For this years’ Michelangelo Wine Awards, Bidvest Bank has come on board to sponsor the Trophy for Best Merlot, which is South Africa’s top-selling red varietal red wine. Many people still strongly associate Bidvest Bank with Forex – having had its start as Rennies Bank, however, Bidvest Bank has evolved into a full-service Bank that was recently voted third in the Forbes Banking Satisfaction Survey which rates the South African banks customers are most satisfied with.
Bidvest Bank is now a leading tier two South African bank and an entrepreneurial bank born to change the way banks do business with their customers. “We differentiate ourselves from our competitors in the way in which we service and look after our customers. For us, it is all about getting things done and forging close and value-adding relationships with our customers,” explains Japie van Niekerk, MD of Bidvest Bank.
The Bank’s evolution began in 1998 when The Bidvest Group Limited acquired Rennies Group, including the Rennies Foreign Exchange business. A banking license was obtained in 2000 and Rennies Bank was able to expand its travel foreign exchange-focused customer base by launching international money transfers, via MoneyGram, in South Africa. Rennies Bank was rebranded Bidvest Bank in 2007 and increased its banking and financial expertise.
The World Currency Card™, the flagship travel forex offer, was launched in 2008, and in the same year, the online international payments platform for businesses with import and export requirements began operations. Savings and investment accounts were added in 2009, and Bidvest Bank acquired McCarthy Fleet Solutions from the McCarthy Group in order to offer fleet finance and management services.
2010 was dedicated to fine-tuning the Bank’s lending and credit expertise and, in 2011, a personal bank account was launched. The Business Banking value proposition was launched in 2015 and, in 2016, the Bank’s ‘can-do’ attitude and ‘action-oriented’ customer approach was brought to life by the repositioning of the Bank’s brand with the entrepreneurial philosophy of ‘Let’s Get it Done’. This expresses the commitment made to customers and all stakeholders– to always endeavor to find a solution, rather than a than an obstacle.
In 2017 merchant services was added to the range of banking offerings, through the acquisition of First Data Resources South Africa, substantially enhancing the business banking value proposition.The Bank has evolved from a bureau de change business into a fully-fledged bank focusing on business and personal banking, fleet and asset finance, and treasury solutions.
In 2018, the bank launched its most innovative product yet; the Bidvest Bank GROW Account™ which is a new generation transactional account that delivers against today’s market needs by allowing account holders to transact, save and invest from the same account, with no minimum deposits, and highly competitive interest rates. These acquisitions and innovations have enabled Bidvest Bank to grow exponentially. In 2018, this was recognized by the South African Reserve Bank indicating Bidvest Bank as one of the fastest-growing banks in South Africa based on Total Assets – representing growth which has been more than double the Total Banking Sector Growth in 2018.
For all your banking and forex requirements for your business, please contact us via email Hanri.Pretorius@bidvestbank.co.za.