FNB calls paying from an empty account a "value-added service". Customers say it costs them R200 a time

A customer buys something online. The money is there. Days later the shop claims the payment, but FNB's monthly fee has gone off in between.

The account is now short. FNB pays the shop anyway. Then a line appears on the statement. Item Paid – No Funds. R200.

That is how one FNB customer described it in a review in May 2026. "If there isn't enough money then decline the purchase," they wrote.

It is the question that filled the replies this week, after a man stuck at minus R7,000 said FNB told him his problem was sorted. Why did the bank let the payment through at all?

FNB has not yet answered the new complaints in public. But it answered that question three years ago.

Why does FNB let payments go through with no money?

In 2023, personal finance writer Maya Fisher-French asked the big banks what they do when a payment arrives and the account is empty.

FNB's answer came from Sajeel Jagjivan, then head of pricing at FNB Personal Core Banking. He said the bank "offers a value-added service that assists customers in real time when they have a liquidity shortfall".

A liquidity shortfall means you don't have enough money at that moment.

The service covers "debit orders, card purchases, and scheduled payments," he said. FNB told her it would not let a customer go over the limit on a credit card. But it would honour certain payments from a cheque or current account if the customer was "in good standing".

So when a late card payment lands on an empty account, FNB may pay it on purpose. That is how a minus appears on an account with no overdraft.

Photo: ECSequeira / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

How much is the FNB item paid no funds fee?

According to FNB's 2023 answer, the fee depends on the size of the payment.

For a payment under R45, the fee equals the payment itself. Above that, the fee grows with the amount, up to a maximum of R200 per item.

That matches what customers describe in 2026. The May review shows the R200 charge by name. In February, another customer said excess item fees of nearly R2,000 piled up over three days after a delayed payment pushed them into the minus.

Back in 2016, an FNB customer in Namibia was charged N$200 on a purchase of N$316.35 that had been approved when he paid. Same fee level, different country.

Do I get time to fix it before FNB charges me?

Yes, and this is the part most people in the replies did not know.

FNB told Fisher-French that once it honours a payment, the customer is allowed one day to put money in before the fee is charged.

One day is not much. A late card payment can arrive without warning, often while you sleep. But if your app sends you a notification that a payment went through with no funds, a quick transfer that day may save you the fee.

It also means the fee is not automatic in the bank's own description. Ask about that one-day window if you were charged on the same day a deposit came in.

Is the honouring fee even legal?

That question has been hanging over the fee for years.

In the same 2023 piece, the National Credit Regulator said an honouring fee would not be permissible under the National Credit Act. The thinking is simple. If a bank pays for you with money you don't have, it has lent you money. Lending is covered by the credit law, which limits what can be charged.

We found no court ruling on FNB's fee. So most people end up arguing with call centres instead. Our explainer on why a bank account goes negative without an overdraft covers the other causes, from toll gates to foreign purchases.

Do other banks do the same?

Not all of them. Here is what each bank told Fisher-French in 2023.

Absa said its R50 covers "manual intervention from one of our credit officials". Standard Bank said it lets customers go a little over where they could face "reputational risk", meaning embarrassment at the till.

Fees change every year, so check your own bank's current pricing guide. The pattern is clear, though. FNB's ceiling was four times Absa's fee.

Has FNB had other payment glitches this year?

Yes. In March 2026, MyBroadband reported that some FNB virtual card holders were charged two or three times for one purchase. FNB blamed "a technical processing error" and said it would reverse every duplicate charge.

One customer told the site they ended up R2,700 in arrears because of the double charges. That kind of glitch can trigger the same chain of honoured payments and fees.

Photo: ECSequeira / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

How many people complain about FNB to the ombud?

The National Financial Ombud Scheme, or NFO, is the free referee for bank complaints. Its 2025 annual report, released in June 2026, lists cases against the big five banks.

2,975Standard Bank

2,705FNB

2,641Capitec

2,482Nedbank

2,234Absa

See the numbers

Standard Bank	2,975
FNB	2,705
Capitec	2,641
Nedbank	2,482
Absa	2,234

Source: National Financial Ombud Scheme 2025 annual report, as reported by Moonstone, June 2026. Cases registered by the banking division.

FNB drew 2,705 cases, about 18% of the division's total. Only Standard Bank had more.

These are all kinds of complaints, not only minus balances. Fraud was the biggest category. But current accounts, the everyday accounts where minus balances happen, were the product people complained about most, with 3,439 complaints in 2025.

What should I do if FNB charged me an item paid no funds fee?

Start with your statement. Find the fee line and the payment it belongs to. Note the date you made the payment and the date it settled.

Then ask FNB three questions in writing. Why was this payment honoured instead of declined? Was I given the one day to top up? Will you reverse the fee?

Always get a reference number. If the answer doesn't fix it, take it to the NFO at nfosa.co.za or 0860 800 900. It costs nothing, and in 2025 it recovered more than R53 million for banking customers.

With petrol near R30 a litre, plenty of accounts run close to zero at month end. That is exactly when a late payment and a R200 fee hurt most.

Can I stop FNB honouring my payments?

The 2023 answers suggest you can ask. Nedbank already declines payments when the money isn't there, which proves a bank can switch the feature off.

So ask FNB whether honouring can be turned off on your account. A declined payment at the till is embarrassing. A R200 fee on an empty account, repeated every month, is worse.

The man at minus R7,000 asked one question that nobody at the bank would answer. Where did the money go? Part of the answer has been in FNB's own words since 2023. One day, R200, and a payment the bank chose to make. The rest of the answer is FNB's to give, and every customer staring at a minus is waiting for it.