CBA to refer financial abuse to NSW Police

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has announced the launch of an Australian-first pilot that will set “new standards” for how banks report technology-facilitated financial abuse to law enforcement.

Working with the NSW Police from mid-September, the pilot will provide an escalation path so that impacted customers in NSW will be able to report their abuser easily and quickly.

In the trial, if CBA’s artificial intelligence detects a NSW customer receiving repeated abuse in transaction descriptions, the CommBank Next Chapter team will contact the customer and ask if they would like CBA to report the abuse on their behalf to NSW Police.

If the customer consents to CBA reporting the issue, the bank will initiate a report to the NSW Police.

CBA Group customer advocate Angela Macmillan said: “The launch of this new pilot with NSW Police will help provide better support for customers experiencing abuse.

“Technology-facilitated abuse continues to be a serious problem, and this collaboration with NSW Police enables us to act – not only in supporting victims but in the prevention of abuse.

“This is a first of its kind initiative between the banking industry and law enforcement, and we hope this paves the way for more effective collaboration in the fight against domestic and financial abuse.”

The latest pilot followed the major bank’s implementation of abusive transaction monitoring in June 2020, which has reportedly blocked nearly 400,000 transactions a year through an automatic filter.

The system is augmented by an AI model that reviews transactions and has detected approximately 1,500 perpetrators a year who send potentially abusive messages. These cases are then manually reviewed to determine the severity and appropriate action required from CBA.

Noting CBA’s new pilot, the chief executive of the Australian Banking Association, Anna Bligh, commented: “I congratulate CBA and the NSW Police on this collaboration which means critical information can now be shared when financial transactions are being used to threaten, harass or intimidate victims of domestic violence.

“This trial will provide valuable insights for police services and other banks about how to better combat the scourge of domestic violence.”

Earlier this year both CBA and NAB updated their terms and conditions to allow their bankers to suspend, cancel, or deny individuals access to their savings or transaction accounts if they were found committing financial abuse.

At the time of the change, Rebecca Glen, CEO of the Centre for Women’s Economic Safety, said: “Few other businesses are better placed to protect women against financial abuse and its devastating health and economic impacts for them and their children.

“I’m delighted to see the Commonwealth Bank and NAB build on a range of other initiatives they’ve put in place to support people experiencing financial abuse and domestic and family violence.”

CBA said anyone worried about their finances because of domestic or family violence or coercive control can contact its Next Chapter team on 1800 222 287 for support – no matter whom they bank with.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

In an emergency or if you are not feeling safe, always call 000.

[Related: Financial abuse perpetrators put ‘on notice’ by major banks]