Commonwealth Bank has faced a backlash after a video showed a customer being turned away when he tried to hand over cash at a branch to pay off a debt. The customer, filming the exchange on his phone, offered several $50 notes to a teller, who told him she could not accept the cash and that he would instead need to make the payment through the bank's app. The clip struck a nerve online, with viewers questioning how a bank could refuse legal tender and how customers without smartphones, such as elderly people, are expected to manage.

In the footage, the teller told the man she could only log his feedback but could not take the cash, and said she was also unable to deposit it on his behalf despite him explaining he had no way to transfer the money digitally. He repeatedly pressed her, arguing that a bank teller should be able to accept payments at an open branch. Responding to the criticism, a Commonwealth Bank spokesperson said its cash services were unchanged, and that customers, including those without a CBA account, can still deposit cash over the counter or via ATMs using a card, app or the QR Cardless system, which allows non-CBA customers to deposit funds without downloading the app.