Trending Financial News 5 September 2019

Which banks are Australia’s customer favourites?

Teachers Mutual bank, ING and Bank Australia are Australia’s favourite banks, measured by how willing their customers are to promote them to their friends and family, according to the latest data from Roy Morgan Research and analysed by BankingDay.com.

‘Net promoter scores’ of Australia’s banks have increased since the banking royal commission report was released in February 2019.

Heritage Bank also recorded an increase in its Net Promoter Score, which subtracts the numbers of unhappy customers from the number of customers willing to recommend their bank to others. Of the big four banks, only Commonwealth Bank currently has a positive score.

New Buy Now, Pay Later app launches with Harvey Norman

Personal loan and in-store credit specialist Latitude has launched a new Buy Now, Pay Later service called LatitudePay which can be used at Harvey Norman shops. LatitudePay allows shoppers to pay for items over 10 weekly interest-free instalments.

Consumers undergo a credit and ID check as part of the 90 seconds sign-up process. After sign-up, customers can get instant approval for purchases $150 and $1000. Shoppers pay no fees or charges if they pay on time.

Latitude CEO Ahmed Fahour said “In the coming weeks we will make a series of announcements about other leading retailers and eCommerce partners joining the LatitudePay platform.”

Late fees are capped at $10 for balances under $50 and $50 for larger balances.

Banks issued unfair small business loans says ASIC

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank faces court action from the corporate regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission over alleged unfair contract terms in small business loan contracts. The contracts were for about 19,000 loans issued by Rural Bank and Delphi Bank, both owned by Bendigo.

Among the loan terms that ASIC says are unfair are clauses allowing the bank to call a default on the loan, even if the small business owner has met all of its financial obligations. Bendigo Bank said it no longer uses those contracts, is co-operating with ASIC and hopes to settle the action.

In a separate action by ASIC, Bank of Queensland is also alleged to have issued similarly unfair loan contracts to 3754 small business borrowers since November 2016.

BoQ said it had addressed “the vast majority of ASIC’s concerns”.

BP to defect from Velocity to QFF in 2020

BP Australia has dumped its partnership with Virgin Velocity and signed up with Qantas Frequent Flyer program.

From early 2020, card purchases at any of BP’s 1400 petrol stations could earn members QFF points. BP’s Brooke Miller told the Australian Financial Review that a significant proportion of customers choose a petrol station according to the points they can earn from making purchases.

Citibank will increase purchase rates and cash advance rates on most of its credit cards from 1 October 2019. Only the Citi Clear Platinum low rate card will not change its 12.99 per cent interest rate. All other Citi credit card purchase rates will increase from 20.99 per cent to 21.49 per cent. The cash advance rate on all cards rises from 21.74 per cent to 22.24 per cent.

Citibank and Kogan offer pay by instalments

Citibank has partnered with online retailer Kogan to offer an instalment plan for shoppers. Citi credit card holders can create a Kogan.com account, enter their Citi credit card details, then select to pay with interest free instalments for selected purchases.

Repayments are interest free but fees apply: 0.5 per cent of the purchase price for a three-month payment option, 2 per cent for the 12-month option, 5 per cent for the 18-month and 24-month options. Other terms and conditions apply.