30 days in which to settle it and this prevents any deposits going straight into the loan repayment. I did this and a day later they deducted the full amount including 30 days of interest. I immediately contacted them and after 4 days of little to no assistance they refuse to help. This was an internal error as I have proof on my app - but they will not take accountability. So why I say scam - they making money off the interest they gained in a day ?? - if they did this to me they most certainly did it to others. Add it all up I'm sure it amounts to a lot of money they made. What was supposed to be a 30 day loan ended up being 24hours. They breached their own contract but of course there's no recourse- however had this been done in reverse the outcome would have been severe as in had I not paid after 30 days.

30 March 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Fraud and FNB not giving my money back.

Fraud and FNB not giving my money back.
Fraudsters steeling my money and I am told they will investigate but no confirmation I will get my money back.. I was informed saying someone told me to go into my app and do transactions... this happened after someone moved money from my one account into another to make me think the money was gone... how did they even get in.. no the consultant tells me 30 days investigatiin and when I ask for commitment to get my money back she says I must not get so upset.. I have the right to be upset as this should not be possible... when the incestigator tells me to go to my app it is fine but when someone from frauds dept says so it is not... how must we know who at FNB is scamming us ..

I am still outstanding with R7555.30 and I want my miney back FNB I did not use it ...I need it I have responsibilities.
You are suppose to protect me....or must I also put my money under a matress ..?

28 March 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Terrible experience...calling via the…

Terrible experience...calling via the banking app and they pretend to not hear you...call via straight phone call and thy redirect you until your airtime is finished without a problem even being looked at...absolutely nonsense

31 March 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Wait till one of your loved ones die…

Wait till one of your loved ones die then you will see FNBs true colours, insurances in place with the same institution but they still put 2 different attorneys on your back to harass you weekly and then they only finalize matters 1.5 years later, the worst one can think off!!!!

12 March 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

FNB Burgundy square is beyond useless

FNB Burgundy square is beyond useless. The 2 teller desks looks like they asleep! Useless! Came to get my card, printer for ticket not working. Called the manager, too 30 minutes, she is useless. Worst bank ever! I am going to also linked message the CEO

25 March 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Worst bank

I use to love this bank truly even convinced people it was good when they would argue the bank charges are high I question that strongly now and I am considering changing banks. It’s not the first time money disappeared out of my account I try get help but no one helps all the agents can’t answer me. I hate this bank honestly you chat and phone for assistance you wasting your time don’t.

25 March 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I have been trying to open a business…

I have been trying to open a business bank account for a new business account. Process started on around the 22 February 2026 it is now 23rd March 2026. It has been a terrible experience just trying to locate a business banker to assist, then the gentleman who opened the account cannot be reached. He placed 2 blocks on the account which stopped all other consultants from assisting me. This is my first tme dealing with FNB and wow you guys are lagging in comparison to the other banks. Kindly sort out the customer's experience, your internal processes should not affect your customer. Thank you

23 March 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I had an excellent experience with FNB

I had an excellent experience with FNB, thanks to one of their consultants, Ronald Nkanyani from the business desk.

I recently made a payment using the wrong reference, which is always stressful because you’re not sure how long it will take to fix or if you’ll even get proper assistance. From the moment Ronald assisted me, he was calm, patient, and extremely professional.

What really stood out was how quickly and efficiently he handled the reversal. There was no back and forth, no confusion just clear communication and immediate action.

As someone who works in the banking industry myself, I understand how frustrating these situations can be for customers and how much of a difference it makes when someone genuinely knows what they’re doing. Ronald delivered exactly that.

This is the kind of service that keeps customers loyal. FNB, please recognise him he is doing an outstanding job.

20 March 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I was in the bank to report that my…

I was in the bank to report that my husband had passed away. Our will and testament was at the branch a lady helped us but got NO RESPONCE from the bank for the will and testament side a week later we phoned and spoke to a very friendly man and he said that the branch had not submitted any documents. He told us what we must submit and the same day received confirmation the they had received our request, next day been Friday I received the ref no. Today a lovely lady named Vanessa phone and explained all the steps.
To get to the point a whole week was wasted because of the Wellington branches incompetence

4 March 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

eBucks Boost My Rewards Program is S C A M

eBucks Boost My Rewards Program is an absolute S C A M. There are a few criteria one needs to meet each month in order to qualify, so that after a year, you get a R1500 eBucks payout.

