Major banks will put more than $93 million back in the pockets of low-
income customers who have been charged excessive fees, following the latest investigation by the corporate watchdog.
Today the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) will announce about 770,000 low-income customers who were eligible for cheaper banking fees will be refunded $60 million.
The move is the latest development in ASIC’s drive for major banks to pay back various account fees to people who were receiving Centrelink payments and other government concessions.
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It means banks charging high fees to those who can least afford it will refund more than $93 million to
customers, following ASIC’s latest bank-fee review.
“Despite the improvements banks have made during our surveillance, there is clearly work to be done,” ASIC chair Joe Longo said.
“It should not take an ASIC review to force $93 million in refunds or make banks assess their processes to ensure the trust and expectations placed in them are justified.”
ASIC’s previous bank-fee report found banks had kept at least two million low-income
Australians, who rely on Centrelink payments, in high fee accounts.
In its latest report, the regulator cast the net over more banks and found even larger numbers of low-
income Australians paying too much, particularly First Nations consumers.
“Our latest work has seen the total amount of bank refunds nearly triple to $93 million, and over
one million customers moved into low-fee accounts, saving them an expected $50 million in
future yearly fees,” said ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland.
Products and processes across the 21 banks reviewed varied, along with banks’ responses.
Three of the four banks featured in ASIC’s initial report – the ANZ Bank, Westpac and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank – have now committed to provide refunds
of bank fees to a broader group of low-income customers who have been in high-fee accounts.
Now after the latest review by the watchdog, more than 920,000 low-income customers are in line to receive refunds totalling more than $93 million.
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