Four largest banks in Australia – Commonwealth Bank, Westpac Banking, National Australia Bank and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group – are scrapping cash withdrawal charges for all domestic users. Commonwealth Bank said it would immediately remove the A$2 fee it charged customers of other banks to use its 3,400 ATMs. Westpac and National Australia Bank too have announced the measure while ANZ Bank said it will stop levying the charge from October. Australian consumers have been complaining that they have to pay a charge for withdrawing their money and the banks have decided to respond positively in order to create a better image for them. There have been several scandals hitting the banking industry in the country. Specifically, Commonwealth Bank is facing allegations that it repeatedly breached anti-money laundering laws and is facing a civil court case and two regulatory probes. According to Rserve Bank of India statistics, bank customers in the country made 259 million withdrawals from ATMs of banks other than their own in 2016. At A$2 a withdrawal, customers have been charged A$520 million in fees.
