ING Bank pays penalties totalling $53,280 for allegedly failing to comply with Consumer Data Right (CDR) Rules and making a false or misleading representation to consumers, after the ACCC issued it with four infringement notices.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) claimed ING Bank missed three important legislated deadlines and also made a misleading statement to consumers on its website about the reliability and security of its CDR service.
The Consumer Data Right (CDR) is an initiative that allows Australians to leverage the data businesses hold about them for their own benefit. It has commenced in the banking and energy sectors.
According to the CDR Rules, ING must have the capacity to share information pertaining to certain financial products by certain dates; this includes data related to residential home loans by November 1, 2021 and data related to joint accounts by October 1, 2022.
ACCC Commissioner Peter Crone says under the CDR, consumers have a right to safely and securely share certain data with accredited providers, including fintech firms and other third parties, who in turn can use that data to create better customised products and services for the consumer.
“Unlike customers of most other banks, many ING customers were not able to fully benefit from the services of accredited businesses using their CDR data.” says Crone
“Allowing consumers to share CDR data relevant to these services, including those relating to financial management and comparison tools, is important, especially given current cost of living pressures and rising interest rates.”
“All data holders are reminded that failure to comply with the CDR Rules will result in scrutiny by the ACCC and may result in enforcement action, with potentially serious consequences including infringement notices or court proceedings.” he said.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission also alledged that ING Bank infringed the Australian Consumer Law by being deceptive on its website.
From 28 October 2021 to 2 February 2022, ING Bank represented its accredited person request service had been operational since 1 July 2021 and was therefore a reliable and secure system for customers to use to share data, when this was not the case.
According to Crone All CDR participants are warned that any claims about the CDR must be accurate and able to be substantiated, or they risk breaching the Australian Consumer Law, which can attract significant penalties if the ACCC commences court proceeding
The ACCC said that ING Bank had taken down the potentially deceptive or inaccurate representation from its website once they expressed their concerns.
It can issue an infringement notice when it has reasonable grounds to believe a person or business has contravened certain provisions of the CDR Rules or the Australian Consumer Law.
It also noted that the payment of a penalty specified in an infringement notice is not an admission of a contravention of the CDR Rules or Competition and Consumer Act 2010.
