Shady Osko & PayID Practices with Commonwealth Bank

Commbank have a very annoying policy regarding first time Osko and PayID payments - namely a delay for instant payments. They class it as a security feature which none of the other banks have - effectively defeating the purpose of instant payments that Osko and PayID provide.

Usually I just call in - wait on hold for 30mins to 1 hour and ask them to sort it out - they then "ring their security team" and get it pushed through (while making sure that they let you know they are doing this as a one off massive favour for you)

While I'm sure there are many out there experiencing the same issue and pulling their hair out when they really need time sensitive transfers - I thought I would share my experience I had on the phone with one of their staff members today.

I called in and when identifying the transactions I was promptly told that "Unfortunately there's nothing we can do - there is a delay for security reasons" blah blah blah.

I knew that there was something they could do so pressed on and told them I was aware that they could push it through. The guy sighs and reluctantly puts me on hold to "talk to the security team" and lo and behold the payment gets pushed through 5 mins later…

I ask "Why did you tell me there was nothing you could do when in fact you could ?" and his reply was "This particular transaction is high risk so we can't always push it through"… But see that's not what he said. So I ask again "But that's not what you said - you didn't talk about any risk or transaction details - you just blanket told me there was nothing you could do"

His answer was what really annoyed me. He tells me that "These are the instructions we are given and this is what we are told to say to customers"

So Commbank effectively have a ridiculous policy on instant transfer process that delays instant transfers and tell their staff to tell customers that there is "nothing they can do", when they can…

So he offers to lodge a complaint. I agree - he gives me a reference number and I ask "So how does the complaint process work ?"

He tells me "There is no process, we take your complaint and keep it on file and evaluate your feedback"…

If I wanted a secured delayed transfer I would have found another way to do it. Completely defeats the purpose of Osko / PayID. On top of that Commbank have discretion to push payments through but tell their staff to tell customers that they can't. If you don't like it - you can "lodge a complaint" that effectively has no 2 way documentation and is treated as "feedback" with no follow up process.

As annoying as it will be it looks like the only real solution not to have to deal with illogical and backwards policies is to change banks…

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Commonwealth Bank
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Comments

  • +6

    Isnt this standard practice? The first time you pay someone there's a 24 hour delay, from then onwards its instant.

    • +3

      My mates haven't had this issue with NAB and ANZ. Which bank are you with ?

      • Bankwest (which is CBA technology). I just assumed this was the norm.

      • Westpac also does this with high value first-time transfers. Not sure what the threshold value is

      • Don't know if it's instantaneous but my first Osko transfer was 22k for a car payment to a toyota dealer. Sent overnight and recieved first thing in the morning and I'm with ANZ.

      • +3

        My mates haven't had this issue with NAB and ANZ

        Then move banks…
        Seems like a simple solution

    • +3

      Isnt this standard practice? The first time you pay someone there's a 24 hour delay, from then onwards its instant.

      Nope. MY NAB is instant to anyone.

    • +1

      I think CBA delays all transactions 24 hours to the same party within 5 days or so from the first transaction. They do let small amounts instantly through in my experience. Something weird but I didn't care about the delay so never called them up.

      Very annoying delay for many I assume and you can not do osko through the desktop version of NetBank either. Osko/NPP has been around for sometime now and it doesn't make much sense.

  • CBA certainly aren't the only bank that delays first time Osko transactions. I'm not sure which do and which don't but even Osko themselves say there may be a delay for first time transfers. In my experience the length of the delay seems to also depend on the amount being transferred with larger amounts taking longer.

  • +18

    Find a bank that doesn't have the delay and bank with them.

    /thread

    • Yeahp… will be worth the hassle

    • +7

      And complain to ACCC when a fraud happens and the bank didn't do enough to protect your account.

      • +2

        Plenty of banks that have no delays for instant transfers that protect your account just fine.

        Have you heard about a bank that did not protect someones account because of instant transfers ?

        • +7

          I am sure you never made a mistake before.

          But for the rest of commoners like us, mistake happens and sometimes people just hope the bank can help to revert THEIR mistakes.

          I have watched enough ABC news, seeing people crying on tv "The bank shouldn't give me that much credit knowing I can't pay it back.", "The bank shouldn't approve my home loan knowing I won't be able to pay back", "I keyed in wrong bank number and the bank said they can't do much, I am going to ACCC".

