Standard Bank and Absa increase minimum pay – but Investec still pays the most

Standard Bank and Absa have increased their minimum pay for employees, but both lenders still fall short of the entry-level salaries offered by Investec, which continues to record the highest minimum pay among South Africa’s major banks.

From March and April 2026, the lowest-paid employees at Standard Bank and Absa will earn more than R21 000 per month, marking another increase in entry-level salaries at both banks after pay hikes in 2025.

It seems to be the norm for the country’s major banks to have their minimum pay above R200 000 per annum. However, this is not the case at Capitec Bank, as it has the lowest minimum pay among major banks.

Absa minimum pay

Absa announced in its remuneration report that it will increase its minimum pay for South African employees by 5.5% to R21 979 per month. This is an increase from R20 833.

“In South Africa, for 2026, we increased our company minimum salary to R263 750, up 5.5%, aligned with the salary settlement for the bargaining unit,” read the report. Absa has the third-highest minimum pay across major banks.

Absa Group operates in South Africa and several other African markets, including Ghana, Kenya, Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and Mauritius.

“We comply with or exceed minimum salary determinations in all markets,” said the lender.

Standard Bank minimum pay

According to Standard Bank’s annual integrated report for 2025, the lender has increased its minimum pay to R22 716 per month, from R21 532.50. Standard Bank has the second-highest minimum pay.

“5.5% average increase in fixed pay for unionised employees in South Africa,” reads the report. “The minimum banking guaranteed package was increased to R272 600 per annum from R258 390.”

The biggest bank by assets in Africa gave all employees increases. According to the report, there was a 5.1% overall increase in fixed remuneration across the group. The bank said this reflects current inflation levels in the countries where it operates.

Managers and executives in SA also received 4% increases to their cost-of-company packages. These increases kicked in in March 2026.

How much do other banks offer?

According to Investec’s integrated and strategic annual report for 2025, the bank’s minimum pay is R273 000 per annum (R22 750 per month) for South African employees.

The bank with the fourth-highest minimum pay is FirstRand group, parent company to First National Bank (FNB), Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), and WesBank, among others.

FirstRand increased its minimum pay of banking employees by 20.9% to R260 000 per annum, approximately R21 666 per month, last year.

The group also increased the minimum guaranteed package for non-banking roles to R200 000 per year (about R16 666 per month).

Nedbank and Capitec at the bottom

Nedbank in 2025 offered a minimum pay of R240 000 per annum, R20 000 per month.

When it comes to Capitec, the bank offers some employees R180 000 per annum, R15 000 per month, making this the minimum pay; however, it does not simply describe this amount, or any amount for that matter, as “minimum pay” like other banks.

“Where 9% of Capitec’s employee population was earning below R180 000 in 2021, today this has been reduced to only 2% below R180 000, representing our graduates and learnership interns,” said the bank in its remuneration report for 2025.

“In addition, we have also made great progress in moving a large component of our employees who were earning between R180 000 and R250 000 in 2021 to beyond R250 000 per annum in 2024 (i.e. an increase in the R250 000 to R500 000 earning bracket from 18% in 2021 to 62% in 2024).”