Beyond Bank turns branches into safe spaces for abuse victim-survivors
Twenty-three customer-owned banks have rewritten their terms and conditions to stop their products being weaponised by perpetrators of financial abuse. The Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA) set out the sector’s response after the federal government replied to a parliamentary inquiry into the issue.
The updated terms state that misuse will carry consequences, and more mutual banks and credit unions are preparing similar changes. The government has supported 58 of the 61 recommendations made by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services in its inquiry into the regulatory framework’s handling of financial abuse.
COBA chief executive Michael Lawrence (pictured) noted that customer-owned banks are owned by their customers.
“Supporting customers’ financial wellbeing and independence is fundamental to that relationship, and financial abuse can undermine both,” said Lawrence, who retires this month after nearly nine years leading COBA. Yasser El-Ansary takes over as chief executive on 2 November.
Branches become safe spaces
Beyond Bank’s confidential callback form lets customers record a “cover story” in case an abuser answers the phone. The bank has also added a rapid-exit button to its financial abuse webpages and opened its branches as safe spaces where customers can meet lawyers or support workers without drawing attention.
“Financial control is frequently used in coercive control to strip individuals of their autonomy and the resources needed to leave unsafe situations,” said Beyond Bank chief member banking officer Sophie Scott-Young.
COBA is also a member of the Financial Safety Alliance formed in January alongside the Australian Banking Association, the Australian Finance Industry Association, and Arca.
Older Australians are a further focus. COBA is one of 26 organisations in the Financial Abuse of Older People Action Collaborative, led by the Australian Human Rights Commission. Around one in six older Australians experience abuse.
Brokers on the front line
Brokers have also been given new tools. The Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) recently released When Finance Gets Personal, a guide that flags warning signs such as one person consistently answering for the other, or last-minute changes to applicants, ownership, or loan purpose.
Lender expectations are shifting too. The Australian Banking Association released an updated industry guideline on financial abuse that treats small business lending as a potential channel for abuse and adds safeguards to test whether a loan genuinely benefits the borrower.
Industry wants deadlines
Arca, Australia’s peak consumer credit industry association, said the government had taken almost two years to respond and had offered no clear roadmap for implementation.
“We need to stop expecting victim-survivors to navigate the system and start expecting the system to work for them,” said Arca chief executive Elsa Markula.