          The bank just need to protect themselves.

          If you don't like the bank policy, change a bank. It's a free country.

          • +1

            @ausdday: Have you come across a bank that was not able to revert someone's mistake because of instant transfers ?

            • +1

              @[Deactivated]: I do not know tbh. Do you know any bank that can guarantee 100% refund if I made a mistake during instant transfer?

              • -2

                @ausdday:

                And complain to ACCC when a fraud happens and the bank didn't do enough to protect your account.

                I'm not the one making claims that banks will not protect you during instant transfers - you are. So I ask you to demonstrate it and you say:

                I do not know tbh.

                So I guess I'm confused.

                Do you know any bank that can guarantee 100% refund if I made a mistake during instant transfer?

                I don't think any bank guarantees 100% refund with any kind of transfer. What is the purpose of this question ?

              • @ausdday: That totally won't get abused at all.

  • With CommBank. Have only had this issue on larger transactions.

    • +2

      Even just sending through $20 to someone who took the restaurant bill… no dice. Super annoying.

      What amounts are you transferring ? And are they first time transfers ?

      • About a month ago while sitting at a pub, my brother transferred ~$20 from his CBA to my ANZ and it hit straight away.

        Definitely first time transfer, as I literally had to set up my Osko first, and then he sent to my phone number.

        • commbank does not delay transactions < $100

          • @c64: They have for me ! So where are you getting this information from ?

      • +1

        Even just sending through $20 to someone who took the restaurant bill… no dice. Super annoying.

        Please. Surely the bill payer can wait a day or two. If the person who paid the bill needs the money so bad, they shouldn't have paid the bill in the first place.

        I understand it's a principle thing, but talk about first world problems.

        • My problem is not isolated to the one example. I want to know that if I use an instant transfer service that it is exactly just that - an instant transfer service. That's not a first world problem ?

          • -2

            @[Deactivated]: How is a complaint about Immediate Payments not a first world problem?

            You should watch this, https://www.netflix.com/title/81070659?s=a&trkid=13747225&t=…

            Jokes about how the world needs instant gratification these days.

            • +5

              @John Kimble: Look I'm not sure where all this negativity is coming from. It's clear that Commbank is treating customers differently case by case as demomstrated by some answers here. It's also clear that there are banks that provide instant transfer services as advertised. Why should I be classified as being self entitled when all I want is a service that is being advertised as an instant transfer service?

              I understand that security is an issue - but PayID and Osko are instant transfer services that I want to utilise for what they are and I am being disadvantaged bank side.

              I haven't asked for any special treatment and I'm not here to defend my reasons for wanting such a service so I can't understand why you are questioning my need for it based on one example I gave.

              There are plenty of reasons why people will need it and hence why it was invented in the first place.

              The idea that we should follow your standards for such a process is absurd and serves no purpose in this matter.

              If you want to use a fax to do your transfers be my guest I am not here to question your expectations.

              My expectations have already been set by banks out there that ALREADY do what I want. It's nothing out of the ordinary and for you to come out and suggest that I'm "asking for too much" is unwarranted.

              • -2

                @[Deactivated]: I'm just explaining why it is the way it is. You can choose to believe me or not.

                As others and you yourself have since said, vote with your feet and change banks; it's probably the simplest solution for you.

                All the best with your future payments.

          • @[Deactivated]:

            I want to know that if I use an instant transfer service that it is exactly just that - an instant transfer

            Cash?

            • @DashCam AKA Rolts: I'm all for cash actually - I wish currency trading and online stores would accept cash somehow…

  • I've tried up to a few hundred dollars to new accounts and it has been instant.

    Larger transfers (e.g. $2000) and it's held for 24 hours

  • Yeah this caused issues when selling our car - the buyers deposit didn't come through until a few days later despite using Osko.
    Never had this delay with NAB, ING, or Up accounts.

  • +1

    My experience selling online and receiving Osko payments has always been only CBA puts a 24 hour hold on first time osko payments to non-CBA banks regardless of how small the transaction is (me and customer tested with a $1). After calling CBA and confirming that this is the case, I've not had much issue receiving payment from other customers who are also with CBA. I just know that it'll take 24 hours for the payment to come to me, and they always do.

