“You looked beautiful at the train station this morning.” It sounds harmless, even kind. But what if that message came from someone you feared? And what if it arrived not by text, but through a bank transfer?
This is just one example of financial abuse, a form of domestic violence that often leaves no visible injuries but can trap victim-survivors in poverty or abusive relationships.
Global spotlight on gendered violence
The UN Women-led UNiTE campaign, which runs from 25 November to 10 December as part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, calls for global action to end violence against women and girls. This year’s theme focuses on digital abuse, but another insidious tactic is emerging: financial abuse delivered through banking systems.
Speaking on Future Women’s internationally awarded podcast There’s No Place Like Home, produced in partnership with CommBank, Professor Jan Breckenridge describes financial abuse as “manipulative… ethically and morally corrupt,” adding that “not all financial abuse is criminal or illegal,” which makes it difficult to identify, even for those experiencing it.
Financial abuse that keeps people trapped
Mary* endured nearly two decades of abuse before stepping into a CommBank branch and being connected with CommBank Next Chapter, which provides free, confidential support to anyone experiencing financial abuse.
“I can see a light at the end of the tunnel,” she says. “Thanks to the support I’ve received, I finally feel stronger and able to smile again.”
Since 2020, the Financial Independence Hub, delivered by Good Shepherd in partnership with CommBank Next Chapter, has supported more than 13,000 Australians to take steps toward financial independence.
Toto*, who endured a violent marriage for more than 10 years, recalls how her husband controlled every dollar. “He controlled the spending,” she says on There’s No Place Like Home. “My biggest fear was for my children. I feel proud that I left. And I wish I did it earlier.”
Her experience reflects findings from Dr Anne Summers’ landmark report, The Choice: Violence or Poverty, which revealed that 90,000 women wanted to leave violent relationships but could not afford to.
Digital financial abuse on the rise
CommBank was the first Australian bank to uncover a disturbing trend in 2019: abusive messages sent via bank transfers. An internal review found more than 8,000 abusive messages in just three months.
“Now this was news to us,” says CommBank Group Customer Advocate, Angela MacMillan. “We’d never thought that our services could or would be used in that way… We looked into it – and what we saw horrified us.”
Since then, CommBank has blocked over one million abusive transactions and introduced an AI model to detect more nuanced patterns of harm. “On average, we’re reviewing over 1,500 cases per year,” MacMillan says.