I have met these requirements every month and received my payout every year without fail. This is the only real benefit or reward one can get from FNB, so I always consciously make sure to meet the requirements so that I can benefit from it and actually get my money's worth out of being an FNB client.

This month FNB is telling me I did not meet the requirements, particularly the one for minimum R5000 card spend. I am looking at my transactions for the month in question, where I have spent almost double that. When I pinpointed this to them, they are telling me it doesn't matter which day I physically did the transactions on, because it will only count towards the month that the merchants cashes it for. So basically even though I far exceeded the minimum criteria, I now lose out on the reward because of the dates that the merchants choose to do their banking. Is the agreement for rewards between the bank and the merchant? No. It is between me and the bank. So why should my only reward as a long standing client now be affected by how the merchant chooses to do things?

I asked the eBucks consultant Farhaan if they are going to make a plan for me to still qualify for that month in question because it's absolutely heartbreaking for me to lose out on the entire year's reward program when I've worked so hard towards it and have always been consistent, now I lose out just because of one month that the merchant decided to do things in their own time. The consultant told me they won't be able to do that for me. I guess they don't give a D A M N how long you've been their client, how much you spend with them, how many products of theirs you've signed up for, they still will not budge.

So if you're thinking of signing up with FNB because their rewards sound so juicy on paper (like I foolishly did) don't waste your time. It is a gamble and is being wildly misadvertised and misrepresented. Their rewards are not guaranteed no matter how much effort you as a client put towards meeting the requirements, they will deny you because of third party merchants whose banking dates can change and differ anytime which literally has nothing to do with you. I won't be surprised if FNB makes an arrangement with these merchants to cash things out at a later date just so that they can avoid paying out these eBucks rewards to clients. Imagine how many hundreds of thousands they are pocketing like that.

Very D I S H O N E S T and S C A M M Y. And so disappointing coming from a whole financial institution. These are the people you are trusting with your hard-earned cash. Better to move to a different bank where sure, your fees might be a rand or two more but atleast with those institutions, what you see is what you get. Not like FNB who will find any avenue to avoid giving clients their rewards.

16 March 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Plumstead offered excellent knowledgable service

Tokai branch closed for renovations so went to Plumstead. The queues were long with at least an hour and a half wait time, however the ladies helping with the internet issues got me, and the other lady helping the people queuing were fantastic! One lady rven brought out glasses of water for the customers as the weather today was over 30c. In spite of the wait time, the service was excellent, and I say well done, especially in this heat.

10 March 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

What a terrible experience with crystal…

What a terrible experience with crystal the lady who welcomes people to the bank. Please send her for training she is rude and arrogant and not willing to help. She thinks she knows it all pathetic really. Please do something about her.

6 March 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

A Warning to Business Owners: FNB is a Digital Downgrade Built on Lies

If you value your time and honesty in banking, do not open an FNB Business account. My experience has been defined by two things: dishonest sales tactics and an utter lack of functional support.

I was specifically promised SLOW Lounge access by an agent, only to be charged for it later. When I tried to hold them to their word, I hit a brick wall. FNB refuses to produce the call recordings and their staff continuously "drop" calls when asked for an escalation.

As a Discovery Bank client for my personal portfolio, the move to FNB felt like stepping 20 years back in time. Their systems are archaic and their "service" is a black hole of wasted hours. I’ve spent two hours on the phone getting nowhere.

Save yourself the pain and the hidden costs. FNB Business is not designed for the modern entrepreneur. I’m moving my business elsewhere.

26 February 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Verification of New Credit Card

I have been trying to verify my new credit card which took around 2 hrs due the fact that it cannot be activated via the app, due to being put through to the wrong person and due to long waiting times on the phone because of insufficent staffing.
I have a second credit card with Investec and it is a consumer- friendly, easy and efficient procedure with them.
FNB never fails to disappoint !! I dread phoning them as nothing ever goes smoothly. My advice - try a different bank !

4 March 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I have been trying to get a loan…

I have been trying to get a loan against a house i own .... I have gone to 2 banks no one can assist , they dont listen to what I have to say and then make assumptions, I am then told to take a specific route once I take that route , its a dead end , no help for 10 years I have been A customer I am now fed up and I will be closing my account tomorrow . Dont join them , they are 0 help , customer service means nothing to them .

14 February 2026
Unprompted review

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