But Chalmers refused to put a number on what an acceptable fee would be for withdrawing cash, which is becoming increasingly expensive for banks to handle.
“They accept that those changes were not acceptable or appropriate,” he said. “I welcome their change of heart ... They will have another look at those changes to make sure that people are not worse off.”
Gallagher told Nine’s Today show on Wednesday morning people were “sick of” banks charging fees to customers accessing their own money. While Housing Minister Clare O’Neil told Seven’s Sunrise the move was “really unfair to customers”.
“Everyone’s had a bit of a tough year on the cost-of-living front and the last thing they need is a kick in the guts from the Commonwealth Bank right before Christmas,” she said.
On the same program, Liberal senator Jane Hume pledged to shut down her CBA account.
“I don’t know what kind of greedy, out-of-touch executive decided on this idea. It’s ridiculous and customers will speak with their feet,” she said.
The Greens vowed to seek to legislate against banks charging exorbitant fees for withdrawing cash.
CBA has been attempting to shut down its legacy Complete Access transaction account, which it has not offered since 2016. Sullivan said with 90 per cent of those customers not withdrawing money over the counter, and Smart Access accounts – with nine million users – being $2 cheaper per month, the bank believed it was the right time to make that transition.
The fee does not apply for ATM withdrawals, and there are exemptions for people under the age of 18, as well as pension and other concession-card holders.
Sullivan said customers adversely affected will be offered other accounts, such as Basic and Pensioner Security, but the bank was willing to work with people to cater to their individual circumstances.
He denied the changes were motivated by profit, saying the vast majority of people would either be financially better off or neutral, but reiterated the cost of handling cash.
“More than 90 per cent [of customers] do not use over-the-counter cash services,” Sullivan said.
Credit: Matt Golding
“They’re very happy using the ATM or paying digitally, which is a choice for everyone to make ... The reality is those other payment methods are a cheaper service for us to provide, and so we are ensuring that we can offer competitive service to those customers who choose to bank that way and recover a fraction of the cost of providing the more expensive service.”
Cash usage has plummeted over the years, and the cost of handling and transporting physical currency is getting more expensive for financial institutions and businesses. Cash-in-transit service provider Armaguard collapsed earlier this year amid the decline of cash, requiring an eleventh-hour bailout from big banks and supermarkets.
The federal government has been developing plans to ensure cash remains part of the payment system, and last month Chalmers announced businesses would be required to accept cash for essentials such as groceries and fuel.
National Australia Bank said it did not charge fees for assisted withdrawals, while Westpac said it didn’t charge the fees for retail bank customers.
ANZ Bank applies a $2.50 fee for staff-assisted withdrawals for some products including certain savings accounts, but its everyday transaction account does not incur the fee.
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