Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones has slammed a move by the Commonwealth Bank to charge a fee for cash withdrawals as a “kick in the guts and the worst Christmas present”.

CBA customers will soon be charged $3 just to withdraw their own cash as part of major changes to one of the big bank’s main everyday account offerings announced on Tuesday.

From January 6, customers who have a Complete Access account will be automatically moved to a Smart Access account, which incurs a withdrawal fee.

Comm Bank said the changes were “part of our commitment to provide the best available banking experiences”.

“We’ve reviewed our everyday accounts offering and will be replacing Complete Access with our newer transaction account, Smart Access,” it said.

The number of customers affected by the switch was not revealed.

The bank said Smart Access was its most popular everyday account. It has a $4 monthly fee that is waived provided some criteria are met, such as a deposit of at least $2000 per month.

But the account also attracts an “assisted withdrawal fee” of $3 for customers who withdraw cash at bank branches, post offices or by phone.

The fee is waived only for customers who are under 18 years old or have an aged, disability or war veterans’ pension.

Complete Access account customers are not charged a withdrawal fee, but pay a monthly $6 account fee that is also waived if certain criteria are met.

The move comes after the near collapse of logistics company Armaguard threatened cash payments this year and follows the introduction of a government policy guaranteeing the right to pay with cash.

The Commonwealth Bank said there were three ways customers could avoid paying the $3 fee when withdrawing money from a Smart Access account, by:

• Withdrawing it from a CommBank ATM using a CommBank debit card
• Making transactions without a card or PIN via QR Cardless (which replaces the Cardless Cash service)
• Paying bills and transferring money through the CommBank app or NetBank.

Affected bank customers will be notified in advance before their accounts are changed.

Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Comyn last year said making cash available to customers cost the bank about $400 million a year – or approximately $40 for each of its 10 million customers.

The move to charging a withdrawal fee comes after other banks, including Bendigo and Adelaide Banks, introduced a $2.50 fee for withdrawing cash from a branch in October.

The Finance Sector Union said the introduction of withdrawal fees was “all about increasing their profit”.

“In a cost-of-living crisis, every cent counts and $3 is a significant hit, especially for customers on low incomes, pensions and benefits,” the FSU’s national secretary Julia Angrisano said.

“It is an unnecessary and greedy grab from a bank that’s making plenty while also cutting costs,” she said.

Cash transport company Armaguard earlier this year secured a $50 million deal with its largest customers to guarantee its survival for at least 12 months,.

Armaguard is Australia’s sole distributor of bank notes and coins, and there are concerns the country’s cash economy will not survive if the company doesn’t.

In November the federal government introduced its protection of cash payments for essential goods policy to ensure that essential items at supermarkets, pharmacies and petrol stations can be purchased using physical money.