Borrow
Major bank instigates financial hardship specialist team
Scams, fraud, domestic and family violence, elder abuse, low financial literacy and gambling addiction will all be in the sights of a big four bank’s new customer service initiative.
Major bank instigates financial hardship specialist team
Scams, fraud, domestic and family violence, elder abuse, low financial literacy and gambling addiction will all be in the sights of a big four bank’s new customer service initiative.
Comprised of a new specialist team of bankers dedicated to recognising and responding to signs a customer is experiencing vulnerability, the new service announced by NAB aims to help detect the early stages of financial hardship and provide assistance to such customers.
According to NAB’s chief legal and commercial counsel, Sharon Cook, the new team of bankers “provides support well beyond that of traditional financial hardship assistance”.
“Every year we assist 1.4 million customers experiencing financial difficulty due to events such as injury, illness and unemployment,” she outlined.
“This support hub enables us to be more proactive by identifying hurdles our customers are experiencing and providing them with extra care.”
The support hub’s announcement follows a successful trial of the specialist service in June which was able to help more than 500 customers.
“By referring customers to community partners, we have been able to provide much-needed assistance to those experiencing elder and financial abuse, mental illness and credit card debt,” Ms Cook explained.
“We have also, at the request of customers, applied restrictions on gambling transactions on credit or debit cards that prevents them going further into debt.”
The service hub has also involved the setting up of a dedicated Indigenous customer service line for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander customers living in remote locations, “which is making a huge difference to how they access banking services”, according to Ms Cook.
The support hub’s creation is an action under the bank’s new customer vulnerability framework, which is purported to enable a more inclusive banking service “and better support for our customers in hard time”.
“The simpler and more inclusive we can make the process of managing the financial impacts associated with vulnerability, the lighter the load for our customers,” Ms Cook said.
About the author
About the author
Banking
How sneaky fees could be costing you hundreds
As many as a quarter of Australians are being stung with unknown, unfair or incorrect banking fees, with the costs adding up during the COVID-19 pandemic, an expert has revealed. ...Read more
Banking
Westpac hit with biggest fine in corporate history
Australian banking and financial services giant Westpac has reached an agreement with AUSTRAC to pay $1.3 billion for breaching anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws. ...Read more
Banking
6 ways to know you need a new bank
Unhappy with your current bank? Here’s how to know if you need to make a change. ...Read more
Banking
The banks beating the big 4 when it comes to customer satisfaction
Midsize banks are the biggest winners in a new survey of bank customer satisfaction. ...Read more
Banking
‘There’s no shame in deferring payments’
Deferring mortgage repayments is “a lesser evil” than having to sell property in the current market if you can hold off, a mortgage broker has advised. ...Read more
Banking
Standing on the shoulder of giants: How Australia’s fintechs can tap into open source
Australia has developed a vibrant fintech scene, which, in one year alone, grew by a staggering 37 per cent. The surge has ushered in a new era of financial products and services, from fully online ho...Read more
Banking
Billion-dollar bank blowout for fees for no service
To date, six of Australia’s largest financial institutions have reported a need to return more than $1 billion in compensation to customers who suffered as a result of fees for no service or non-com...Read more
Banking
Are bank branches becoming a thing of the past?
Banking may never be the same post-pandemic, with a new survey showing Australians have made some pretty drastic changes to the way they use and move money. ...Read more
Banking
How sneaky fees could be costing you hundreds
As many as a quarter of Australians are being stung with unknown, unfair or incorrect banking fees, with the costs adding up during the COVID-19 pandemic, an expert has revealed. ...Read more
Banking
Westpac hit with biggest fine in corporate history
Australian banking and financial services giant Westpac has reached an agreement with AUSTRAC to pay $1.3 billion for breaching anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws. ...Read more
Banking
6 ways to know you need a new bank
Unhappy with your current bank? Here’s how to know if you need to make a change. ...Read more
Banking
The banks beating the big 4 when it comes to customer satisfaction
Midsize banks are the biggest winners in a new survey of bank customer satisfaction. ...Read more
Banking
‘There’s no shame in deferring payments’
Deferring mortgage repayments is “a lesser evil” than having to sell property in the current market if you can hold off, a mortgage broker has advised. ...Read more
Banking
Standing on the shoulder of giants: How Australia’s fintechs can tap into open source
Australia has developed a vibrant fintech scene, which, in one year alone, grew by a staggering 37 per cent. The surge has ushered in a new era of financial products and services, from fully online ho...Read more
Banking
Billion-dollar bank blowout for fees for no service
To date, six of Australia’s largest financial institutions have reported a need to return more than $1 billion in compensation to customers who suffered as a result of fees for no service or non-com...Read more
Banking
Are bank branches becoming a thing of the past?
Banking may never be the same post-pandemic, with a new survey showing Australians have made some pretty drastic changes to the way they use and move money. ...Read more
More articles
Website Notifications
Get notifications in real-time for staying up to date with content that matters to you.
