Online licence renewal options dwindle, FNB tops the list

Key Topics.Several online licence renewal services shut down, reducing options in 2025.FNB offers the cheapest renewal service at R141 with a promo delivery fee.Natis Online and Shoprite are among the few remaining affordable alternatives..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here..The seventh BizNews Conference, BNC#7, is to be held in Hermanus from March 11 to 13, 2025. The 2025 BizNews Conference is designed to provide an excellent opportunity for members of the BizNews community to interact directly with the keynote speakers, old (and new) friends from previous BNC events – and to interact with members of the BizNews team. Register for BNC#7 here..If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By Hanno Labuschagne.South African motorists have a much shorter list of online car licence disc renewal services to use at the start of 2025 than they did a year ago..Numerous new online licence disc renewal services were launched over the past few years, making it easier for South Africans to renew their licence discs without having to visit a licensing centre..When MyBroadband compared the prices of vehicle licence disc renewal services early last year, we found at least 10 major providers which listed their fees online..However, since that comparison, three of these services have stopped operating..The first to get shelved was Pick n Pay's service, which was facilitated by Claim Expert..Following one of MyBroadband's articles on licence disc renewal services in March 2024, the retailer confirmed it had been shut down..A cached version of the service's web portal showed it was already offline by November 2023, less than two years after its launch..The service was the most expensive throughout its brief period of availability and suffered significant delivery delays at one point..It initially cost R445 in service and delivery fees during a pilot phase. A week after rollout, Pick n Pay reduced the fees to R350. The price was later cut by a further R20..However, it remained about twice as expensive as the most affordable options..Read more: De Beer: 2025's opening moves by Cyril, Mashatile, Ndlozi – and The Donald.At the end of June 2024, one of the most affordable and best-known providers — PayCity — also discontinued its licence disc renewals..Another of the cheapest options — the South African Post Office's SapoMVL service — was also quietly shut down sometime between 14 and 28 November 2024..Strangely, the Post Office told MyBroadband the service was only a proof of concept that was not fully implemented..That was despite the service previously being described as a "first step" in making the "Sapo in my Pocket" strategy a reality..We tested the service on multiple occasions and were surprised at its quick turnaround, despite Sapo's infamous reputation for delayed deliveries..While the options for an online licence disc renewal service have certainly declined, many of the remaining services are very affordable..Online licence disc renewal and home delivery cost between R99 and R330 in January 2024, compared with R141 to R240 in January 2025..FNB maintains cheapest offering.MyBroadband compared the major online licence disc renewal services available in January 2025 to see which was the most affordable..The cheapest option in January 2025 is offered by FNB through its mobile banking app..It has been available since mid-2017 but has only expanded to all provinces in more recent years..Aside from the licencing fee based on the vehicle's weight, the bank charges R69 for delivery, the lowest of any provider..The regular R72 Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) admin or service fee applicable to all renewals — regardless of platform — takes the total cost to R141..The R69 fee is part of a limited-time promotion which has been extended repeatedly. FNB normally charges R99 for delivery, meaning the total typical cost for the service is R171..According to the latest information on the FNB app, it will remain valid until at least 28 February 2025..However, users must be FNB customers to make use of the facility..Read more: Andrew Kenny: After 30 years in power, verdict is obvious – Where ANC wins, SA loses .The second most affordable online disc renewal facility is government's own Natis Online service, which was launched in early 2022 and is available to all vehicle owners who create a profile on the website..This option costs R171 with the RTMC and delivery fee included, the same as FNB's normal renewal price..Shoprite's Money Market renewal service was the third most affordable at R185. Two other options were Capitec, which charges R219 and Renewonline which charges between R220 and R240..Disky is another service that offers online renewals that we previously listed in our comparison. While it is still available, Disky has stopped publishing its fees online, so it was excluded from our comparison..Nedbank also offers a vehicle licence disc renewal service on its Nedbank Money app, for which no fees were published online..Below are six major services offering online licence disc renewals in January 2025..ChannelAvailabilityService/admin feeDelivery feeTotalFNB mobile appFNB customers onlyR72.00R69.00 (until February 2025)Normally R99.00R141.00 (until February 2025)Normally R171.00Natis OnlineAll vehicle ownersR72.00R99.00R171.00Shoprite Money MarketAll vehicle ownersR110.25R74.75R185.00Capitec mobile appCapitec customers onlyR122.00R99.00R219.00RenewonlineAll vehicle ownersGauteng: R100.00Other provinces:R120.00R120.00Gauteng: R220.00Other provinces: R240.00.Read also:.RW Johnson: The strange, unhappy world of Julius MalemaJohn Micklethwait: How journalism will adapt in the age of AIThe Hammanskraal water crisis: How political unity achieved the impossible – Jordan Griffiths.This article was first published on MyBroadband and is republished with permission

Online licence renewal options dwindle, FNB tops the list

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