History

Postbank has its origin rooted deep in South African history back to the year 1875. It was then that that a government bank was first established. Later, it was decided to incorporate this Savings bank into the Post Office. In 1884, the first Savings Bank was founded in Cape Town and by the end of that year it was possible to open 125 Post Office Savings Banks.

It was only 90 years later, in 1974, that the Post Office took full responsibility for the Post Office Savings Bank and the National Savings Certificates. The first computerisation of the Post Office Savings Bank was completed on 1 October 1974.

In 2003, the Post Office realised that all South Africans deserved a bank and launched its Paymaster to the Nation project where recipients of social grants were able to open a Postbank account. In 2005 the Postbank became the leading provider of Mzansi accounts in South Africa with more Mzansi account holders than any other bank, which include the big four banks. This is because every Post Office is a Postbank and there are over 2000 Post Offices across the country.

It was in 2010 that legislation was promulgated that made it possible for Postbank to change from a deposit-taking institution to a full-fledged bank, opening up the possibility for any South African to save, transact, and invest with minimal hassle and ultimate reward.