AUSSIE “BIG 4” BANK WESTPAC INTRODUCES REAL-TIME GAMBLING BLOCK

Westpac, one of Australia’s “big four” banks, has introduced a real-time digital gambling block for its online and mobile banking platforms. 

Customers of the bank can now choose to activate the block on any personal Westpac Mastercard credit or debit card.

According to Wikipedia, as of March 2018, Westpac had 14 million customers. 

Catherine Fitzpatrick, Westpac director of customer vulnerability and financial resilience, said: “The new feature complements our existing service where customers can also call us to request a gambling block to be applied to their card to stop certain transactions, including at casinos, sports betting agencies and online gambling.

“We know that problem gambling is a serious community issue. The introduction of the digital gambling block is a further step in providing customers choice and convenience to manage their spending.

“The flexibility and ease of being able to apply an instant block through digital banking have meant more than 2,500 customers have already accessed this new feature since it went live last month.”

WestPac isn’t the first Aussie bank to introduce gambling payment blockers. Last year, the Australian National Banking Association launched a public consultation about the role banks should play in tackling problem gambling. Since then, some Australian banks, like those in other countries, have introduced the option to block gambling transactions. 

AYO.NEWS says:

As we’ve argued many times here at AYO.NEWS, tools like this should be welcomed by the gambling industry. In the long-term, empowering people to manage their money in a responsible way will almost certainly significantly reduce problem gambling (and other kinds of problem spending – like retail binging on credit cards). 

Really, this should actually make the industry more sustainable and take some of the pressure off operators. Perhaps a bigger threat to the industry in Australia, as in the UK and several other countries, is from ideologically driven pressure groups crusading against gambling advertising.