The Ombud’s latest figures show that the bulk of the complaints received between March and December last year were aimed at the country’s major banks. Capitec Bank received the highest number, followed closely by First National Bank, Standard Bank and Nedbank.

However, NFO Chief Executive Officer Reana Steyn clarified that the numbers reflect customer volume rather than performance alone.

“Capitec has the most clients nationally, and the difference in complaint numbers between them and the next bank was less than 100 cases,” she noted. “The rankings generally follow the size of each bank’s customer base.”

Over 30 000 cases were handled by the NFO during the period under review, with more than $18 million recovered for consumers across all financial sectors.

Steyn stressed the importance of the Ombud’s role, pointing out that many South Africans rely on free and impartial assistance when dealing with financial service providers.

--ChannelAfrica--