News

The Mutual Bank has joined the fight for a better deal to meet the increasing costs of helping its regional customers who need access to cash, and trained assistance in dealing with scams and fraud. Our CEO Mark Williams said The Mutual Bank’s seven branches play a key role in supporting the communities it serves but, like many small regional banks, are challenged with avoiding becoming “pass-through” branches for the major banks. The Mutual Bank has joined an alliance of 19 regional banks calling for the introduction of a shared cost model to support the vital services provided by bank branches in regional communities such as cash handling, assistance for seniors or people with a disability and support with scams and fraud. Under a shared cost model, big banks whose regional branch investment falls short of the industry average would be required to assist. As such, the model will ensure that all banks meet or exceed those baseline expectations, either directly through their own regional branch network, or via the shared costs model. “The Mutual Bank’s purpose is to champion financial wellbeing for our Members and regional communities, to help people thrive, and our branch network plays a vital role in achieving that purpose” said Mark. “Big banks that profit most from Australia’s financial system should be required to share the cost of supporting essential regional banking infrastructure in regional, rural and remote Australia as a fundamental part of their community service obligation.  Regional bank branches are vital to these communities because they provide key services such as cash handling, advice to customers as well as help in handling scams and fraud”. “The Mutual Bank is the only bank in Dungog and Mayfield and has fulfilled a much-needed gap for those communities in being able to access essential banking services.” Mark said while the bank had seen an increase in customers and branch transactions in those locations, the challenge remained to ensure it was not simply acting as a conduit to funnel funds back to the major banks who have withdrawn their support in those communities. “Our bank branches offer secure services and personal, professional advice that cannot be replaced by post offices or ATMs,” he said. The alliance is also calling for regional banks to be a part of discussions about the future of Armaguard and cash-in-transit services which are more expensive for regional banks.

We are thrilled to announce that our Business Cheque Account has been recognised by Mozo for its exceptional value and quality.  Mozo has been helping consumers make informed purchase decisions for more than a decade, evaluating thousands of products on the market, to help consumers make more informed financial decisions.  The Mozo Experts Choice Awards showcase the best products and services in the marketplace which offer exceptional value or quality for Australians.  The Mutual Bank’s Business Cheque Account has won a Mozo Award in the Small Business Exceptional Everyday Account category.  Mozo analysed 622 personal, business and Self-Managed Super Funds products from 85 providers across all categories when deciding the winners.  The Mutual Bank’s Chief Member Officer, Matthew Dunnill, said the Mozo win highlighted why The Mutual Bank’s Business Banking is one of the Hunter’s best kept secrets.  “Our Business Banking Managers have the local knowledge, depth of experience and authority to move fast to support your business growth goals,” said Matthew.  “We also offer innovative solutions and competitive products to help small business owners.   “Our Business Cheque Account is a great example of fuss-free support, offering at-call access to your funds with no monthly account-keeping fee.”  The Business Cheque Account win follows The Mutual Bank’s Budget Home Loan winning a Mozo Award three years running.  You can read more information about the Mozo Experts Choice Awards and the full list of winners here.  Keen to know more? Learn more about our award-winning Business Cheque Account and how it can benefit your business here. 

We are thrilled to announce the launch of our redesigned Mutual App, bringing you a fresh look and enhanced functionality to make your banking experience even better.  Thanks to valuable Member feedback, we've made changes to the navigation menu in our App, making it more user-friendly and intuitive. This includes:  A streamlined menu layout for easier access to key features.  Enhanced categorisation of services to help find what you need quickly.  Members can also now view and set their own daily transaction limits on payments. Previously, this required messaging or calling our team, but now you have the convenience and autonomy to manage your limits directly from the app.  You can update your limit from the standard $5,000 up to $20,000. If you wish to lower the limit again, you will need to manually update it back to $5,000. Multi-factor authentication is required to ensure the security of your transactions.  We are excited about these changes and our aim to bring you greater convenience and control over your banking experience. Stay tuned for more updates to Internet Banking and our website.  What do I need to do to get the new-look App?  If you have automatic updates set up on your device your existing Mutual App will automatically upgrade, otherwise you will need to update via the App Store or Google Play Store.  How do I change my daily transaction limits on Internet Banking?  Once logged in, go to the main Menu in the top of the home screen> Settings >Daily transaction Limits.  How do I change my daily transaction limits on the App?  Go to the main Menu in the top left of home screen> Settings>App security and banking limits>Daily transaction limits.  Need more help? Please call our friendly Contact Centre Team on 1300 688 825. You can learn more about the Mutual App here.

