A pair of school shoes for 99 cents

FNB and PEP have announced the return of their 99c school shoes initiative as part of the 2026 Back-to-School campaign.

 The campaign runs in PEP clothing stores nationwide from 4 January 2026 to 14 February 2026 or while stocks last.   

Both brands aim to ease financial pressure on households by combining FNB’s rewards and financial wellness ecosystem with PEP’s commitment to delivering the lowest possible prices on essential school items.

“This year marks another meaningful step in supporting our customers and their families. Through our previous initiative, we sold close to 90,000 shoe vouchers at 99c each,” eBucks Rewards CEO Pieter Woodhatch said.

“This helped thousands of households save over R12 million and ensured that children had access to affordable school shoes.” 

The offer is limited to the first 120,000 qualifying customers and can be redeemed by meeting the following criteria:

• Qualifying customers: FNB Easy and Aspire Debit, Credit or Fusion account holders.
• The offer: Buy Student Prince synthetic school shoes for 99c or receive R139 off any other school shoe.
• How to qualify: Spend R300 or more (excluding the shoes) in a single transaction at any PEP clothing store.
• Redemption: Pay with an eligible FNB card and scan a PEP +more rewards digital card at checkout.
• Limitations: One pair per customer.
• Campaign period: 4 January to 14 February 2026, while stocks last.
• Stores: PEP clothing stores only nationwide.

South Africans continue to feel the strain of rising living costs, with Entry-level households being the most affected. Beyond essential expenses like food and transport, school uniform costs continue to add significant pressure to family budgets.

This follows on from FNB’s partnership with Pick n Pay to offer customers a loaf of bread for 99 cents, which has been running since September 2024. 

FNB Easy PAYU and Easy Bundle clients can purchase up to four loaves of bread a month at 99c per loaf. 

FNB Easy PAYU and Easy Bundle customers must swipe their cards for any amount when purchasing goods at Pick n Pay stores to qualify.

This offering has proven to be wildly popular with FNB clients. Woodhatch revealed that in December 2024 alone, over 400,000 loaves of bread were purchased for 99c. 

Woodhatch also said that this offering resulted in FNB Easy customers doubling their average basket size at Pick n Pay, significantly boosting the retailer’s sales. 

This also shows that the retailer has become the preferred store for grocery shopping among this client base. 

The bank estimated that it will issue between four and six million bread vouchers in the current financial year. 

FNB’s partnership with Pick n Pay is growing, and the bank is gradually expanding its offering to more clients. 

From first starting with the 99c for a loaf of bread initiative, it has expanded to include earning and spending eBucks at Pick n Pay.