Big changes coming to banking in 2018
Financial service specialists are expecting big changes to banking this year due to next month’s Royal Commission and new technologies.
Fast payments will be one of the first changes, allowing immediate money transfers as email addresses and phone numbers, known as PayIDs, to replace BSBs and account numbers.
“People can position themselves to benefit from the changes,” People’s Choice Credit Union spokesman Stuart Symons told news.com.au.
“Start thinking now about the accounts you use the most, and save your email address and phone number for those accounts. You can only link one account with each PayID so get it right early,” Mr Symons said.
Other changes coming to banking include:
1. Fewer ATMS
Comparison website Mozo.com.au says there will no longer be an ATM on every street corner.
“We expect the banks will begin the process of amalgamating their ATMs into one network under one brand,” said Mozo director Kirsty Lamont.
“There will also be far fewer ATMs available to consumers due to the banks’ inability to charge for ATM usage.”
2. Lower fees and charges
Ms Lamont said the Royal Commission would put pressure on the banks, resulting in fewer rate rises and downward pressure on fees.
“Charges that many consumers encounter on an everyday basis, particularly for tap and go transactions, will be seriously questioned in the next six months.”
3. Remove transfer fees
In recent months, international money transfer costs have dropped due to pressure from consumers and non-bank providers. Ms Lamont said new apps would enable people to transfer money overseas without any fees.
4. Dwindling credit card rewards
In 2017, popular reward programs for credit cards were dramatically reduced.
“Many rewards schemes are barely worth having due to paltry rewards and there are now competing payment systems like Afterpay,” Ms Lamont said.
Mr Symons expects credit card rewards to be reduced further.
“But there’s also a great opportunity for card holders. We expect competition to heat up over low-rate and business cards,” he said.
5. Biometric payments
Finder.com.au spokeswoman Bessie Hassan said banking apps would soon read fingerprints and faces instead of account passwords.
“Fingerprint, iris or face-scanning in banks could be next as these are far more secure forms of authorisation than cards with pin codes,” she said.
6. Cryptocurrency technology
The technology behind Bitcoin, known as blockchain or shared public ledger, is promising as it allows fast, efficient and secure transactions.
Ms Hassan said a recent survey of economists found that 94 per cent expected blockchain to had widespread use in the financial sector.
What other changes to banking do you think will happen this year? Let us know in the comments below.