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Commonwealth Bank allegedly overcharges thousands of customers for more than 19 years
Australia’s corporate regulator, ASIC, has begun civil penalty proceedings against Commonwealth Bank, alleging it charged business customers fees that were not disclosed. The claims concern CommBiz, the bank’s business banking service, and alleged failures to correct the issue despite earlier complaints and internal warnings.
ASIC alleges about 42,000 CommBiz customers were overcharged roughly A$8.5 million between November 2020 and 31 May 2025, with the fee practice allegedly dating back around 19 years. CBA says it has stopped the fees and refunded more than A$26.4 million to about 93,000 current and former customers for conduct dating to December 2006; it says the median payment to affected CommBiz customers was about A$85 and the average about A$442, including interest. The bank apologised but said it would defend aspects of the case, explaining that changes to its terms did not accurately describe how a 25-cent fee plus GST was charged.
In short
- ASIC alleges CBA overcharged about 42,000 CommBiz customers.
- The alleged overcharges totalled about A$8.5 million from 2020 to 2025.
- CBA says it has refunded more than A$26.4 million and will contest aspects of the case.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
ASIC’s case can be seen as necessary accountability: customers should be charged only fees clearly disclosed to them, and a major bank should act promptly when complaints or internal warnings point to a problem. Civil penalties may help enforce those standards and deter similar failures across the industry.
The case against
CBA can reasonably argue that the dispute concerns how its terms described a fee, rather than an attempt to conceal charges, and that the legal claims should be tested in court. It says it has stopped the fees, apologised and refunded affected current and former customers, while reserving its right to contest aspects of ASIC’s case.
Explained simply
Commonwealth Bank of Australia, usually called CBA, is one of the country’s largest banks. CommBiz is its online banking service for businesses, and the disputed charges relate to fees for using that service.
Australia’s corporate regulator, ASIC, investigates and enforces laws governing companies and financial services. The case concerns whether CBA charged business customers fees that its terms did not properly disclose, and whether the bank acted on complaints and internal warnings.
The dispute matters because customers rely on banks to explain charges clearly, and regulators can ask courts to impose penalties when they allege rules have been broken. CBA has acknowledged problems with how the fee was described and says it has refunded customers, while the allegations are being tested in court.