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Bank with No Monthly Fees And No Minimum Balance Required. Apply right away! Australia’s banking regulator says it had no idea of the Bank of Queensland’s racey recent savings account that gives tickets in a monthly lottery rather than a higher interest rate, despite claims it had approved it. The account has been criticised for supporting gambling because it requires customers to forgo an average 3.5 per cent in yearly interest for the opportunity to win $20,000 a month. In defending the account yesterday, Bank of Queensland (BoQ) chief executive David Liddy said the company had been through two years of examination and been accepted by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, as well as and state lottery commissions.

Advertizement: Narrative continues under But an APRA spokesperson said the regulator had but learned about the product the previous day. It had not accepted the account, nor was it required to. BoQ chief operating officer Ram Kangatharan was forced to defend his chief, who was on a flight when the discovery was made. Mr Kangatharan apologised and said Mr Liddy had been mistaken. Nonetheless, he said the account had been granted the go ahead by the significant state and territory lottery commissions, who regulated savings accounts with trade promotions. “We can basically go ahead with it,” Mr Kangatharan said.

Customer and anti-gambling advocates flagged legal action within hours of the product being revealed at the bank’s full-year profit announcement in Brisbane yesterday, as revealed solely by brisbanetimes.com.au today. Independent Senator Nick Xenophon, who staunchly opposes gambling, too spoke out about the account today. Mr Xenophon said he would follow authorities to give reasons for why the product was approved and he intended to raise the issue in Senate Estimates the following week. The Win Account, to be launched on November 15, will be the first of its variety in Australia and is based on common products in New Zealand.

It has little fees and offers an yearly interest rate of 1 per cent, compared to most other savings accounts that present about 4.5 per cent. Customers will be lured to the Win Account on the opportunity they can win the $20,000 first prize in a monthly lottery, with an opening total prize pool of $30,000. When a minimum $250 is deposited, every dollar in the account will make a ticket in the lottery. But a customer who deposits $1000 into the account stands to lose about $35 per year in interest. Customer groups GetUp! and Choice, which are already pursuing class activity versus 12 banks for what it claims are dishonest charges, have mooted uniting action against Bank of Queensland.

Choice spokesman Christopher Zinn said the account was “unreliable” and would encourage gambling, while GetUp! described it as an “dishonest” banking practise. The Salvation Army’s head of issue gambling services, Gerard Byrne, said the product was improbable to affect existing problem gamblers, who generally did not save money. Still, it would ultimately prompt new gamblers. Mr Liddy said yesterday the bank had made the account because it was unable to offer competitive interest rates compared to the large four. He rejected suggestions it would promote gambling. “It’s not gambling. You’re putting your money unharmed in a bank and being eventually rewarded … you’re not putting your capital at jeopardy at all,” Mr Liddy said. “It’s a special account that will appeal to some people and some it won’t. We’re not trying to dictate to people what they do, people will make that selection. “All our market inquiry and the behaviour of the product in other markets suggests certain people will adore it, others won’t touch it.”