The bank’s employees are now earning more than $13,000. The 2024 remuneration reportsof the Capitec Bank revealed that employee pay scales had changed over the last three years. The number of employees earning R250,000 ($13.268) to R500,000 ($26.536) annually tripled and now accounts for 62%.
This move is part of a larger effort by South African banks in order to retain skilled employees. Standard Bank and Absa have both increased their minimum salaries through 2025. Absa increased its minimum salary to R250,000 ($13.268) per year, an 8.7% increase over last year. Standard Bank increased its minimum salary as well to R258,390 (13,731) annually, with unionised staff receiving an average salary increase of 5.8%.
This shift is also in response to macroeconomic trends. According to Axiomatic payroll consultancy, salaries are expected to increase by 5.5%, slightly above inflation, in South Africa in 2025. The percentage of employees earning between R180,000 and R250,000 ($13.268) has dropped dramatically, from 61% to just 16% in 2021. Those earning less than R180,000 are now only 2% and are mostly interns or entry-level hires.
Fairness is reflected by the way we structure pay for higher earners and executives. Vusi Mahlangu is the chairperson of the bank’s compensation committee. She said that at this level, fairness is managed by a greater weighting of pay toward variable pay.
10 % of Capitec’s employees earn more than R1 million annually (over $53,000). The bank has also heavily invested in its tech talent, increasing its IT budget by 28%, to R1.7million (about $91,200). This helped increase the proportion of employees earning between R500,000 ($26.536) and R1.5million (about $79,000.00) from 11% to 17% by 2024.
Capitec also focuses on talent retention. 63% of positions are filled internally, and the voluntary resignation rate is just 11.6%. This is well below South Africa’s average 15.6% for the banking sector.
The bank’s strong financial performance was the driving force behind the salary increases. The bank’s strong financial performance drove the salary increases. Capitec also has a more affluent clientele, with a 27% rise in clients earning R50,000 ($2,650) per month.
These salary increases coincide with a change in leadership at the bank. Gerrie Fourie, the Capitec chief executive for 25 years, is stepping down. He earned R104.8 (over $5 million) last year. This included R75 million in long-term incentive payments. He also holds 1 million Capitec share valued at approximately R3.3 billion ($175 million). He will continue to advise on the bank’s international expansion plans, even though he is retiring as CEO.
