We are offering support to customers directly affected by COVID-19 to help ease the financial pressures caused by such events.

If you have been impacted by COVID-19 such as being unable to work, have experienced loss of income or your business has been impacted, please see the below ways Auswide Bank can assist you.

• We can support you to make your home loan, personal loan and business loan payments or if you are experiencing financial hardship. You can find out more here.
• Loan customers may also wish to consider other options including:
• Accessing any additional money you may have available in redraw in your eligible loan. Find out more about Home Loan redraw here. For Business Loan redraw please contact your Business Banker.
• If you are currently paying more, reduce your repayments to the minimum monthly repayment amount
• Utilising money in your Mortgage Offset Account (if available to you)

• Affected term deposit customers needing early access to their funds may be eligible to do so without incurring any early withdrawal rate or providing the normal 31 days' notice of withdrawal.
• Platinum Mastercard Credit Card cardholders can find out more about the cash flow management solutions available to them here.

The Australian Government has introduced measures to support small and medium businesses.

The Australian Government has also introduced measures to support households. This includes Fact Sheets and information on eligibility and timing of support payments to social security, veteran and other income support recipients.

The Queensland Government has introduced the COVID-19 Jobs Support Loan Scheme. This Scheme is for Queensland businesses and non-profit organisations financially affected by COVID-19 to retain employees and maintain their operations.

Auswide Bank has welcomed the introduction of the Australian Government's HomeBuilder grant which is designed to stimulate the Australian economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and recession.

The grant of $25,000 is available to eligible Australian citizens who are building a new home or making a substantial renovation to an existing home.  The temporary scheme will last until the end of the year, aiming to build 30,000 homes by Christmas. While a federal scheme, it will be administered through state and territory governments

The HomeBuilder Fact Sheet and Homebuilder Frequently Asked Questions provides more details.

Auswide Bank home lending consultants, accredited mortgage brokers and our Australian-based call centre remain open for business and we encourage customers who are looking to build a new house or renovate their current property to contact them to see what options are available, including refinancing their existing home loan to Auswide Bank.

We understand that the fast changing financial environment has left many of our customers confused about their finances and financial future. This includes recent changes to superannuation, investments and government benefits, job changes and losses and impacts on household budgets.

Apart from the Government support for households and businesses listed above, you may be seeking some additional support in making appropriate financial decisions at this time. Check out the 10 Tips to Bolstering your Family Finances, for some helpful hints.

The Australian Government's Moneysmart website also includes information, tools and videos to assist customers who may be having problems paying bills, who need urgent help with money or who may wish to access some free financial counselling.

If you are seeking more personalised financial advice about your situation, our partners Alliance Wealth are standing by to support you! Alliance Wealth are a wholly owned subsidiary of Centrepoint Alliance Limited ABN 72 052 507 507 - one of Australia's leading networks of advisers in financial services. You can find out more about our relationship with Alliance Wealth here.

Alliance Wealth Financial Advisors are working remotely however they can still discuss your situation via phone calls, Skype, Go To meetings or Zoom meetings to assist.

Importantly their first discussion with you is also complimentary.

Auswide Bank can easily introduce you to a qualified Financial Adviser – phone an Auswide Bank branch, email cc@auswidebank.com.au or call us on 1300 138 831 (7am to 7pm AEST Monday to Friday)

Our partner, National Seniors Australia, is proud to be part of a new COVID-19 Hotline launched in conjunction with the Federal Government (Department of Health) and three other seniors' organisations, including COTA, OPAN and Dementia Australia.

The Older Australians COVID-19 Support Hotline (1800 171 866) is available to seniors needing a listening ear, a friendly voice and help on what COVID-19 means for their circumstances. During this time, it's important not only to protect your physical wellbeing but also your mental wellbeing, especially if you are isolated from friends and family.

If you're an older Australian (or know one) in need of a friendly voice and a 'virtual' helping hand, please call 1800 171 866.

For more information about National Seniors Australia, visit nationalseniors.com.au.

As an essential service our branches remain open, however we ask that wherever possible you consider using online banking services such as Internet or Phone Banking or our Mobile APP.

If you do not have online banking or need assistance, please phone our Customer Hub on 1300 138 831 (7am to 7pm weekdays AEST).

Right now, debit and credit cards are an important way you can access you money when buying essential items or shopping on-line .

We encourage you to apply for a debit card on your eligible Auswide Bank account or a credit card if you do not already have one.

You can find out more about our Visa Debit card here. You can find out more about our credit card options here.

In response to COVID-19, the contactless card PIN limit for Visa paywave, Mastercard PayPass or EFTPOS Tap & Pay on our debit and credit cards will temporarily increase from $100 to $200. Increasing the limit to $200 means that fewer people will need to touch the payment terminal for purchases up to $200.

The new $200 limit was progressively introduced across certain cards and at certain retailers starting from 7th April 2020. You can ask the retailer whether the new limit is available and will also know at the time of payment by the PIN pad prompts. The new limit will only be applicable where a merchant terminal has been updated with the new limits and not all merchant acquiring banks are participating with this change. If the new limit has been introduced, you will be prompted to tap your card for purchases up to $200, and NO PIN will be required.

We take this opportunity to remind our customers to keep your card safe at all times to protect against theft and to check your account often.

We love serving you in our branch and we are taking all necessary precautions to protect the health and safety of our people and customers.

If you do need to visit a branch, to protect you and our staff we kindly ask you to wear a mask, keep a distance of 1.5 meters between yourself and others whenever possible and minimise physical contact when visiting our branches. Please use the hand sanitizer provided prior to interacting with our staff or facilities.

In addition we request that you refrain from visiting our branches if:

• you are experiencing flu like symptoms (cough, fever, shortness of breath, fatigue, loss of taste or smell); or
• you have come into close contact or live with someone who has a confirmed case of COVID-19; or
• you arrived in Australia from overseas or into Queensland from a designated COVID-19 hotspot, (as stipulated by the Queensland State Government) in the last 14 days; or
• you live with someone who meets the above criteria.

Our branch staff greatly appreciate your patience and co-operation. They want to thank their customers for respecting these social distancing protocols which safeguard other customers, them and their families.

Our Lending teams are working as per usual. If you have a loan in progress we will contact you if we require anything from you.

New customers can still apply for Home Loans, Personal Loans, Credit Cards and Business Loans.

We can arrange a ZOOM meeting if you are unable to travel due to quarantine or if you'd prefer not to travel or meet face-to-face.