Hi Cash Lovers,

This week Commonwealth Bank executive Angus Sullivan (above) created a public relations disaster by announcing changes that will result in over one million Australians paying a $3 fee to withdraw cash over the counter in-branch.

He then announced a deferral of the changes the next day.

Click here to hear Ben Fordham and I talking about Commonwealth Bank's $3 fee, just a couple of hours before the partial backdown was announced.

Below I have listed why Angus Sullivan and Commonwealth Bank are wrong, both about this $3 fee issue and about the bigger issue of supporting cash access and acceptance:

1) Commonwealth Bank account fees are a TAX on the POOR.

Most low-income earners who have a Smart Access account will face this fee PLUS the monthly account keeping fee, including most Centrelink recipients. 

CBA Smart Access terms and conditions state:

"Monthly account fee waived for accounts with at least $2,000 deposited each calendar month (excludes Bank initiated transactions).

A monthly account fee waiver will also apply if you’re under 30 years of age.

You may also be eligible for a different monthly account fee exemption if you have an aged, disability or war veterans’ pension deposited in your account, have a balance of $50,000 or more in eligible contributing accounts, are reliant on over the counter services because of a disability or have an eligible home loan."

Single parents, jobseekers, carers, disabled people, people on sickness benefits and low-income workers will be slugged by fees that are difficult to avoid.

2) Commonwealth Bank PROFITS from the POOR

Commonwealth Bank has 11 million account holders in Australia including many low income earners.

In 2016, Commonwealth Bank changed the rules on savings and transaction accounts to make earning interest ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE, immediately creating $18 billion in free funding for lending.

Westpac copied this move in 2023, creating $60 billion in free funding.

3) Commonwealth Bank customers can't avoid these fees

Every Australian must have a bank account to receive payments but many towns and suburbs have limited banking options.

Commonwealth Bank account fees are effectively an unavoidable tax on living for many Australians. Millions of Australians would prefer, if allowed, to receive all their payments in cash and manage their money themselves.

Many Commonwealth Bank customers come from school banking. Other banks do not have the same access to Australian primary schools.

People power forced Commonwealth bank to defer this change but the battle is not won yet. 

Every little change, like this one, erodes our right to access and use cash easily and locally.

Please share our petition with your family and friends. Tell them we don't need donations, we need signatures and shares.

https://www.change.org/BankingAndCashGuarantee

Thanks

Jason

jason@cashwelcome.org

Please help keep us going with a small donation to our expenses. This campaign is just me, Jason Bryce:

Cash Welcome gofundme account

Or duck into the Commonwealth Bank/send a direct deposit to:

Cash Welcome
BSB 062-692
AC 4954 6502

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