8 March 2024
This International Women’s Day, the Australian Banking Association has reaffirmed the sector’s unwavering commitment to protecting women’s financial safety and security.
In Australia, one in six women will experience financial abuse over the course of their lifetime. The 2024 IWD theme “Count Her In” is an opportunity to talk about the types of financial abuse that women can face including:
- controlling someone’s spending
- stealing, taking, or ‘borrowing’ a person’s money, debit or credit cards, possessions or property without their knowledge or consent
- limiting or denying a person access to their money or bank statements
- forging someone’s signature, forcing them to sign a document or misleading them about the contents of the documents they are signing
- pressuring another person to act as a co-borrower or guarantor for a loan/joint loan when they do not wish to do so.
- making a person pay for another person’s expenses (e.g., where they share a home with another person and do not contribute to bills, maintenance, and other expenses despite being asked to do so).
“The banking industry recognises that financial abuse is a form of coercive control and can keep women locked-in violent and dangerous relationships,” said ABA CEO Anna Bligh.”
“Banks have taken action to stamp-out financial abuse, including training staff to spot red flags and referring customers to specialised support.
“Banks are also making it abundantly clear in their products that financial abuse won’t be tolerated and could lead to account suspensions or closures.”
13 Australian banks have now published new terms and conditions that make it clear financial abuse is unacceptable customer behavior, which may result in account suspension or closure.
Author of Design and Disrupt, Catherine Fitzpatrick said “Tens of millions of customers have been told banks won’t condone disrespectful and controlling behaviour, and they’ll change their practices to explicitly forbid it.
“This is globally leading action from Australian banks which directly addresses one of the key drivers of gendered violence. Never has it been more important.”
More information on financial abuse prevention can be found here.
Latest news
Tom Connell Those people with a home loan who have had a fixed rate are getting a shock as they come off that fixed rate. Often as low as two percent and onto the new variable rate that can be as high as six or even seven percent. So how is that affecting people out… Read more »
Australians facing difficult financial decisions are being reminded to get in touch with their bank and get the support they need to keep repayments on track. The Australian Banking Association (ABA) is extending its ‘don’t tough it out on your own’ campaign which was launched last year, with a further round of advertisements to run… Read more »
Steve Austin Well as you know, the Commonwealth Government has made it clear they consider access to cash a priority for the Australian economy and the country’s largest banks, as well as Coles, Woolworths, companies like Wesfarmers and Australia Post have been trying to put together a short term lifeline for Armaguard, who’s the company… Read more »