Thursday 12 November 2026ASIC alleges undisclosed fees between November 2020 and 31 May 2025, and the bank says it will defend aspects of the claim.
Featured image: Photo by Bidgee (CC BY-SA 2.5 AU), via Wikimedia Commons. Illustrative image of a Commonwealth Bank branch.
Key facts
- The Australian Securities and Investments Commission started civil penalty proceedings against the Commonwealth Bank in the Federal Court.
- ASIC alleges about 42,000 CommBiz customers were overcharged about $8.5 million between November 2020 and 31 May 2025.
- Customers were told they would pay a fee for payments to or from third-party accounts, but ASIC alleges an additional undisclosed fee applied.
- The bank stopped charging the fees in June 2025 and has paid more than $26.4 million to about 93,000 customers under a remediation program.
- The bank said the fee was 25 cents plus GST and that it will defend aspects of the claim.
The allegations
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has started civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against the Commonwealth Bank over fees charged on its CommBiz business banking platform, the ABC reported. ASIC alleges about 42,000 CommBiz customers were overcharged about $8.5 million between November 2020 and 31 May 2025.
ASIC says customers were told they would pay a fee for payments to or from third-party accounts, but alleges they were also charged an additional, undisclosed fee for the matching movement of money. It also alleges that the CommBiz terms failed to disclose all fees for direct debit and direct credit payments. ASIC gave an example of a business paying 10 employees’ fortnightly wages from two accounts that was charged 12 fees, including two that were not disclosed.
What ASIC said
ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland said the regulator alleges the bank broke a basic promise to its business customers. ASIC alleges governance failings at the bank, that complaints began by 2015, and that a 2016 internal audit flagged overcharging on direct debit fees.
The bank’s response
The Commonwealth Bank stopped charging the fees in June 2025, amended its terms in August 2025 and has waived the fees since February 2026. It says it has paid more than $26.4 million to about 93,000 customers, including about 40,000 small businesses, under a remediation program. In a statement to the ASX, the bank apologised, said the fee was 25 cents plus GST and said it will defend aspects of the claim.
What happens next
The Federal Court had not yet listed the matter for a case management hearing. The bank said it will either defend certain aspects of the claim or continue to engage with ASIC to resolve the case.
More from this day: News Today: 12 November 2026, Australia and World Headlines
