ASIC alleges Commonwealth Bank overcharged business customers $8.5 million in misleading fees over nearly 19 years
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has launched civil penalty proceedings against the Commonwealth Bank, alleging thousands of business customers were charged undisclosed fees through its CommBiz banking platform.
The case centres on allegedly misleading terms and conditions that failed to adequately disclose fees for direct debit and credit transactions into and out of business accounts.
ASIC alleges around 42,000 customers were overcharged approximately $8.5 million between 2020 and 2025, with businesses unaware they were paying additional transaction fees.
Overcharging allegations span nearly two decades
The regulator claims the issue dates back to CommBiz’s launch in 2006, with customer complaints about the fees emerging as early as 2015.
An internal audit conducted in 2016 also identified problems with direct debit charges, but the issue remained unresolved.
The bank discontinued the disputed fee in June 2025 and amended its terms and conditions two months later. From 2026, fees for direct debit and credit transactions were also waived.
Since December 2006, a broader remediation program has returned more than $26.4 million to approximately 93,000 CommBiz customers. Payments to affected customers had a median value of around $85 and an average of $442, including interest.
The proceedings have been filed in the Federal Court, with a hearing date yet to be announced.
The bank has acknowledged past errors, apologised to affected customers and said it has cooperated with the regulator while introducing measures to prevent similar issues.
However, it intends to contest aspects of the proceedings, arguing that changes to its terms were part of efforts to simplify its fee structure.
The action follows ASIC’s separate proceedings against Macquarie Bank over alleged failures involving promotional offers.
