Standard Bank International
I've been a loyal customer of Standard Bank International for six years, but recent events have turned my experience into a nightmare. After their involvement in a money laundering scheme came to light, they've chosen to block my account's essential functions, leaving me unable to perform EFT transactions. I can swipe my card, but that's about it. Meanwhile, I have bills to pay, a business to support, and family members relying on me, all of which are impossible now.
To add insult to injury, about a year and a half ago, I requested an update to my personal details—my address, phone number, and email address—so they could send me a new token and card. They sent the items to my new home address without verifying it properly, but never updated my email address. They could have sent my sensitive information to anyone, which is a glaring oversight.
I've called them multiple times from home, incurring international fees, and when I'm working on a yacht far from South Africa, I can't just place international calls every time. It's not the issue that I can't place international calls every time; the issue is that their team is simply incompetent at updating my details. Despite multiple requests, they continue to respond to my old email address, forcing me to spend months recovering it, while the due diligence team refuses to acknowledge my updated information, even though the rest of the bank is well aware of it.
Standard Bank even has a secure messaging app, but in the past month, I've asked for updates through it and received zero responses. It doesn't matter which consultant gets the message; the entire team appears incompetent and unwilling to help.
To make matters worse, Standard Bank International’s reputation is so damaged that even other banks are reluctant to engage with them. I lent money to a Filipino colleague, and when they tried to pay me back, several Filipino banks refused to process the transfer because it was going to a Standard Bank International account. I never imagined that simply receiving money from abroad would become a red-flag situation.
At this point, the message is clear: the institution that once positioned itself as international, stable, and trustworthy is now more of a liability than a lifeline. Thanks, Standard Bank, for turning what should be a simple banking experience into a drawn-out saga of frustration, risk, and astonishing indifference.
