ASIC responds to the important issue of providing internet banking credentials to Acorns
As
you may be aware, I wrote to the Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, (4 March 2016)
about the ePayments Code, and how the banks were playing fast
and loose with the truth when telling consumers that their internet banking
login details should not be disclosed to third parties, such as Raiz.
This
is an important issue as most of our users provide their internet banking
details.
It
was Raiz’ opinion that the banks were overstepping the mark and now
correspondence I have received from ASIC would suggest the regulator, at the
very least, has sympathy with our point of view.
Without
going into all the details, this was positive news because of the following
points ASIC made.
1.
ASIC acknowledges that the messaging from banks about not sharing your login
details with third parties is from the early 1980s, when ATMs were introduced,
and is out of date in the new world of apps such as Raiz.
2.
ASIC acknowledged the potential value of third party services, such as Raiz,
having interaction with a consumer’s bank accounts.
3.
ASIC notes that the Government has accepted the recommendation of the Financial
System Inquiry to make the ePayments Code mandatory. If this mandatory
adoption of the Code were implemented, ASIC would ensure that the Code, which
protects the consumer when providing internet login details, is “operated
appropriately” by banks. Although ASIC did not spell it out, we understand that
what ASIC is saying is that the banks are currently not “operating
appropriately” under the Code. But until the Code is mandatory they will not
act unilaterally while other areas of government, such as the Productivity
Commission, are reviewing related issues.
This
correspondence from ASIC indicates that the regulator understands the position
of Raiz and has expressed a degree of solidarity with that position in regards
to the misleading information being provided by some banks. We’re looking
forward to seeing how this develops and reaching a point where Australians are
free to engage with services such as Raiz without concerns that they are
breaching conditions set by their banks.
George
Lucas, Raiz CEO
Important Information
The information on this website is general advice only. This means it does not consider any person’s investment objectives, financial situation or investment needs. If you are an investor, you should consult your licensed adviser before acting on any information contained in this article to fully understand the benefits and risk associated with the Raiz product.
The information in this website is confidential. It must not be reproduced, distributed or disclosed to any other person. The information is based on assumptions or market conditions which change without notice. This will impact the accuracy of the information.
Under no circumstances is the information to be used by, or presented to, a person for the purposes of deciding about investing in Raiz.
Past return performance of the Raiz product should not be relied on for deciding to invest in Raiz and is not a good predictor of future performance.
