Greedy’ Commonwealth Bank blasted for fee grab
The New Daily
Dec 04, 2024
Australia’s largest bank is under pressure to abandon plans to charge some customers to access their own cash.
In a move widely blasted as greedy and out of touch, the Commonwealth Bank announced on Tuesday it would shift all customers with Complete Access accounts to Smart Access accounts, which have “assisted withdrawal fees”.
The $3 fee hits customers when they take cash out from bank branches, post offices or over the phone. It does not affect withdrawals from ATMs.
The fee – branded “the worst Christmas present” by Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones – will not apply to age, service and disability pensioners, those aged under 18 and people with disabilities that require them to use branches.
But that has not stopped a pile-on from other prominent politicians, who have urged the bank to reconsider the decision.
“People understand there’s some charges relating to banking transactions, but this seems pretty extraordinary to have a charge of this size for a simple transaction of going into a bank and withdrawing your own money,” Finance Minister Katy Gallagher told Nine’s Today program on Wednesday.
Fellow Labor minister Clare O’Neil said the move was a “kick in the guts”.
“Everyone’s had a bit of a tough year on the cost-of-living front … come on guys, it’s Christmas, we don’t need this right now,” she told Seven’s Sunrise.
The bank said fees on the Smart Access account, its main transaction account, had not changed and it continued to offer withdrawal fee waivers for eligible customers.
The CBA’s move follows similar steps by its competitors, including Bendigo and Adelaide Banks, which introduced a $2.50 fee for branch withdrawals of cash in October.
The Finance Sector Union said such fees were “all about increasing their profit”.
“In a cost-of-living crisis, every cent counts and $3 is a significant hit, especially for customers on low incomes, pensions and benefits,” the FSU’s national secretary Julia Angrisano said on Tuesday.
“It is an unnecessary and greedy grab from a bank that’s making plenty while also cutting costs,” she said.
Liberal senator Jane Hume said customers would vote with their feet and close their accounts – including herself.
“I have a Commonwealth Bank account I’ve had since I was at university. I will be shutting it because of this decision,” she said.
“I don’t know whether it’s a Complete Access account or not [but] it’s a bad decision and I will be shutting my account.”
On ABC TV, another Coalition frontbencher, Ted O’Brien, added his criticisms. He said he’d recently dealt with the effect of the CBA closing a local branch and was worried the latest change would hit the same customers.
“I’m thinking about those same senior citizens who are struggling because, all of their life, they’ve become accustomed to walking into a branch,” he told News Breakfast.
“I think, for them to be stung by $3 is certainly worthy … of a serious rethink on behalf of the bank,” he says.
Independent MP Monique Ryan said the move showed cash was under threat in Australia.
The government recently announced a proposed mandate for businesses such as supermarkets, pharmacies and petrol stations that sell essential items to accept cash payments.
About 94 per cent of businesses accept cash, a fall from 99 per cent before the Covid-19 pandemic.
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