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CommBank support / Disputing a transaction / Disputing a pending transaction

What are pending transactions?

How long does a pending transaction take to process?

  • Generally, it takes 3–5 business days for a pending transaction to either:

    • Fully process – this means it no longer appears as “pending” and the amount is debited from your account balance.
    • Expire – some transactions, such as pre-authorisation or deposits paid for services, may disappear from your account transaction history and the amount returned to your available funds balance. 

    Read more about dispute and processing timeframes. 

Should I lodge a dispute if I don’t recognise a transaction that’s still pending?

  • Yes. Message us  in the CommBank app to quickly get connected to the right help. Don’t have the app3? Download it now or contact us  to raise a dispute.

    We’ll wait for the transactions to be fully processed before we start our investigation.

When will I hear from you about my dispute?

    1. As soon as you raise your dispute and during our investigation, we’ll keep you updated by email or send you push notifications if you have the CommBank app
    2. If the pending transaction expires and you’ve already lodged a dispute, we'll let you know that we’ve closed your dispute and the amount will be returned to your available funds balance.
    3. If a transaction reappears and debits your account, message us immediately to lodge a new dispute.

     

Will I be refunded for any additional fees charged?

  • A pending transaction may incur additional fees such as international transaction fees, processing fees, overdraft fees or interest.

    Most related fees are refunded to your account when the dispute is successfully resolved in your favour. Other fees and/or interest (e.g. overdrawing fees) may take additional time to calculate and will be refunded some time later. 

Can I access funds in my account? 

Do I need a new card?

  • If your dispute is for unauthorised transactions, we’ll cancel your card and send you a new one to ensure no more unauthorised transactions can be made on your account.


    Things to remember:

    • You'll get your new card within 5–7 business days (10 business days for rural areas) and you'll need to activate it before you use it.
    • If you've got regular payments set up, you’ll need to contact these providers and update them with your new card details.
    • If you’ve already set up your digital wallet (e.g. Apple Pay, Google Pay), you can use it while you wait for your new card to arrive.

    If your dispute is on a credit card, you won't be able to see your new account in NetBank or the CommBank app until you activate your new card. In the meantime, your cancelled card information can be found in the closed account section of NetBank.

    If the disputed transaction/s are 'pending', they can appear on your new card account once you activate your new card – don't be alarmed as your new card details have not been compromised. The transaction will usually expire or process and we’ll start our investigation.

I’ve got multiple pending transactions, what should I do?

  • If you’ve already contacted us to dispute a pending transaction, but there are new transactions appearing on your account that you don’t recognise, message us immediately to lodge a new dispute. 

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