For the third year running, The Mutual Bank’s Budget Home Loan* has won a Mozo Experts Choice Home Loan Award in the coveted Low-Cost Home Loan category. The Mozo Experts Choice Awards have been helping consumers make informed purchase decisions for over a decade, with their extensive award selection process evaluating thousands of products. The Mutual Bank’s CEO, Mark Williams, said the triple win for the Budget Home Loan was fantastic news for the Hunter-based bank. “Our commitment to offering competitive products and making our Members’ mortgage journey more manageable has been recognised for the third year with a win in these awards, and that recognition highlights our dedication to helping people thrive,” he said. “We know people are always looking for better value products and services, particularly given the cost-of-living pressures.  Our Budget Home Loan has been consistently popular with home buyers looking for a no-frills home loan with a low, variable interest rate that is complemented by personalised and attentive service.” AJ Duncanson, Data Director and Mozo Experts Choice Awards Judge said The Mozo Experts Choice Home Loan Awards for 2025 help Aussie consumers cut through the noise and identify great value options. “The Mutual Bank’s Budget Home Loan stood out for its combination of a low interest rate and the fact it has no application fee and no monthly or annual service fee - features that can make a real difference to borrowers looking to keep costs down,” he said. Mozo considered thousands of rate variants across 444 home loans from 97 lenders.  For the Low Cost Home Loan category, the Mozo judges assessed variable rate loans for owner-occupier borrowers making principal and interest repayments, identifying these as the lowest cost for several different loan-to-value ratios. More information about the Mozo Experts Choice Awards and the full list of winners here. *The Mozo Experts Choice Low Cost Home Loan award was awarded to The Mutual Bank’s Budget Home Loan Special Variable Rate for owner-occupied loans with ≤80% LVR and Principal and Interest repayments. Eligibility and lending criteria, terms, conditions, fees, and charges apply and are available on application.

The Mutual Bank is throwing its support behind a new campaign from the National Anti-Scam Centre to help Australians become more aware of scams. The Stop. Check. Protect campaign aims to educate the community about current scammer tactics, reminding us that anyone can be scammed, and for us not to be afraid to report a scam. The campaign launched on Sunday 19 January and asks us to take these three simple steps: Stop: Don’t give money or your information to anyone if unsure. Scammers will pretend to be from organisations you know and trust like businesses, the police, your bank or government services. They will offer to help you or ask you to verify your identity with them. Check: Ask yourself if the message or call is fake. Never click a link in a message. Only contact businesses or government using contact information that you find yourself from their official website or app. If you’re not sure, say ‘no’, hang up or delete. Protect: Act quickly if something feels wrong. Contact your bank if you notice unusual activity or if a scammer gets your money or information. Seek help and report the scam to Scamwatch. When you report scams, you help stop the scam and warn others. You can even find out how safe you are from scams and how to better protect yourself by taking a simple quiz: https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/scam-quiz.                    

As faster and more secure payment options have become available, more Australians are choosing alternative payment services to cheques. With cheque use in rapid decline, the Australian Government has announced that the cheque system in Australia will wind down no later than 2030. The Australian banking industry is now planning for this phase-out, with some banks and many merchants already no longer accepting cheques as a form of payment. We understand that ongoing changes in the payments landscape can be challenging for some Members, and we want to ensure you are provided with sufficient notice and support to adjust to a world without cheques. As a result of these changes to the Australian cheque system, The Mutual Bank will start to phase out cheques. We will be in contact with impacted Members to explain the phasing-out timelines and provide support with switching to the many alternative payment services available. We are here to help you navigate through this transition – please talk to our friendly Contact Centre Team on 1300 688 825 if we can assist you. You can learn more about the timeline and read our Frequently Asked Questions here.