Absa, South Africa’s biggest retail bank, has taken a huge step towards offering customers simplified, affordable banking with the launch of a new account called Transact.

Absa said Transact was aimed at customers looking for a basic transactional account that was easy to understand and very cost-effective.

"The key advantage of Transact is in its simplicity and affordability. Transact customers will pay no monthly service fees, no Absa ATM balance enquiry fees, no fees when purchasing at till points, no fees on airtime top-ups and no penalty fees," Arrie Rautenbach, Head: Retail Markets at Absa, said.

Transact forms part of Absa’s strategy to offer customers from all market segments greater choice and more convenient access.

"Transactions will be charged on a pay-as-you-transact basis and will be extremely easy to understand. Till-point withdrawals are R1 per transaction, electronic payments and debit orders are R2,85 and an Absa ATM cash withdrawal will cost R3,85. Depending on a person’s banking behaviour, charges will be very affordable," Mr Rautenbach added.

"We’ve essentially taken banking services that are important to our entry-level customers, packaged those services and created the Transact product which, on many accounts, is the most affordable of its kind.

"Government has made no secret of the fact that more needs to be done to bring people into formal banking.

"Absa is determined to play its part in this national imperative, and Transact will certainly help us bank more South Africans," Rautenbach said.

Backed by Absa’s extensive network, the product will be available at 748 Absa branches and customers will have access to more than 8000 Absa ATMs.

Cellphone banking will also be free for Transact customers.

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