  • No delay with Westpac.

    Did an OSKO transfer between 2 different banks recently and the money had already arrived in the new account when I logged on to the receiving bank account.

    • Good to know I'll add Westpac to short list.

  • -3

    Some banks like to play games so that they can earn some extra interest at the expense of their customers.

    • +5

      I'm sure banks are getting rich on holding $20 transfers for a day? /s

      • -1

        15.9 million customers * $20 = $318 000 000

        @ 2% interest = $6 360 000 per year

        $17424.65 Per Day…

        I'll take that - and hold it for as many days as possible.

        http://tiny.cc/cbacustomers

        • +2

          That is a ridiculous assumption; that the bank is holding onto the equivalent of $20 from every account, via this payment system, for a year.

          Are you actually claiming that:
          1. Every account for this bank uses this payments system?
          2. Every account is issuing payments of $20 every day?
          3. Every payment made is held for 24 hours for the purpose of accruing a minuscule amount of interest on each amount?

          • @DashCam AKA Rolts: No I am not claiming any of that - it's an exaggerated example.

            After all - the bank is in business purely to hold your money and earn interest - and I'm sure that per customer they are holding a lot more than $20 each !

            I think that on average the amounts per customer would actually be a LOT higher.

            1. They certainly are transferring funds out - but let's say conservatively using their "instant" system it's being used by… 1/4 of the people.
            2. I think the average spend per customer using instant payments would be a lot higher than $20 - I wonder how one would go about trying to get that information it would be interesting to see
            3. If you think banks are in business because of a "miniscule" amount of interest then I'm not sure you understand why banks are in business in the first place

            =D

            • @[Deactivated]:

              If you think banks are in business because of a "miniscule" amount of interest then I'm not sure you understand why banks are in business in the first place

              If you think that looking for interest on $20 for a day from customers is core to bank business, I think you are confusing banks with pay day lenders.

              • @DashCam AKA Rolts: What part of:

                15.9 million customers * $20 = $318 000 000
                and
                No I am not claiming any of that - it's an exaggerated example

                Did you not understand ?

                Let me rephrase it for you

                Banks are in business purely for "miniscule" interest. On any amount they can get their hands on… multiplied by millions of people.

                That is their core business. $20. $100. $1000000.

                Let me repeat it for you. In slow motion: Multiplied… By… Millions… Of… People…

                Any kind of delay on any kind of debit transactions continues to make them ridiculous amounts of money - more so than if the debits were instant, by definition ! It's very black and white - all you need is year 3 mathematics to see it.

                You continue to bring up my example (which again I said was exaggerated) to your liking and conveniently leave out 15.9 million customers.

                You fail to see (or simply ignore) that the interest scales 15.9 million times more than your brain can compute !

                I think this exercise has cost me 15.9 million brain cells in itself… I need a cigarette…

  • +1

    change banks

    • I'm surprised that wasn't the first comment lol

  • +8

    Yet if you were unfortunate enough to have a fraud event occur on your account, and this security delay managed to save or mitigate your money, you would probably be singing a different tune?

    Years ago before immediate payments, I used to work at a smaller, non big 4 bank and the volume and value of fraudulent transfers was scary sometimes…can't imagine how much worse it would be for CBA these days with immediate payments…the guys in charge of transfers were shitting bricks knowing immediate payments was on the way.

    Unfortunately it's the small percentage of wrong doers (the fraudsters and criminals) that ruin it for the rest of us, that's why these measures are in place.

    • -1

      I can't agree that it's about security at all.

      If I wanted a secure transaction with a delay I would send a cheque or BPay or money order or otherwise. If I use PayID I know that I just want the funds to clear as quickly as possible.

      Other banks don't have an issue with it so it must be secure enough for them to allow it right ?

      • What is it about then? Enlighten me.

        Other banks don't have an issue with it so it must be secure enough for them to allow it right ?

        Other banks are a lot smaller and don't get hit with as much fraud as CBA. Fact.

        • They also don't reap as much profit. Horses for courses.

