Debanked from Commbank

It’s been a really shitty and randomly stressful past week.

So one random Tuesday night I noticed my cards were removed from my Apple wallet, my phone was de-registered, and my commbank account was locked. One branch visit and many many calls later I found out commbank has decided to cease their relationship with me after banking with them for many many years (I’m 30).

For context, I’m a self employed artist (sole trader) and I receive government payments as part of the self employment assistance program and I also receive the occasional NDIS payments due to a permanent disability. I have one business account, two savings (one for business and one for personal) and two smart access (one for personal and one my mum is a signature on). The business account was opened mid last year, my two smart access around 2014, and the savings has been there for much much longer.

I noticed since January of this year that I have been receiving the “was this you” verifying transaction messages from commbank for almost every second transaction and then in May, they drop me as a customer with no explanation (which they are allowed to do) for commercial reasons in alignment with their terms and conditions.

I may never know why but for those who have experienced this or know something about this can you potentially suggest why?

For further context:
-Never used anything like bitcoin nor ever expressed interest.

-Never gambled

-Would withdrawal a cash float ($50) every month or so for monthly artist markets and would desposit it back, plus any profit, onto my card the next business day. Never exceeding $200 for varying amounts.

-All transactions were in AUD except for one transaction back in 2024 where I booked an activity in America for my trip there in December of 2024 (the bank was made aware of the travel prior to this transaction).

-Due to some issues with in app purchases, I had to request some chargebacks from iTunes over the course of approximately 4 months for very small amounts- was able to provide evidence when asked and got my money back.

-Sometimes each fortnight (not every but most) my mum might need something from Cole’s so when I go out, after being paid, I’ll grab her what she needs and she pays me back in cash (she has a bank book not a card with commbank) and I’ll put that cash into my card (usually anywhere from $3-$15).

-Incredibly rare but my mum may ask me to buy something for her online and then she will pay me back in cash which I will then put on my card- this has not happened recently

-My brother works at Kmart so I will get him to buy me something from Kmart while he is at work and will send him what I owe him. This happens most weeks but not all the time. His account with commbank is totally fine.

-Kept personal transactions in the personal account and business in the business though occasionally I would use the same merchant to buy both personal and business items from (think Amazon) but still used the personal card/account for personal purchases and business card/account for business purchases with Amazon.

-I live paycheck to paycheck

-I don’t owe them money and never have

-With my business I receive income from Etsy, classbento, square and Hnry

-Commbank has told me I’m not in- and these are direct quotes- “not in any legal trouble from them” and “you’ve done nothing wrong.”

-I was able to open an account with ANZ and my wise account is un-affected

Does any of this send off flags to anyone? I’ve been banking like this for years with the exception of the business account so I’m rattled and so very confused about their decision. The only thing I think might have set them off are the chargebacks but they were for small amounts but I acknowledge there was a few (4 I think- each for about $2-$5). Unless someone has hacked into my account, but considering my account balance is as it should be- I don’t think so.