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CBA accused of mass hidden fees scandal
ASIC alleges small businesses were hit with fees they were never told about, despite customer complaints dating back years.
- CBA stands accused of overcharging tens of thousands of business customers over almost two decades.
- ASIC alleges members on CBA’s CommBiz platform were secretly charged additional fees to move money in or out of their accounts.
- Between late 2020 and early 2025, ASIC alleges that CBA overcharged around 42,000 customers almost $8.5 million in undisclosed fees.
Australia’s biggest bank is being sued by the financial watchdog following allegations it had overcharged tens of thousands of business customers millions of dollars in fees.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) this morning announced it was commencing civil proceedings against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia on behalf of CommBiz customers.
ASIC alleges CBA’s CommBiz terms and conditions were misleading because they failed to clearly disclose all the fees business customers would be charged for direct debit and direct credit payments.
Business customers were aware they would be charged a fee for payments to or from third-party accounts.
But the watchdog alleges that CBA also charged an additional undisclosed fee when money moved into or out of their CommBiz account.
ASIC alleges that between November 2020 and 31 May 2025, approximately 42,000 CommBiz customers were overcharged approximately $8.5 million in fees.
“We allege Commonwealth Bank broke a basic promise to its business customers, many of them small businesses, that the fees it told them they would pay were the fees they would actually be charged,” said ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland.
“Small businesses are busy enough.
“They should not have to scrutinise every transaction to make sure that their bank is charging them the right fees.”
In an example provided by ASIC, a CommBiz customer paying fortnightly wages to 10 employees was allegedly charged 12 fees: 10 for payments to its employees, and two more secret fees for money withdrawn from the business’s accounts.
Issue could stretch back decades
CommBiz is CBA’s online banking platform for business customers that it launched in 2006.
The watchdog is also alleging that CBA overcharged customers during this period, despite receiving customer complaints about it from at least 2025.
In June 2025, CBA temporarily ceased charging the relevant fees and amended its CommBiz Terms a month later, in August.
CBA has completed a remediation program covering the period from 1 December 2006 to the present, resulting in more than $26.4 million in remediation payments to approximately 93,000 CommBiz customers.
Kirkland said ASIC believes CBA failed to act “efficiently, honestly and fairly.”
“What makes this particularly concerning is how long the alleged conduct went on, despite customer complaints to Commonwealth Bank pointing to a problem years earlier,” he said.
“This action should serve as a warning to banks that failing to get the basics right will attract ASIC attention.”
The Money Edition has contacted CBA for comment.
Topics: Business, Commonwealth Bank