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30 June 2008

Westpac removes exception fees on Basic bank account

Westpac today announced further initiatives to assist customers with the removal of all exception fees from its Basic bank account.

Westpac's Group Executive Consumer Financial Services Peter Clare said Westpac had decided to cease charging exception fees on the Basic bank account.

"From 1 August we are going to improve our Basic bank account, by removing all exception fees on this account," Mr Clare said.

"We recognise that many of our customers, particularly pensioners and other welfare recipients, are on tight budgets and we believe it is important to provide them with a bank account that best suits their individual circumstances in these difficult economic times.

"The enhancements we are announcing today, now provide a Basic bank account that is exception fee free, has no monthly service fee and allows unlimited Westpac transactions across branch, ATM, EFTPOS, Telephone and Internet Banking."

Mr Clare said the changes further enhanced Westpac's position as a socially responsible bank and followed the launch of the innovative Westpac Assist initiative last November.

Westpac Assist is a special unit dedicated to identifying and assisting customers at risk of falling into financial difficulty.

Since its launch, Westpac Assist has helped more than 2,700 customers regain control of their finances and avoid defaulting on their financial obligations to Westpac.

Westpac Assist is fundamental to Westpac's Responsible Lending Principles which include the following commitments:

• We will seek to lend only what our customers can afford to repay
• We will market our products and services responsibly
• We support customers facing financial difficulty
• We help to improve our stakeholders' financial literacy and capability.