Don’t tough it out on your own

14 October 2022
With floods continuing to affect Australians, particularly those across the east coast of Australia the Australian Banking Association (ABA) urges all customers affected to contact their bank to find out about support that may be available.
Australian Banking Association Chief Operating Officer, Vanessa Beggs said Australia has once again been affected by multiple flood events which has tested the nations resilience.
“Australian banks are supporting their customers with tailored assistance to help them at this difficult time,” Ms Beggs said.
“Natural disasters can quickly turn into a financial emergency. To best prevent this from happening customers are encouraged to reach out to their bank as early as possible to get the support they need.
“The message from banks is clear: don’t tough it out on your own, call your bank as soon as you are able to, they are ready to help,” she said.
ABA member banks offer a range of measures to help customers affected by natural disasters. Depending on individual circumstances, assistance may include:
- A deferral of scheduled loan repayments, on home, personal and some business loans for up to 3 months
- Waiving of fees and charges, including for early access to term deposits
- Debt consolidation to help make repayments more manageable
- Restructuring existing loans free of the usual establishment fees
- Offering additional finance to help cover cash flow shortages
- Deferring upcoming credit card payments
- Emergency credit limit increases
Latest news
Hamish MacDonald: A Senate inquiry is examining a wave of bank closures that have hit regional Australia particularly hard. More than 1600 bank branches have closed nationally in the past six years, including 309 in the last financial year. Like post offices and milk bars, bank branches form part of the architecture of regional communities… Read more »
New laws banning the use of credit cards for online gambling are one step closer with the introduction of the Federal Government’s Interactive Gambling Act 2001 Bill to Parliament. The Australian Banking Association (ABA) has welcomed this milestone saying the new laws will make it illegal for an online gambling company to accept a credit… Read more »
The Australian Banking Association (ABA) has welcomed the introduction of new legislation to boost the security of identity verification services.