The Commonwealth Bank of Australia, more commonly referred to as Commonwealth Bank and Commbank, is one of the big four banks.  As part of their banking services they offer a MasterCard that is tied to their accounts.

There are two accounts which offer the debit card, Smart Access and Complete Access.  They both charge monthly fees, although this is waived if at least $2,000 is deposited in the account.  Both have EFTPOS capability.
If you’re looking for a convenient and secure way to pay for your everyday expenses, you might want to consider the Commonwealth Bank Debit MasterCard. You can also manage your card settings and spending through the CommBank app or NetBank.

The Smart Access card has a $4 a month fee, while the Complete Access fee is $6 a month.  The difference in the two accounts is that the Smart Access account is limited to automatic only access to the phone and internet while the Complete also offers operators, and the Complete Access account has an unlimited number of free branch transactions.

A rewarding Debit Card

This card also lets you access the CommBank Rewards program, which offers personalised cashback rewards based on your shopping habits. You can get cashback when you activate and redeem your rewards at participating merchants, such as supermarkets, cafes, clothing stores and more. The cashback will be credited into your linked CommBank account, so you can enjoy it however you want.

Commbank sometimes team up with utility providers too, to offer discounts on things like NBN and AGL. You’ll need to check the app to see what the current promotions are, as they often change.

Access to digital wallets

You’ll also be able to use your card with a range of digital wallets, such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, for fast and secure payments. Plus, there’s the added benefit and security of NetCode, which authorises certain online transactions with a one-time password. If you’re traveling and don’t have global roaming on your phone, you’ll still be able to authorise online payments through the CommBank app.

Commonwealth Bank uses MasterCard to process its transactions.  This is one of the two top debit card providers in the world.  This means that it is accepted in most international destinations, which gets over one of the main problems with EFTPOS cards which have a limited acceptance outside Australia.  The debit cards can also be used on most internet sites that accept credit cards.  MasterCard has a well-developed fraud detection capacity that complements Commonwealth Bank’s capability.  The “zero liability guarantee” means that if there are wholly unauthorised transactions on the card that are reported quickly by the card holder then the card holder will not be liable for the transaction.

MasterCard also offer an applause programme which means that a card holder can have the first refusal at getting tickets for sports matches and concerts.

Commonwealth Bank is the second largest Australian company on the Australian Stock Exchange and it has the largest network of ATMs in Australia.  It was set up by the Australian government in 1911 and was only fully privatised in 1996.  This has influenced the way in which the bank has grown up as it sees itself as a generalist bank that covers the whole of Australia and it still has a relationship Australia Post which allows everyday account holders to deposit money through Post Offices.

The share trading side of the Commonwealth Bank, Commsec also offers a debit card on a no fee basis.  This is available for the customers who are prepared to trade securities with Commonwealth Bank’s budget stock broker.