ROOTS 2025 Finds Capitec Leads South African Banking Market With 55% Support as Multi‑Banking Rises To 48%

ROOTS is South Africa’s longest-running and most comprehensive independent local consumer research survey, conducted at community level, surveying the behaviour of economically active South Africans. In 2025 it measured, among other things, where consumers banked and what types of accounts they held at each bank. This has been a consistent question in the ROOTS survey for the past 20 years, revealing interesting shifts in the local financial services landscape.

SA’s favourite banking brands

The most supported banks among the consumers surveyed in 2025 were Capitec at 55% (up from 39% in 2022), FNB at 33% (up from 31%), TymeBank (now GoTyme Bank) at 20% (up from 13%) and Standard Bank at 19% (up from 17%). Nedbank and ABSA tied at 16% each (Nedbank held steady but ABSA dropped from 17%), while Discovery netted 7% of the total market share, up from 4% in the 2022 survey.

“Capitec’s success can be traced back to its ongoing drive in recent years to service the country’s large, unbanked population; GoTyme, to its retail banking strategy utilising the national footprint of PnP, TFG and Boxer stores; and Discovery, to its digital banking offering, integrated with a coveted rewards system,” says Lynne Krog, head of research at Spark Media.

Multiple banks and accounts

ROOTS findings in 2004 and 2013 showed that consumers only held accounts at one bank. Today, on average, consumers bank with two banks, some even more. A total of 48% of respondents said they banked in more than one place.

This was consistent across all household income groups: less than 5K monthly income, 42% banked with more than a single bank; 5-10K monthly income, 44%; 10-20K monthly income, 47%; 35k+ monthly income, 56% and in the 100K+ household monthly income bracket, as many as 62% held accounts with various banks. Consumers tended to spread their wealth as their income increased.

There was also an increase in the number of bank accounts held by consumers at these institutions. In 2022, ROOTS showed that consumers held an average of 2.1 bank accounts, which grew to 2.4 in 2025. The sheer number of banking accounts, products and solutions available today is driving this diversification.

“Consumers are looking for the best deals, no different to when they do grocery shopping. Which account has the best offer for what I need? That’s what they ask themselves in opening up second or third accounts with other banks. We’re seeing a shift at account level, where some banks are gaining customers and others are losing them. It’s this quiet chipping away, most notably in the area of savings accounts, that is ultimately changing the banking landscape,” Krog adds.

Newer players dominate account growth

A closer look at the data shows that Capitec, GoTyme and Discovery all grew their core offering (savings accounts) among the consumers surveyed as well as additional account types like current and credit accounts. Traditional banking brands, however, made no gains in market share.

The top 10 biggest account movers with their percentage growth between the 2022 and 2025 surveys were Capitec savings account (from 35% to 49%); GoTyme savings account (from 10% to 17%); Capitec current account (from 5% to 7%); Discovery savings account (from 2% to 4%); GoTyme current account (from 2% to 4%); FNB savings account (from 20% to 21%); Capitec credit account (from 4% to 5%); African Bank current account (from 2% to 3%); and Discovery’s current and credit accounts, which grew from 2% and 1% to 3% and 2% respectively.

While FNB only grew its savings account among respondents by 1%, its current, credit and personal loan accounts all maintained their customer support from 2022 to 2025, making FNB’s depth across all product offerings the strongest.

Traditional brands on a losing streak

Standard Bank, Nedbank and ABSA retained their 2022 positions for their personal and home loan accounts, but these were off very small bases (only 2% of the total market share for each account, with Nedbank only having 1% share for its home loan).

All three of these banks lost market share among the consumers surveyed with their current and credit accounts. Nedbank and ABSA further lost share with their savings accounts. Overall, ABSA was the biggest loser, shedding between 1% and 2% market share across these accounts.

In fact, ABSA was the only bank to consistently lose share between 2004 and 2025 among the consumers polled, dropping from 40% (2004) to 29% (2013) to 17% (2022) to just 16% (2025).

All other banks grew their share, or maintained steady, except for Standard Bank, which dipped from 23% in 2004 to 18% (2013) and 17% (2022). It grew its share of the pie among the consumers surveyed this year to 19%.

Gen Z, Millennials dictate the future of banking

Interestingly, when looking where younger customers put their money, ROOTS revealed that only 12% of Gen Z consumers banked exclusively with one of the three traditional banks compared with 21% of Boomers.

A total of 30% of Gen Z banked with Capitec and/or GoTyme, whereas only 22% of Boomers banked with these newer brands.

“Gen Z and to a degree, Millennial, customers will dictate which brands are going to survive going forward. They are early adopters of digital banking and are comfortable with having multiple bank accounts. Where they put their money today will definitely shape the future of the banking sector tomorrow,” concludes Krog.

Disruptors Capitec, GoTyme and Discovery will be the brands to watch, while FNB is poised for further growth. Traditional banks will have to relook how they engage customers, make their offerings more accessible, and innovate in order to claw back market share, or face extinction.

Note: ROOTS 8.1 was commissioned by Spark Media, undertaken by India-based Borderless Access and published by Caxton Media. It surveyed 25 000 adults aged 18+ representing 10.8 million adults and 4.5 million households in 107 communities. Interviews were conducted via an online panel with supplementary face-to-face interviews in communities where digital connection was limited.

This article was originally published here https://www.caxtonmedia.co.za/news.php?id=82&a=Y