COTA Australia has joined forces with other consumer organisations, including Mortgage Stress Victoria, in calling on the Community Owned Banking Association (COBA) to implement stronger consumer protections for customers.
Consumer groups have welcomed the final report from the Independent Review of the Customer Owned Banking Code of Practice, saying that it provides important reforms for customers experiencing financial hardship, family violence, financial abuse and vulnerability.
The Final Report contains recommendations for stronger hardship protections, improved safeguards for victim-survivors of domestic and family violence, better support for First Nations customers, recognition of business-related financial abuse, greater transparency around artificial intelligence and stronger protections for digitally excluded customers.
However, consumer organisations say that the recommendations do not go far enough in terms of stronger independent oversight and universal access to customer advocates, better support for low-income customers, protection of face-to-face banking and meaningful safeguards for people unable to bank digitally should not be optional extras in a customer-owned banking code.
See the Final Report here.