  • -1

    CBA fined $7m for overcharging interest

    By Malavika Santhebennur 08 April 2021

    The major bank has been ordered to pay the penalty for overcharged interest after the court had previously said that it made false or misleading representations on over 12,000 occasions.
    The Federal Court of Australia has ordered the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) to pay a $7-million penalty after the court had previously declared that the lender made false or misleading representations and engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct.

    https://www.mortgagebusiness.com.au/breaking-news/15532-cba-…

    • +4

      Completely irrelevant 😂

  • +3

    I wouldn't really call it "shady" since they make it pretty clear that first time transactions can take up to 24 hours.

    • Yeah agree with you there.

      Do you think it's shady that they tell their staff to tell customers nothing can be done about it ?

      But actually 5 minutes later something can be done about it ?

      • +1

        There's a lot of things they can do in the back end if they wanted to to override their standard procedures. But they'll be exceptions.

        Picture the scenario where someone's typed in the bank account details incorrectly, confirmed the transfer and now realise that money has landed in an unintended recipient's account. There's a whole process to go through to attempt to retrieve the money. And those that have done made that mistake would know that the attempts aren't always successful. Having a delay the first time means that those who make that mistake have an opportunity to retrieve their money if it hasn't gone through yet.

        Then there's people like yourself (and myself) who prefer to have the funds appear in the receiving account instantly.

        It's a bit of a balancing act for the bank to find a happy medium because they can't have a policy for some and another policy for others. I would assume that the decisions that have been made are based on their own customer base.

    • +1

      And if you ignore the time delay between making the transfer and the person receiving it, then the transfer really is instant too.

      • I know what you mean - I ignored a few years when I was growing up and instantly jumped from 17 to 26… sadly I'm much older now.

  • +2

    My understanding was $500 was the OSKO limit for instant payments with Commbank, but things seem to have changed and this is no longer a hard max or min limit. Now I only sometimes get delays with Commbank with any amount.. Never had delays with Up bank.

    • +1

      I’ve had them with UP, they only impose a 3hr delay on you; way better than 24hrs.

  • It shows how dodgy this bank is.

    https://duckduckgo.com/?q=cba+fine&t=braveed&ia=web

    • Unfortunately, I found similar results searching for ANZ, Westpac, and NAB.

  • +2

    Commonwealth bank has a bad reputation. They aren't even allowed to do their kids club bank account anymore because someone noticed it stopped being about teaching kids to bank and just turned into blatant customer farming at schools.

    • +1

      Commonwealth bank has a bad reputation.

      Which bank doesn't have a bad reputation? Everyone just picks who they think the "least worst" is….

    • Stopped or never was? I believe the schools made healthy referral fees for accounts they signed up.

  • +2

    Beem_it

  • I seem to remember this happened with ING as well, and have seen long delays receiving with ANZ too.

  • +1

    Seems to me that OP has the problem

    Nothing wrong with what COMMBANK has done.
    In fact they are protecting their customers from fraud.

    • Well when I read the comments I can see a bunch of other people who are getting instant payments with their bank.

      You don't think there is anything wrong with Commbank nerfing an jnstant payment service from their end ?

      And telling customers there is nothing they can do but then 5 mins later they can ? Nothing wrong with that ?

      Is that a security feature ? To lie to your loyal customers ?

      • Check their Tc and Cs regarding instant payments
        Should be some sort of para covering this

  • Been long time cba customer but recently closed accounts with them and moved to NAB. No monthly fee, instant and fast payments, huge improvements to their banking app and always have good offers.

    NAB to cba, instantly payments. CBA to nab delayed. Delaying is not the only solution to save fraud. Other banks probably have that in place already. CBA should look into improvement the ways to make things better for customers

  • If you’re so Nazi on the delay, try UP BANK, neo bank, it tells you before you even send the cash that it will be delayed and they usually tie in a 3hr wait, not 24hrs.

    Also have Westpac, never had an issue with sending large payments, always instant.

    I’ve had CBA, usually anything $1000 gets blocked and that’s even sending to people you know, probably strict like NAB on risk.

  • Just curious, if there is a 24 delay on the transfer with PayID/Osko, does it still show up on the receiver end as pending or does nothing appear in the transaction history and the money just hits after 24 hours?

    • To the receiver nothing happens.

      • Thanks for the reply. Kinda sucks as can't really use it for selling stuff online in person anymore… who knows if the buyer has really paid or not.

  • +2

    using Payid with CBA to deposit money to my crypto wallet

    It is NOT instant and this is not the first payment either, very annoying, wtf CBA?

