CHOICE Move Your Money campaign launches

CHOICE has launched the Move Your Money campaign in Sydney’s Martin Place, the headquarters of Australia’s big banks.

On the morning of Sunday 19 February, the CHOICE campaigns team took to Sydney’s central business district armed with the Move Your Money wheelbarrow, piles of ‘fake money’ and a ringing bell. This symbolised the call to action for Australian consumers to look for a better deal beyond the major banks, and if they find one, move their money and save.

Given the recent behaviour of the major banks, CHOICE says it’s time to shift the balance of power towards consumers through three simple steps:

1. Sign up: CHOICE is calling on Australians to sign the Move Your Money petition at www.choice.com.au/moveyourmoney and deliver a message to the ‘big four’ bank CEOs that enough is enough

1. Shop around: CHOICE will provide everyone who signs the Move Your Money petition with independent and trusted information on how to find a better deal on home loans, credit cards, savings and transaction accounts, including through the Compare, Ditch & Switch comparison tool and a CHOICE switching kit

1. Switch: CHOICE will share experiences from campaign supporters who find a better deal and move their money, including those who dump their ‘big four’ bank in favour of smaller institutions such as credit unions and mutuals

“The CHOICE Move Your Money campaign is about consumers standing up and saying ‘enough is enough’, sending the big four bank CEOs a message in a language they understand,” said Christopher Zinn, CHOICE director of campaigns and communications.

“With recent interest rate increases, this is a crucial time for Australians to be able to shop around, for example through Home Loan Fact Sheets, but it seems the last thing the banks want to do is help customers compare products on their merits.

“The major banks rely on perceptions that switching is too much hassle or that there are no better deals out there. But experience shows that consumers can save by also ‘thinking small’, and moving your money is now easier than before,” Mr Zinn said.

The campaign is inspired by the success of similar Move Your Money actions internationally. This includes in the United States where already four million consumers have moved transaction accounts from larger to smaller community-based institutions, described as the move from ‘Wall Street to Main Street’.

The CHOICE Move Your Money campaign launch was accompanied by the publication of a new investigation showing that banks were failing to provide consumers with Home Loan Fact Sheets, one of the Australian Government’s key consumer banking reforms.

On a day that was dubbed ‘switching Sunday’, the Move Your Money launch also coincided with separate bank switching calls to action from the union movement and ABACUS, the body representing Australian credit unions and mutuals.

You can join the CHOICE Move Your Money campaign by signing the petition.