ANZ will refund $10.2 million to more than 52,000 business-held credit card accounts due to a failure to properly disclose fees and interest charges, according to financial services regulator ASIC.
The bank reported to ASIC that it had failed to disclose – or had incorrectly disclosed – the following information to some of its ‘Business One’ credit card customers:
- Applicable interest rates
- The interest-free period
- The annual fee
- When an overseas transaction fee might apply
- The amount payable for overseas transactions with foreign merchants or financial institutions.
ASIC has advised that many of the affected customers were small businesses and that some of the cases fate back to early 2009.
It also noted that ANZ has updated its procedures and fee information for Business One, and contacted the affected customers, past and present, about their eligibility to receive a refund with interest. Former customers will receive a bank cheque while current customers with an open account will receive a refund paid into their account.
ASIC acknowledged the cooperative approach taken by ANZ in its handling and reporting of this matter.