This study investigates the perceptions and understandings of various demographic groups about risk management and its implementation in the South African banking industry. As no reliable secondary data was available, research was carried out using a survey questionnaire. The survey’s participants were employees at the top five commercial banks in South Africa. The Student t -test, analysis of variance and factor analysis are the inferential statistical techniques used to explain the results of the survey. The majority of the survey respondents thought risk management was crucial and knew the fundamentals of its structure. Moreover, the survey revealed that demographic factors such as age, sex, ethnicity and length of service influence whether participants perceive risk differently. This indicates that in the context of South African banking, demographics are crucial to understanding and applying risk management as a whole. This study is groundbreaking because it clarifies the important role of demographics in influencing bank employees’ perceptions of risk. Ultimately, it may be deduced that a bank’s total operational risk management improves when its staff members understand the risk management procedure.