Commonwealth Bank allegedly overcharges thousands of customers for more than 19 years
Commonwealth Bank allegedly overcharged millions of dollars in fees to tens of thousands customers.
ASIC alleges that between November 2020 and May 31, 2025, about 42,000 CommBiz customers were overcharged about $8.5 million in fees.
‘We allege Commonwealth Bank broke a basic promise to its business customers,’ ASIC commissioner Alan Kirkland said.
‘Small businesses are busy enough. They should not have to scrutinise every transaction to make sure that their bank is charging them the right fees.’
ASIC alleges business customers were overcharged for about 19 years.
‘What makes this particularly concerning is how long the alleged conduct went on, despite customer complaints to Commonwealth Bank pointing to a problem years earlier,’ Mr Kirkland said.
ASIC alleges customers were advised they would incur a fee when making payments to external accounts, but were also charged an additional amount when funds were transferred out of their own CommBiz accounts.
In one example, a business making fortnightly wage payments to 10 employees across two CommBiz accounts was allegedly charged 12 fees, despite only being notified about 10.
Commonwealth Bank allegedly overcharged millions of dollars in fees to tens of thousands customers
ASIC has launched civil penalty proceedings against Australia’s biggest bank, alleging it overcharged customers by applying fees it had never disclosed. Pictured: CEO Matt Comyn
ASIC claims CBA had been receiving complaints about the charges since at least 2015, while an internal audit conducted in 2016 had also flagged problems with direct debit fees.
The regulator alleges failures in the bank’s internal governance allowed the misleading fee disclosures to remain uncorrected.
They also allege that the CBA did not meet its obligations to act efficiently, honestly and fairly.
CBA has since discontinued the fees and returned more than $26.4 million to approximately 93,000 current and former customers in relation to conduct dating back to December 2006.
ASIC has commenced civil penalty proceedings against CBA.
They are seeking declarations, pecuniary penalties, adverse publicity orders, ancillary orders and costs.
The Federal Court has not yet listed the matter for a hearing.
The Commonwealth Bank said in a statement that it intended to defend aspects of the litigation.
ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland said the alleged overcharging was particularly concerning given how long it continued despite customers raising concerns with the bank
The Commonwealth Bank said in a statement that it intended to defend aspects of the litigation
‘While CBA charged the fee consistently over time, the issue arose from changes made to certain Terms and Conditions intended to simplify them, which did not accurately reflect the fee charging method,’ the CBA statement said.
‘The relevant fee was 25 cents (plus GST).
‘CBA self-identified this matter, reported it to ASIC, and has cooperated fully with ASIC throughout its investigation.
‘CBA has taken additional rectification steps to reduce the risk of similar incidents.’
By October 20, the median payment to affected CommBiz customers was about $85, while the average was about $442. Both figures included interest, it said.
‘While CBA accepts that it did not get things right for CommBiz customers and apologises to all customers impacted by this matter, CBA does not accept the way that some allegations have been formulated,’ the bank said.
‘It therefore expects to defend certain aspects of the claim, or otherwise continue to engage with ASIC to efficiently resolve the proceedings.’
