This week’s banking news you don’t want to miss

• An Aussie first: CommBank launches Home Loan Compassionate Care 
• Switched to a neobank? Here’s what happens if you lose your phone… 
• NobleOak finds life insurance adoption rates are falling, making Australians more vulnerable 
• Watch out for bad credit! 2 out of 3 new car buyers rejected because of it 
• St George sets out to help first home buyers with new Property App 
• Solar panels are becoming more popular, here’s how some Aussies are paying for them 
• New kid Xinja hits $200 million in deposits just one month after launching its savings account 

All in this week's banking recap. 

CommBank launches Home Loan Compassionate Care to help customers when they need it most  

Home loans are a massive cost for many Aussie families, but how would you cover the repayments if your spouse or dependent became ill or passed away? 

This is where the newly released CommBank Home Loan Compassionate Care initiative comes in. For owner occupiers that suddenly rely on one income instead of two to make mortgage repayments due to illness or death, the big bank will cover their monthly repayments for up to 12 months. 

The new scheme comes in response to CommBank’s own research which found that a third of Aussies claimed they’d only be able to cover mortgage repayments for up to six months, if they were to lose one source of income. 

Read full article: Help when customers need it most: CommBank launches Home Loan Compassionate Care, to find out what the Group Executive of Retail Banking Services, Angus Sullivan, says about the new initiative. 

Got an account with a neobank? How safe is your money if you lose your phone? 

People rely on their phone for everything these days, whether it’s communicating with friends, social media, online shopping or banking. 

Neobanks are the new players on the banking scene, and are 100% app based, meaning there are no branches you can just stroll into. 

So what happens if you lose your phone? Well, just like other banking apps there are a whole bunch of security points like passwords, touch identification or even facial recognition. This means if you lose your phone, once you get a new one you can download the app, log in and your account will look just as it did on your old phone! 

Read full article: What happens to my neobank account if I lose my phone?, for ways to make your phone more secure. 

More Aussies living without life insurance, finds NobleOak 

The number of Australians taking out life insurance policies has dropped by 9% in the last two years, with cost being one of the biggest deterrents for families. 

This is according to NobleOak’s 2020 Life Insurance White Paper, which revealed only 47% of Aussies purchased life insurance in 2020 (down from 56% in 2018).   

On top of that, of the 1,000 respondents to the survey, a mere 32% were planning to renew their policy this year as 30% said the cost was too great, while 27% said they’d be unlikely to make use of it. 

Read full article: NobleOak: Australians 'more vulnerable' as life insurance adoption rates fall and check out what NobleOak CEO, Anthony Brown, said about the fresh data.  

Poor credit causing 2 out of 3 new car buyers to be rejected for a car loan 

If you’ve had your eyes on a new set of wheels and need a car loan to get your hands on the keys, you may want to stop and check your credit rating. 

According to MyCRA Lawyers more and more Australians looking to take out a loan to fund a new car are being rejected due to a poor credit rating. 

MyCRA Lawyers CEO Graham Doessel found that car sales in the new year at the lowest in eight years, which he attributes to stricter borrowing regulations that came into play after the Banking Royal Commission. 

Read full article: 2 out of 3 new Aussie car buyers rejected due to poor credit 25 February 2020 for ways to keep your credit rating healthy. 

St.George introduces a Property App to assist first home buyers 

Jumping into the property market for the first time isn’t easy, from finding a property to securing a home loan, but that’s where St.George aims to lend a helping hand. 

After the 2020 St.George Home Buying Survey revealed that 90% of first home buyers saw the property buying process as “out of touch” with the digital age, the bank set to change that. 

The St.George Property App allows users to search for homes depending on their desired area, as well as their ‘lifestyle preferences’ and ‘points of interest’- an Australian -first search technology. The app is now available only to Apple users via the App store. 

Read full article: St.George launches brand new Property App for first home buyers to discover more about what this app has to offer. 

Australians are opting for solar panels but they are getting a hand to pay for them 

Lower energy bills and a lower carbon footprint - why wouldn’t you go solar? The answer for many Aussies is the initial cost. 

But, a recent survey by SolarQuotes revealed that more consumers are purchasing solar panels, as they found that buying activity in February jumped up by 26% year-on-year. 

So how can people afford it? Well, the research also showed that while the average cost of a 6kWh system can cost between $5,000 - $9,000, green personal loans are a viable financial option for many customers to help fund it. 

Read full article: Aussies are keener on installing solar panels, but how are they paying for them?, for more info on how green personal loans work. 

Xinja has hit a big milestone! $200 million in deposits in less than a month

New Aussie neobank, Xinja, announced this week that it hit $200 million in deposits in its Stash savings account.

The account was launched less than a month ago and has proved its success in the last few weeks. Within just seven days, Xinja received $30 million in deposits, which then jumped up to $100 million and then $200 million. 

Xinja’s Stash account comes with a high interest rate of 2.25%, which has attracted many customers to jump ship, especially those from the big four banks (where more than half of the deposits came from, according to Xinja’s data). 

Read full article: Xinja Stash savings account hits $200 million deposits less than a month after launching, to hear the words of Xinja CEO Eric Wilson on the bank’s success so far.

Want to check out savings accounts options? Take a look at the table below to see how they compare!