Commonwealth Bank pauses plans for 'kick in the guts' $3 withdrawal fee

Commonwealth Bank no longer plans to charge customers a $3 fee to withdraw their own money after the move sparked backlash.

It had indicated that from January 6, customers with Complete Access accounts would be automatically moved to Smart Access accounts.

This account includes a $3 “assisted withdrawal fee” for withdrawing money at bank branches and post offices.

The bank’s announcement was criticized on Tuesday, with assistant treasurer Stephen Jones. and Labor Minister Clare O’Neil said the proposal was a “kick in the guts”.

Now, less than 24 hours after the announcement, the bank has changed course.

A person withdrawing money from a Commonwealth Bank ATM.

The bank’s head of retail services admitted it had done a “poor job” in communicating the change to customers. Source: PAA / Erik Anderson

Angus Sullivan, the bank’s head of retail banking, said that for the estimated 100,000 customers who would have been worse off because of the change, it would not be implemented for at least six months.

“Those who we think might be in a slightly worse situation and need more support to make sure their banking arrangements are appropriate, we’re going to pause the changes that we’ve announced,” Sullivan said.

“We are going to spend the next six months engaging with these customers one-on-one to ensure we have a solution for each of them rather than just migrating to a Smart Access account.”

Sullivan acknowledged that the bank had done “a poor job communicating this change to our customers.”

“We are particularly aware of the impact that any changes to scheduled fees and charges may have at this time of year, particularly given the cost of living pressures our customers face,” he said. he declared.

The bank had said that withdrawal fees would be waived if the customer was under 18, had an age, service or disability pension or had a disability requiring them to use a branch.

Commonwealth Bank said it would also continue to offer customers free cash withdrawals from its nationwide ATM network.