This article covers what to do when a Thrive Fee has left one of your accounts with a negative cash balance: why it happened, how to clear it yourself, and what happens if it stays that way. The Thrive Fee is R25 a month and applies to clients below Thrive Level 3.
For how Thrive works and how to get to Level 3 so the fee falls away, see Thrive Rewards
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Jump straight to Quick Reference - Common Symptoms & Fixes
1. Why My Balance Looks Wrong
The Thrive fee run for the previous month processes on the 3rd business day of the new month. The R25 comes off the EasyEquities account holding the highest free cash balance above R25, with retirement fund accounts excluded.
If none of your accounts held more than R25 in free cash at the time of the run, the fee still has to land somewhere, and the account it lands in can go into a negative cash balance. That might be what you are looking at.
Related: Why doesn't the amount match R25 exactly? · What do I need to do now? · Quick Reference table
Usually because you are looking at several months added together. A balance of -R72.37, for example, might be three separate monthly charges rather than one: November, December and January.
Each charge also splits into two lines, R21.74 for the fee and R3.26 for the VAT, which is why searching your history for a clean "R25.00" often turns up nothing. Your full transaction history shows every charge with its date.
Related: I haven't traded in months. Why am I still being charged? · What do I need to do now? · Quick Reference table
The Thrive Fee is tied to your Thrive Level, not your trading activity. If you finish a month below Level 3, the R25 is charged for that month whether you placed a single instruction or none at all.
Over several quiet months those charges add up, which is how an account you have not looked at in a while ends up with a balance you do not recognise. Trading is not what clears it. Levelling up is, and depositing more than you withdraw in a month is worth 3 levels on its own.
Related: How do I stop this happening every month? · Am I exempt from the fee? · Quick Reference table
Because the fee follows the free cash, not the currency. If the account with your highest free cash balance that month happened to be a non-ZAR account, the R25 is converted to that currency at the exchange rate at the time of the deduction and taken from there.
So a small unexplained negative in a currency account you rarely touch is often the Thrive Fee. Check the date against the 3rd business day of the month, and look in your transaction history for a fee and VAT pair on that date.
Related: Why is my account showing a negative cash balance? · What do I need to do now? · Your different accounts on EasyEquities
2. Clearing the Balance Yourself
You have two straightforward options, and either one settles it:
- Make a deposit into the account showing the negative balance, using any of the available funding options
- Sell a small portion of your investments in that account, on your own terms and in your own timing
A deposit that also leaves you net positive for the month does double duty: it clears the balance and earns you 3 Thrive Levels, which stops next month's fee.
Related: What happens if I do nothing? · How do I stop this happening every month? · Quick Reference table
Nothing happens immediately, and nothing happens without warning. If the balance stays negative, we email you 14 business days before anything is sold, and that email is also your opportunity to tell us how you would prefer the amount owing to be recovered.
If we hear nothing from you in that window, we may sell investments to settle the amount. Clearing the balance yourself at any point during those 14 business days ends the process.
Related: Will EasyEquities sell my investments? · Will I be warned before anything is sold? · Quick Reference table
An account can't close while something is still owed on it, so a negative Thrive balance will hold the closure up until it's cleared. That's usually a small deposit, or selling a portion of a holding to cover it.
The rest is the same as any closure: no holdings left, no cash left, then let us know and we'll finish it off for you.
Related: What do I need to do now? · What if I'm holding something I can't sell? · Close my EasyEquities account
It happens, and it puts you in an awkward spot: an instrument suspended by the exchange, a structured product that hasn't reached maturity, a property waiting on an auction. You can't sell it, so you can't empty the account, and the Thrive Fee keeps building a balance you have no way to clear.
Tell us what's stuck. There are situations where we keep the account open and stop charging the Thrive Fee until the holding can be sold, and then close the account for you once the funds are out. It isn't something you need to apply for in advance, it's something we look at once we know what you're holding.
