Home News Commonwealth Bank quietly gives away $50 to customers affected by bank outage

Commonwealth Bank quietly gives away $50 to customers affected by bank outage

If you were one of CommBank’s customers affected by last week’s network outage, there could be an extra $50 sitting in your account.

By Emma Duffy

on 24 Oct 2019

Commonwealth Bank quietly gives away $50 to customers affected by bank outage

More than 100,000 CBA customers who were unable to access their funds over the weekend due to the delay in wage payments could be $50 richer.

CommBank customers on Twitter uploaded screenshots showing $50 deposits from CBA with a description reading "Sorry from CBA" (pictured below).

A statement on the CommBank website on Thursday said “significant progress” has been made in processing payments, but it’s suggested these were reimbursement fees and charges incurred – not in compensation for the outage.

"Commonwealth Bank has made a payment into the accounts of customers who were unable to access their funds over the weekend, due to the delay in payments," the statement said.

"We are now refunding fees and charges associated with the network issue on Thursday and the payments delay, for our customers who were impacted by this issue.

"We have made significant progress in processing the outstanding payments. We now believe funds should be in customer accounts."

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Need somewhere to store cash and earn interest? The table below features introductory savings accounts with some of the highest interest rates on the market.

Deposit amount

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Provider	Base interest rate	Max interest rate	Total interest earned	Introductory Term	Minimum Amount	Maximum Amount	Account Keeping Fees	Min. Monthly Deposit	Min. Opening Deposit	Linked account required	ATM Access	EFTPOS Facility	as ofAugust 21, 2024

	4.40^%_p.a.	Intro rate for 4 monthsthen 4.40% p.a. 5.75^%_p.a.	^$980	4	^$0	^$250,000	0	0	0	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	More details
FEATURED	High Interest Savings Account (< $250k) Bonus rate for the first 4 months from account opening No account keeping fees No minimum balance
FEATURED High Interest Savings Account (< $250k) Bonus rate for the first 4 months from account opening No account keeping fees No minimum balance More details
	4.75^%_p.a.	Intro rate for 4 monthsthen 4.75% p.a. 5.35^%_p.a.	^$1,001	4	^$0	^$249,999	0	0	0	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	More details
FEATURED	Savings Account (Amounts < $250k) A high-interest online savings account with no monthly fees, easy withdrawals and award-winning digital banking No withdrawal notice periods or interest rate penalties Save up to 10% on eGift cards at over 50 retailers with Macquarie Marketplace
FEATURED Savings Account (Amounts < $250k) A high-interest online savings account with no monthly fees, easy withdrawals and award-winning digital banking No withdrawal notice periods or interest rate penalties Save up to 10% on eGift cards at over 50 retailers with Macquarie Marketplace More details
	2.85^%_p.a.	Intro rate for 4 monthsthen 2.85% p.a. 3.55^%_p.a.	^$621	4	^$0	^$49,999	0	0	0	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	More details
FEATURED	Savings Accelerator (Amounts < $50000) For deposit amounts $0 - $49,999 New ING personal savings customers receive an introductory bonus 0.50% p.a. variable kick starter rate for the first 4 months on balances up to $500,000. Reverts to variable ongoing rate. T&Cs apply.
FEATURED Savings Accelerator (Amounts < $50000) For deposit amounts $0 - $49,999 New ING personal savings customers receive an introductory bonus 0.50% p.a. variable kick starter rate for the first 4 months on balances up to $500,000. Reverts to variable ongoing rate. T&Cs apply. More details
	–	5.50^%_p.a.	^$1,128		^$0	^$100,000	0	0	0	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	More details
FEATURED*Rate varies on savings amount	Save Account (<$100,000) Deposit $500 per month to get bonus interest 5.50% p.a. available on total savings up to $100k. 5.00% p.a. applies to savings between $100k-250K. Tiered bonus rates apply. (TMDs at ubank.com.au)
FEATURED*Rate varies on savings amount Save Account (<$100,000) Deposit $500 per month to get bonus interest 5.50% p.a. available on total savings up to $100k. 5.00% p.a. applies to savings between $100k-250K. Tiered bonus rates apply. (TMDs at ubank.com.au) More details
	Bonus rate of 4.95%Conditions apply. 0.55^%_p.a.	5.50^%_p.a.	^$1,128		^$0	^$100,000	0	1000	0	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	More details
	Savings Maximiser (<$100k) Deposit at least $1,000+ each month from an external source Make 5 or more eligible transactions Grow your savings balance each month
Savings Maximiser (<$100k) Deposit at least $1,000+ each month from an external source Make 5 or more eligible transactions Grow your savings balance each month More details

