ASIC sues CommBank, alleging undisclosed CommBiz fees

If your business paid wages or other payments through CommBank’s CommBiz platform, you may have paid fees you were never told about. That’s what the corporate regulator alleges in a new lawsuit.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said on 12 November that it has started civil penalty proceedings against Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA). It alleges tens of thousands of CommBiz customers, many of them small businesses, were overcharged millions of dollars. A court hasn’t yet ruled on the allegations.

One fee on paper, two in practice

CommBiz is CBA’s online banking platform for business customers. Businesses use it to send payments (Direct Credits, such as wages) and to collect them (Direct Debits).

CommBiz customers were told they would pay a fee for each payment to or from a third party’s account. ASIC alleges CBA also charged a second fee that wasn’t disclosed. That one was for the matching movement of money out of, or into, the customer’s own CommBiz account. ASIC calls these “contra leg” fees.

ASIC gave an example. A small business paying the fortnightly wages of 10 employees from two CommBiz accounts was charged 12 fees. Ten were for the payments to staff. The other two, ASIC says, were undisclosed fees for the money leaving its own accounts.

$8.5 million, and 19 years of fine print

ASIC alleges that between November 2020 and 31 May 2025, about 42,000 CommBiz customers were overcharged about $8.5 million.

It says the problem goes back much further: the misleading terms were in place from CommBiz’s launch in 2006, so customers were overcharged for around 19 years. It also alleges:

• CBA received customer complaints about the issue from at least 2015
• a 2016 internal audit found Direct Debit fees were being overcharged and required corrective action
• governance failings meant the misleading statements weren’t picked up and fixed
• CBA failed to act efficiently, honestly and fairly.

“Small businesses are busy enough. They should not have to scrutinise every transaction to make sure that their bank is charging them the right fees,” ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland said.

ASIC is seeking declarations, financial penalties, adverse publicity orders, other orders and costs. The court hasn’t yet listed the case for a case management hearing.

What CBA has done so far

CBA paused the fees in June 2025 and changed the CommBiz terms in August 2025. Since February 2026 it has waived contra leg fees on Direct Debits and Direct Credits.

It has completed a remediation program covering 1 December 2006 to now. ASIC says that has paid more than $26.4 million to about 93,000 past and current CommBiz customers, including around 40,000 small businesses.

SmartCompany reports that CBA, in a statement to investors, acknowledged shortcomings in how it charged the fees but disputed some of ASIC’s claims. CBA also says it found the problem itself and reported it to ASIC.

If you used CommBiz

ASIC’s advice is short: if you think you were affected and haven’t been paid back, contact CBA.

You’ll find that easier with your records to hand. Pull out CommBiz statements from before June 2025 and look at how many fees each payment run attracted. If a pay run to 10 staff shows more than 10 fees, that’s the pattern ASIC describes.

The case is also a reminder that bank fees for paying and getting paid aren’t always obvious. We looked at what banks charge businesses to take cards when that data was first published.

Checklist

• Check whether you used CommBiz Direct Credits or Direct Debits. Direct Credits (such as pay runs) and Direct Debits are the payments in question.
• Look for a CBA remediation payment. ASIC says CBA has paid more than $26.4 million to about 93,000 CommBiz customers. Check your account statements and any letters or emails from CBA.
• Count the fees on a pay run from before June 2025. Compare the number of fees with the number of payments. An extra fee for the money leaving your own account is the charge ASIC says wasn’t disclosed.
• Contact CBA if you think you missed out. ASIC says anyone affected who hasn’t been remediated should contact the bank.
• Check your current bank’s payment fees. Get its fee schedule for Direct Credits and Direct Debits, and confirm the fees on your statements match it.