ANZ to refund $28.8m in fees

Several ANZ accounts were charged ‘periodical payment’ fees for transactions between accounts under an individual’s name, despite the terms and conditions specifying that fees would be charged for periodic payments to 'another person or business', ASIC said.

“ANZ discovered that it was charging fees on payments made between accounts held in the customer's own name, contrary to its definition of a ‘periodical payment’," the corporate regulator said.

“ANZ subsequently reported the matter to ASIC as a significant breach of its financial services obligations."

ASIC has acknowledged “the cooperative approach taken by ANZ in its handling of this matter”, which affected more than 370,000 retail and more than 17,000 business accounts.

"Good fee disclosure is integral to ensuring that consumers are in an informed position about how best to manage the cost of their banking," said ASIC deputy chair Peter Kell.

The amount to be refunded is $25.8 million, with an additional $3.0 million in interest. According to ASIC, the remediation process is expected to be finished by the end of this month.

ANZ has also updated its terms and conditions to clarify instances where fees will be incurred, and the bank has already begun contacting affected account holders.