  • What a stupid thing this is. I transferred from a CBA to another CBA and they have put a delay on the payment. This use to be instant between CBA accounts. Thanks CBA, now I guess I have to wait until Monday?! Thanks a bunch, 37 year customer not happy….bastards

  • It's time to change banks.

  • +1

    i find ing and bankwest are annoyying low limits for osko $1000

  • Ended up here after researching why my Pay ID from Commbank to a friends phone number didn’t go through. Notification in the Commbank App suggested setting up Pay ID which I did and was verified, entered friends phone number which came up as Pay ID verified, sent $500. Now 7 days later he hasn’t received payment, I contacted Commbank and they have no idea what’s happened and have opened a trace and recover to find the funds which may incur a fee for recovery, which I had to agree to, to move forward.
    Waiting to see what happens next.

  • Same similar situation except ive payid my friend many times before without any problems.. i opted for the trace and recovery $200 which my friend and her bank confirmed non receival of funds.. and yet my account showed transaction successful no pending so where did the money Go?
    well i found out the outcome of this so-called trace and recovery via inbox messages after logging into my netbanking account.. and without any real explaination this was the message i received from commbank below…

    [Unfortunately, we were unable to recover the requested funds.
    We are sorry that we are unable to help you further in recovering this money. We suggest that you seek independent legal advice to find out whether you can recover this money another way..
    When transferring money electronically via the internet, please ensure that the money goes to the correct account by checking the details you enter carefully before clicking confirming the payment.
    Please note no Bank fee has been charged for the attempted recovery…]

    Yep this was the results of the trace and recovery we opted in to allow the bank to move forward in finding our funds… WTF!!!

    • +1

      Just as well you can easily change banks these days if you’re not happy with your current one …

      • The rule is 3 strikes and your out.

  • I find it necessary to illuminate a disturbing series of events related to Commonwealth Bank of Australia's (CBA) transaction services, specifically regarding OSKO/PAYID transactions.

    Since early September, my experiences with CBA have unraveled a disconcerting narrative of intentional deception, potential customer exploitation, and a disregard for transparency. It is my duty to provide you with a detailed account of each incident, as the gravity of these matters requires immediate attention.

    Contractor Payments:

    CBA, without warning, began withholding payments to a trusted contractor, citing an obscure policy to hold transfers to new accounts for an arbitrary 72-hour period.
    Despite presenting evidence of the recurrent nature of these transactions, a customer service representative callously dismissed the issue, falsely attributing it to a policy aimed at safeguarding against scams. This deliberate deception disrupted my business operations, forcing me to resort to alternative payment methods.
    Emergency PAYID Transfer:

    An urgent PAYID transfer to assist a friend stranded at the Sydney airport faced an unexplained delay of at least 24 hours, despite previous transactions being instantaneous.
    The consequences were dire, resulting in legal ramifications for my friend due to an inability to pay a taxi fare. CBA's insensitivity and lack of resolution further underscore the distressing nature of these incidents.
    Investigative Transactions:

    To understand the irregularities in CBA's transaction processing, I conducted a comprehensive series of transactions, revealing alarming inconsistencies.
    CBA's assertions that legitimate crypto exchanges are potential scams, coupled with arbitrary fund withholding and conflicting explanations, suggest a calculated effort to mislead customers and compromise their financial well-being.
    In light of these incidents, it is imperative to alert the public to the potential risks associated with CBA's practices. The deliberate nature of these actions, the lack of transparency, and the severe consequences faced by both myself and others necessitate a public forum to shed light on these matters.

    I implore you to take immediate action to investigate these concerns, ensuring that corrective measures are implemented promptly. The potential exploitation of customers, deliberate misinformation, and the erosion of trust in financial institutions require swift and decisive intervention.

    This alert serves as both a call for public awareness and a plea for regulatory scrutiny into CBA's practices. The details provided here are intended to shed light on the urgency of the situation and prompt the necessary actions to protect the public interest.

    • +1

      Since you repeated yourself, I too will repeat myself: just as well you can easily change banks these days if you’re not happy with your current one …

  • +1

    This alert serves as both a call for public awareness and a plea for regulatory scrutiny into CBA's practices.

    Burying it in a two year old thread probably won't achieve that. Only we get through to super snoopers like Kefuffle and myself.

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