Forgetful Aussies can now lock misplaced credit cards with new CommBank app

Australia's Commonwealth bank has introduced a new mobile and online app that customers can use to temporarily lockdown a credit card which may have been lost or stolen.

The new feature allows CommBank credit card customers to lock a misplaced credit card while they look for it using the CommBank app or NetBank and unlock it again when they find it. Additionally, if a card is permanently lost it can also be cancelled and reordered via the mobile and online channels.

CommBank reckons that as many 61% of credit cards reported as lost or stolen have usually just been misplaced by forgetful consumers, a figure that equates to up to seven million cards per year.

Angus Sullivan, executive general manager cards, payments, analytics & retail strategy, Commonwealth Bank, says: “We’ve all been there before - the moment of frustration as we realise our credit card is missing. Instead of going through the process of cancelling a card, only to find it again, our credit card customers can now use their mobile, tablet or laptop to put a temporary lock on their card while they look for it."

In addition to temporary lock, CommBank credit card customers can already use the app on their smartphone or NetBank to lock, block and limit their card for a host of transactional features, including international and online payments and ATM withdrawals.

Related Companies

Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Channels

Retail banking Security Payments

Keywords

Cards Mobile & online banking

Comments: (3)

Sreeram Yegappan - Cognizant - London 28 October, 2014, 09:26

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Most of us would have been in such a situation.. Misplaced cards, panicking & blocking..Common sense prevails and ruing the fact that you need to memorize new PINs etc & on top of it, re-issue fees.. Practical solution.

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A Finextra member 29 October, 2014, 06:00

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This is so simple yet profound. It is good for the environment as well. Imagine more banks doing this how many 'pieces of plastic' will be saved.

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A Finextra member 01 June, 2015, 13:07

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I'm so glad to hear the concept is starting to take hold at other Bank's. I came up with this same concept back in 2009 along with additional functions to reduce false positives with Visa fraud. The whole concept was to reduce CNP fraud ... why should credit be available 7/24 to even the fraudsters, use the card, lock the card,unlock the card and let back end pre-auth's go through. My idea was turned down by my Bank employer dispite many repeated attempts to convince them at many levels of the organization... the benefits at the back-end office were also there .... sometime vision is only a "word" not an attribute within an organization....