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Group Executive Retail Banking Services Angus Sullivan provides an update on some recently communicated changes relating to a legacy transaction account.

“We have done a poor job of communicating this change to our customers. We are particularly conscious of the impact any change to planned fees and charges can have at this time of year especially given the cost of living pressures our customers face.

The changes taking place are such that the approximately 90 percent of customers we intend to move, and who we expect will be better off or the same, will be moved to the lower monthly fee account. If those customers don’t want to move, they can contact us to discuss their options. For the remaining customers we are changing our approach and we are pausing the migration. Instead, we will contact these customers over the next six months to communicate about suitable product options.

The changes outlined above do not affect approximately 9 million CommBank customers who are not on the Complete Access product.

Commonwealth Bank maintains the largest branch network. Each of our branches has fee free ATMs and we have a moratorium on regional branch closures until at least the end of 2026."

Fact sheet – Complete Access account migration

What change has CBA introduced?

  • We recently decided to close the Complete Access account in early 2025 and move 1m Complete Access customers to Australia’s most popular transaction banking account, Smart Access.

Why was this decision made?

  • We stopped offering Complete Access accounts to new customers in March 2016.
  • This decision was taken because we felt it was a simpler and ultimately better outcome for most of our customers.
  • Of the 1.2m customers who currently use a Complete Access account, around 1m were due to be moved to Smart Access accounts.
  • Of these 1m, close to 90 per cent will be better off or the same by moving to the more modern Smart Access account – in part, because they’ll pay $2 less each month in account fees.
  • All concession holders with Complete Access accounts (~200,000) were, and remain, exempt from this change. These customers will be moved to another transaction account at a later date.

Was the decision based on generating more revenue?

  • No. We expect to generate less revenue as a result of the change.

Which customers will be worse off as a result of this change?

  • This change affects around 10% (~1m) of our 10m+ retail customers.
  • Around 1% (~130,000) of all our transaction account holders may have been worse off as a result of these changes.
  • Based on the feedback we have received from our customers and the community, we are now pausing the migration for  all customers who made an assisted withdrawal over the last six months.
  • We will communicate directly with these customers over the next six months to help them get support in relation to this change.

How do the fees differ between the Complete Access account and Smart Access account?

  • The Smart Access account has a lower monthly account fee ($4) than the Complete Access account ($6).
  • The Smart Access account has an assisted withdrawal fee of $3, although a number of customers, including those under 18, pensioners receiving payments into their account and those with disabilities, are exempt.
  • The Complete Access account has no fees for assisted withdrawals.

How many Complete Access account holders use assisted withdrawals?

  • The vast majority of Complete Access customers do not make assisted withdrawals.
  • Of the current 1.2m Complete Access customers, less than one quarter (~22%) made an assisted withdrawal in FY24.

Why do you need to charge any fees for people to access their own money?

  • All of our customers can access cash for free from our 1,845 ATMs nationwide. 
  • We have the largest bank-owned ATM network in Australia and are investing $100m in refreshing our ATM fleet.
  • We also maintain the largest branch network in Australia – over 660 branches and specialist centres, and we are supporting our front-line employees to deliver a wide range of services in our branches.
  • We distribute more than $4bn in cash across Australia each month.
  • There is a significant cost in providing cash to an ever-reducing user base - we spend around $400m each year to keep cash moving across Australia.
  • Any charges in relation to withdrawals over the counter only cover a very small fraction of the money we spend each year to keep cash circulating and available.

How many assisted withdrawals do CBA customers make in CBA branches and Bank@Post?

  • Overall branch transactions have declined by 39% since FY19.
  • Assisted withdrawals in CBA branches are down 36% over the same time period from 13.9m in FY19 to 8.9m in FY24

How many withdrawals do CBA customers make from Bank@Post?

  • In FY24, CBA customers made 3.7m withdrawals from Bank@Post locations, a decline of 12% from 4.4m in 2019.

How does this compare to ATM usage?

  • Our customers use our free ATMs for cash withdrawals
    • 7x more than they do assisted withdrawals in CBA branches
    • 16x more than they do withdrawals in Bank@Post locations
  • In a similar trend to other cash access options, ATM withdrawals have more than halved over the past five years, down 63% from ~163m in FY19 to ~60m in FY24.

Go to CBA Newsroom for the latest news and announcements from Commonwealth Bank.

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