Fee-free freedom: switch and save on bank fees

WHILE over 185,000 banking customers are preparing to take on eight banks for 'unfair' fees, one of Australia’s biggest comparison websites, finder.com.au is urging more Australians to go fee-free and switch financial institutions to find better deals.

The class action lawsuits are against the banks for allegedly charging customers excessive fees between $20 and $45 such as overdraft or over the limit fees.

Michelle Hutchison, spokesperson for finder.com.au, said the class action cases could be a game changer for Australia’s financial services industry.

“These class action lawsuits show the power of what public pressure can really do. Australians have had enough of paying collectively billions of dollars in bank fees and if these cases win, there will likely be a shake-up of all bank fees across the industry.

“In fact, last year, we collectively paid our banks over $11 billion in bank fees – over $4 billion of which was from households.

“But we can’t rely on financial institutions to charge fair fees or drop their fees altogether. The only way we will make real changes to the banking industry is if more Australians compared their financial products and switched. This will force institutions to be more competitive.”

According to finder.com.au, there are 39 credit cards with no annual fees, including two platinum cards and three gold cards.

There are also 105 home loans with no annual service fee, and 101 home loans don’t charge redraw fees.

Many transaction accounts come with no monthly service fees and fee-free transactions.

“It’s up to more Australians to take on the responsibility with their financial products by reviewing their options and comparing deals,” said Mrs Hutchison.

“It will not only force competition between banks but also will save consumers potentially thousands of dollars every year.”

www.finder.com.au

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