The Australian Securities and Investments Commission found that these four major Aussie banks kept at least two million low-income Aussies in high-fee accounts.

Now, the banks will return over $28 million in fees to victims over the next 12–18 months.

This will include $24.6 million to be refunded to ABSTUDY payments and those in areas with large First Nations populations.

Speaking with Yahoo Finance, a spokesperson for CBA confirmed that impacted customers would be receiving the “Better Banking Payment” refunds in their bank accounts, with some set to receive their refunds this week.

ASIC has said that the controversy has caused “financial distress through avoidable fees and complicated bank processes, often creating barriers for regional and remote consumers.”

A Westpac spokesperson has also confirmed that the bank had refunded eligible customers and had taken a “proactive approach” to improve support for customers called out by ASIC’s report.

“We have refunded account keeping, debit interest and overdrawn fees dating back to July 2019 for all these customers’ transaction accounts, not just the account they receive their government payment,” the spokesperson said.