2017-09-24
Greens Treasury spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, welcomes the move by Commbank to scrap ‘foreign ATM fees’ and calls upon other banks to immediately follow.
Senator Whish-Wilson said, “There is no way that Commbank ever would have made this move without the public pressure on them over multiple scandals and the threat of an impending Royal Commission or Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry.
“I am calling on other banks to follow immediately and scrap these foreign ATM fees. And if they don’t, then Scott Morrison and Chris Bowen should say they will work together in the Parliament to pass laws to ban them.
“The Greens, through Adam Bandt and Bob Brown first called a ban on these excessive fees in 2010. Last year I moved amendments to the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Payment Surcharges) Bill 2015 to force banks to stop gouging with ‘foreign ATM fees’.
“Labor and Liberal voted together against the Greens amendments to stop ATM fee rorts and it’s about time they stopped whingeing about these fees and start legislating.
“A Royal Commission or a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry will put more pressure on the banks to lift their game but that’s no reason for us not to legislate right now. Australians have had enough of these rip-offs and now it seems some of the banks are realising it,” he concluded.