Savings Account (Amounts < $250k)

Product Features

A high-interest online savings account with no monthly fees, easy withdrawals and award-winning digital banking
No withdrawal notice periods or interest rate penalties
Save up to 10% on eGift cards at over 50 retailers with Macquarie Marketplace

Total interest earned$1,001

4.75 % Base interest rate

5.35 % Max interest rate

Intro rate for

then

4.75%

More details

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All products with a link to a product provider’s website have a commercial marketing relationship between us and these providers. These products may appear prominently and first within the search tables regardless of their attributes and may include products marked as promoted, featured or sponsored. The link to a product provider’s website will allow you to get more information or apply for the product. By de-selecting “Show online partners only” additional non-commercialised products may be displayed and re-sorted at the top of the table. For more information on how we’ve selected these “Sponsored”, “Featured” and “Promoted” products, the products we compare, how we make money, and other important information about our service, please click here. Rates correct as of August 21, 2024. View disclaimer.

Important Information and Comparison Rate Warning

After that massive outage, if those idiots at @commbank think they can waltz in and bribe me with $50, then they’re right, thanks. pic.twitter.com/9g2g1EkWBv
— Dan Jones (@itsdanjones) October 22, 2019

An estimated eight million people were affected by the bank’s outage, which resulted in some temporary branch closures and stopped the Commbank app and NetBank payments working.

Hordes of customers took to Twitter to vent their frustration, with some threatening to switch banks and even claiming they were unable to pay for fuel at the bowser or went hungry because they had no money for food.

It’s understood the $50 is being handed out as a gesture of goodwill, according to a CBA spokesperson who told the Sydney Morning Herald the payment was a “small gesture to those customers over the weekend who couldn’t access their payments, so that would be primarily those people who couldn’t get their wages on Saturday and Sunday”.

Savings.com.au has reached out to Commonwealth Bank to confirm the reports and clarify who is eligible for the $50 sum.

Scam warning

In its statement, the bank also iterated that it would not be contacting customers to ask for account details in order to process the payment.

"If a customer is approached for their account details they should not provide this and the customer should let us know by phoning our call centre or visiting us in branch," CommBank said.

We continue to experience a issue with our network this afternoon that's affecting banking services. We're very sorry for the inconvenience and are working to fix it, it's likely to be some hours before services are restored. All accounts are safe https://t.co/mqJe94qXDN
— CommBank (@CommBank) October 17, 2019

(2/2) UPDATE 2.00PM: What's not working:
- CommBank app and NetBank payments and BPAY services including PAY-ID payments;
- Cardless Cash not available;
- In-branch services;
- Some call centre services;
- CommBiz log-on and some CommBiz payments.
— CommBank (@CommBank) October 17, 2019

Favourite response to the Commbank outage. pic.twitter.com/cSbjqOvf5f
— David Sharaz (@DavidSharaz) October 17, 2019

Image by AePatt Journey on Adobe Stock

Emma Duffy

Emma Duffy is Editor at Your Investment Property Magazine, which is part of the InfoChoice Media Group. In this role, she manages a team of journalists and expert contributors committed to keeping readers informed about the latest home loan and finance news and trends, as well as providing in-depth property guides. She is also a Assistant Editor at Savings.com.au which she joined shortly after its launch in early 2019.

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Commonwealth Bank quietly gives away $50 to customers affected by bank outage

High Interest Savings Account (< $250k)

High Interest Savings Account (< $250k)

Savings Account (Amounts < $250k)

Savings Account (Amounts < $250k)

Savings Accelerator (Amounts < $50000)

Savings Accelerator (Amounts < $50000)

Save Account (<$100,000)

Save Account (<$100,000)

Savings Maximiser (<$100k)

Savings Maximiser (<$100k)

Scam warning

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Commonwealth Bank quietly gives away $50 to customers affected by bank outage

High Interest Savings Account (< $250k)

High Interest Savings Account (< $250k)

Savings Account (Amounts < $250k)

Savings Account (Amounts < $250k)

Savings Accelerator (Amounts < $50000)

Savings Accelerator (Amounts < $50000)

Save Account (<$100,000)

Save Account (<$100,000)

Savings Maximiser (<$100k)

Savings Maximiser (<$100k)

Scam warning

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Monthly Repayment Figures

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