Hey Freelance Friends!

Banks have mastered one commercial trick that magicians would envy, which is making the account that holds your money feel like the thing you are privileged to pay for.

A freelancer’s first business account is usually opened in a hurry, because a platform, a client or a funder has asked for proof of a bank account, and the hurry is how people end up on the account the nice person at the branch recommended.

This edition covers the two accounts whose fees we could check on the banks’ own pages, the questions that matter more than the headline fee, and a way to price any account against your own transactions.

The first thing to know is that you may not need a business account at all, in the strict sense. A sole proprietor can legally use a personal account, and many do. Separating the two is still worth it, because it makes your records, your provisional tax calculations and your proof of bank account (Makro, for example, asks for one not older than three months) much simpler. It also keeps your client payments from vanishing into your groceries.

There are two accounts whose fees we could check against the banks’ own material. FNB’s First Business Zero is aimed at sole proprietors and, according to FNB’s own page, carries no monthly fee. The page lists an eligibility ceiling on annual turnover, which older press coverage gave differently, so check the figure when you apply, and the account has to be activated or it can attract an inactive fee. Capitec’s 2026 business pricing guide lists a monthly fee of R50 on its Business Banking account with a minimum balance, and per-transaction fees on top, so a zero-fee account and an R50 account can end up closer than they look once you count your actual transactions.

Several other banks offer small-business accounts, and the fees vary widely. A 2026 guide listing digital banks such as TymeBank and Bank Zero puts their business accounts at no monthly fee, while the traditional banks charge more and bundle more. We did not verify those figures on the banks’ own pages, so treat them as leads to check, not facts. The point stands, though: the cheapest monthly fee is not always the cheapest account.

Ask every bank the same five questions and write down the answers. What is the monthly fee, and is there a minimum balance or an inactive account fee? What does each EFT cost, and what does an immediate payment cost, since clients paying by EFT are your bread and butter? What does a cash deposit cost, if you are ever paid in cash? What does an international payment cost, if you invoice abroad? And what documents does the bank need from a sole proprietor versus a company, because the paperwork often decides how long opening takes.

Take your last three months of bank statements and count what actually happened: how many payments came in, how many EFTs you sent, how many card payments you made, and how many times you deposited or withdrew cash. Then price each account against that list. A freelancer who is paid ten times a month and sends five EFTs will see a very different total from one who receives a hundred small payments, and that is the comparison that matters. A R50 account that charges nothing for incoming payments may beat a free account that charges you for everything else.

Open the account in the name you will use everywhere, because a business name that does not match your bank account is one of the most common reasons platform verifications stall. Keep a recent bank confirmation letter and statements handy, since Makro, SARS and the supplier database all ask for proof of bank details. And set up a separate savings pot for tax from day one, so the money for your provisional payment is not sitting in the account you spend from.

Pull your last three months of statements, count your transactions, and price two accounts against them. Write the answer in a sheet, pick the winner, and open it online if the bank allows. If you are about to register a company, open the account after the registration certificate arrives, because the bank will ask for it.

— The Profreelance Crew

P.S. If you have found a business account that treats freelancers well, or one that badly surprised you, reply and tell us. A fee that only shows up on the third statement is exactly the kind of thing we want to warn people about.