The Reserve Bank’s Prudential Authority (PA) has imposed administrative sanctions on Capitec Bank after identifying several failures to comply with the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FIC Act) during a regulatory inspection conducted in 2023.
The sanctions include five formal cautions and a financial penalty totalling R28-million. However, R5.5-million of the fine has been conditionally suspended for 36 months from October 13 2025, provided no similar violations occur during that period.
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The PA, which is responsible for supervising compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations, found shortcomings in Capitec’s customer due diligence processes, employee training programmes, and internal risk management controls.
According to the regulator, the most significant breach involved inadequacies in customer due diligence procedures. Inspectors found that the bank had failed to perform sufficient verification and assessment of certain client accounts, resulting in a penalty of R10-million, of which R3-million was suspended.
Due diligence measures identified
Additional shortcomings were identified in the bank’s enhanced due diligence measures for higher-risk clients. These deficiencies attracted a R5-million penalty, with R1-million suspended. Regulators also found weaknesses in ongoing monitoring and due diligence processes for existing clients, leading to another R5-million penalty, again with R1-million suspended.
The inspection further revealed that Capitec had not provided adequate ongoing anti-money laundering training to sampled employees, resulting in a R3-million fine.
A separate R5-million penalty was imposed after the PA determined that the bank’s Risk Management and Compliance Programme contained several weaknesses. These included failing to obtain management approval for key anti-money laundering screening manuals before implementation, insufficient documentation of terrorist property reporting processes, and inadequate policies relating to financial sanctions and terrorist financing controls. Of this amount, R500,000 was suspended.
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Despite the findings, the Prudential Authority acknowledged that Capitec had cooperated throughout the regulatory process. The bank has worked with the regulator to address the identified deficiencies and strengthen its internal controls.
This wasn’t the first time Capitect had been fined for regulatory non-compliance. In 2024, the Prudential Authority hit Capitec with an R56.25-million fine for non-compliance with some anti-money laundering regulations.
- The Reserve Bank's Prudential Authority (PA) imposed five formal cautions and a R28-million fine on Capitec Bank for failures to comply with the Financial Intelligence Centre Act in a 2023 inspection.
- R5.5-million of the R28-million fine is conditionally suspended for 36 months from October 13, 2025, if no similar violations occur.
- Major breaches included inadequate customer due diligence procedures, resulting in a R10-million fine with R3-million suspended, and deficiencies in enhanced due diligence for higher-risk clients, attracting a R5-million fine with R1-million suspended.
- Additional penalties included R5-million for weak ongoing client monitoring, R3-million for insufficient anti-money laundering training, and R5-million for weaknesses in the Risk Management and Compliance Programme, portions of which were also suspended.
- Capitec previously faced a R56.25-million fine in 2024 for anti-money laundering regulation non-compliance and has cooperated with the PA to address the deficiencies highlighted.
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Additional shortcomings were identified in the bank's enhanced due diligence measures for higher-risk clients.
A separate R5-million penalty was imposed after the PA determined that the bank's Risk Management and Compliance Programme contained several weaknesses.
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Despite the findings, the Prudential
