COBA has upped the ante on banking competition with the launch of a new campaign to raise awareness of alternatives to the big four. Consumers who shop around may well find better deals, but the process of switching banks is still fraught with difficulty. COBA should be lobbying for account number portability, as this would break the nexus and make switching more likely. If mobile phone numbers can be portable, why not bank accounts?
A new campaign begins today to encourage Australians to check out the banking alternatives available to them, including Australia’s mutual banks, credit unions and building societies.
“The current banking debate has started the conversation about alternatives to the big 4,” COBA CEO Mark Degotardi said.
“There are 80 mutual banks, credit unions and building societies that offer a strong and safe alternative and who already serve 4 million Australian customers.
“These customer-owned banking institutions offer home loans, credit cards and everyday banking accounts.
“Customer owned banking has $104 billion in assets and invests healthy profits back into the community and into investment in better products and services.
“We encourage Australians to visit our Check Out the Competition website to learn more about the customer owned banking alternative.”
Customer owned mutual banks, credit unions and building societies:
o Are all Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions (ADIs), just like the big 4.
o Bring a fundamentally different model to the market, a model where customer interests always comes first.
o Have market-leading customer satisfaction ratings, highly competitive pricing and community focus.
“We hope Australians will check out the competition and like what they see.
