Report calls for action
(4 March 2011 – Australia) CHOICE, the consumer watchdog, has published a report that sets out the practical steps banks can take within the next 12 months to herald a new consumer friendly age of banking, with transformed customer service and competitive deals.
The consumer group says if enough banks sign up to the plan for change, and follow through, the nation’s obsession with "bank bashing" could be history.
The people’s watchdog has based its plan on the views of consumers from around the country collected by CHOICE through its Better Banking campaign.
CHOICE has presented the report to consumers, the Treasurer Wayne Swan, the Senate Economics Committee inquiring into banking and to chief executives of major banks.
The report outlines 14 recommendations aimed at securing a new culture of banking in Australia.
They include steps to unlock consumer power, a new focus on customer service and an obligation for banks to support the community.
"Consumers have shown they are up for change, the government is playing its part, and some banks now seem ready to change too," says CHOICE CEO, Nick Stace.
"There is growing recognition that what’s good for consumers is good for the better banks. Our action plan will put consumers in the driving seat, so they can easily compare the market and switch to the best value providers. That will heap pressure on the worst banks to raise their game."
The CHOICE report describes an uncompetitive Australian banking industry in which the banks that have the biggest market share also consistently rate bottom in customer satisfaction surveys and are often the most expensive.
"Better banking isn’t an impossible dream. We’ve pointed to many examples of reform in other countries that should happen here. If the banks respond positively, this will transform the one-sided, anti-consumer culture of banking that angers so many Australians. We want every decent bank to commit to taking their service to new levels within the next year, ending unfair fees and uncompetitive practices," says CHOICE director of the Better Banking Campaign, Richard Lloyd.
The report’s action plan includes calling on banks to meet in full their obligations to the community in return for the unprecedented support they receive from the government, bank executives and boards to be held to account for customer service, including through bankers’ pay and the publication of banking league tables, showing the number of complaints by consumers against banks about each of their products and services.
It also includes improved, plain language information about credit and other banking products, making them easier for consumers to understand and compare, removal of ATM fees for on screen balance inquiries and the introduction of portable bank account numbers to give consumers confidence in switching their everyday bank accounts and the removal of other barriers to switching home loan products.
The people’s watchdog has based its plan on the views of consumers from around the country collected by CHOICE through its Better Banking campaign.
CHOICE has presented the report to consumers, the Treasurer Wayne Swan, the Senate Economics Committee inquiring into banking and to chief executives of major banks.
The report outlines 14 recommendations aimed at securing a new culture of banking in Australia.
They include steps to unlock consumer power, a new focus on customer service and an obligation for banks to support the community.
"Consumers have shown they are up for change, the government is playing its part, and some banks now seem ready to change too," says CHOICE CEO, Nick Stace.
"There is growing recognition that what’s good for consumers is good for the better banks. Our action plan will put consumers in the driving seat, so they can easily compare the market and switch to the best value providers. That will heap pressure on the worst banks to raise their game."
The CHOICE report describes an uncompetitive Australian banking industry in which the banks that have the biggest market share also consistently rate bottom in customer satisfaction surveys and are often the most expensive.
"Better banking isn’t an impossible dream. We’ve pointed to many examples of reform in other countries that should happen here. If the banks respond positively, this will transform the one-sided, anti-consumer culture of banking that angers so many Australians. We want every decent bank to commit to taking their service to new levels within the next year, ending unfair fees and uncompetitive practices," says CHOICE director of the Better Banking Campaign, Richard Lloyd.
The report’s action plan includes calling on banks to meet in full their obligations to the community in return for the unprecedented support they receive from the government, bank executives and boards to be held to account for customer service, including through bankers’ pay and the publication of banking league tables, showing the number of complaints by consumers against banks about each of their products and services.
It also includes improved, plain language information about credit and other banking products, making them easier for consumers to understand and compare, removal of ATM fees for on screen balance inquiries and the introduction of portable bank account numbers to give consumers confidence in switching their everyday bank accounts and the removal of other barriers to switching home loan products.
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