Related: I'm trying to close my account and it won't go through · What do I need to do now? · Close my EasyEquities account
3. If We Need to Recover the Fee
Only if the balance stays negative after we have given you notice and heard nothing back. Selling part of someone's investment to settle a R25 fee is not an outcome anyone here wants, and we would rather set out exactly how it works than leave you to find out afterwards.
What is sold is limited to what is needed to cover the amount owing. Everything else in your portfolio stays where it is, and the sale appears in your transaction history like any other sell instruction.
Related: Will I be warned before anything is sold? · Which account and which holdings get sold? · Quick Reference table
Yes. You get 14 business days' written notice by email before any investment is sold, and that notice invites you to tell us your preference for how the amount owing should be recovered.
Replying is worth doing even if you cannot clear the balance right away, because it is the point at which your preference can be taken into account. If we do not hear from you inside the notice period, the default applies.
Related: What if I never received the email? · Which account and which holdings get sold? · Quick Reference table
The account used is the one with the highest net asset value based on tradeable assets. That is a different test from the one used for the everyday deduction, so it is not always the account carrying the negative balance.
Within that account, if you have not told us otherwise by the deadline, the default is a proportional sale across all your tradeable holdings. Nothing is singled out, and the split follows the shape of your existing portfolio.
Related: Will I be warned before anything is sold? · Will EasyEquities sell my investments? · Thrive Benefit Statement
Every notice we send is on record, so we can confirm what was sent to you and when. Worth checking your spam and promotions folders first.
Keeping a working email address on your profile is the part that sits with you, since a notice period only helps if the notice arrives. Your email address is not self-editable, so if yours has changed, chat to Ella and she will get it to the team who can update it for you.
Related: Will I be warned before anything is sold? · What happens if I do nothing? · Quick Reference table
4. Making Sure It Doesn't Happen Again
Reach Thrive Level 3 in a month and no fee is charged for that month. The quickest route is to deposit more than you withdraw, which is worth 3 levels on its own, and R1 net is enough to qualify.
Referring a friend who joins and makes a first investment is also worth 3 levels, and smaller activities like the monthly Academy lecture add a level each. Your Thrive page shows where you are and what is still open for you to complete in the month.
Related: Am I exempt from the fee? · I haven't traded in months. Why am I still being charged? · Thrive Rewards
You are, if any one of these applies: you are at Thrive Level 3 or above, you are 21 or younger, you are 65 or older, the account holder is a corporate body, you have an active EasyCredit loan, or you have an active EasyProtect policy.
Retirement fund accounts are also never used for the deduction, whatever your level.
Related: How do I stop this happening every month? · Why is my account showing a negative cash balance? · Thrive Rewards
Quick Reference - Common Symptoms & Fixes
If something isn't adding up, match your symptom below to the right answer:
| Symptom | Most Likely Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Negative cash balance appeared in the first few days of the month | The Thrive fee run for the previous month | Why is my account showing a negative cash balance? |
| The negative amount isn't R25 and doesn't match any transaction | Several months of fees added together, each split into fee and VAT | Why doesn't the amount match R25 exactly? |
| Charged on an account that has been sitting dormant | The fee follows your Thrive Level, not your activity | I haven't traded in months. Why am I still being charged? |
| Unexplained negative balance in a foreign currency account | The fee was converted and deducted from your highest free cash account | Why is my USD, GBP, EUR or AUD account negative? |
| Email saying investments may be sold | The balance stayed negative, so the 14 business day notice period has started | What happens if I do nothing? |
| Shares were sold from an account that wasn't the negative one | Recovery uses the account with the highest tradeable NAV, not the negative account | Which account and which holdings get sold? |
| This keeps happening every month | You are finishing each month below Thrive Level 3 | How do I stop this happening every month? |
| I want to close the account but the closure won't complete | A negative Thrive balance is still outstanding on it | I'm trying to close my account and it won't go through |
Still stuck? Reach out to our support team by submitting a ticket. For a full introduction to the programme, see Thrive Rewards