Another Australian bank cuts fees in an attempt to win over customers
Monday August 3, 2009
It seems Australian banks are beginning to pay attention to the amount of customer complaints with yet another Australian bank announcing that it will begin cutting its overdrawn account fees in an effort to please its existing customers.
Westpac and St George have announced today that they will be dropping the fees from around $45 to $9, taking effect from 1st October 2009. This action is expected to take off over $200 million to $300 million a year from reducing its fees.
This announcement follows the success and praise National Australia Bank received after it cut its overdrawn accounts fees last week that will also take effect on 1st October 2009. National Australia Bank stated that it will cancel its $30 overdrawn account fee on all its transaction and personal accounts. For the NAB, this move is predicted to take $100 million from the bank's bottom line.
Westpac and St George stated that it will not be removing its fees altogether, but will have a fixed rate of $9 to cover the costs for the bank when it processes bounced cheques or when an account is overdrawn. Accounts that will receive this new arte include over-the-limit fees, account overdrawn fees, outward dishonour fees and credit card missed payments. This action is expected to affect over 5 million bank customers.
Australia's other major banks, ANZ Bank and Commonwealth Bank, have not yet given any indication that they will follow suit and cut their fees. They each sit at $35 and $30-$35 respectively.
Use Bank.com.au for all your banking research and comparisons on bank offers, please visit our compare Bank section and see if you are getting the most from your bank
