News

We are beyond excited to share the exciting news that our East Maitland Branch will undergo a major renovation in early 2025. While the magic of the construction occurs, we will need to temporarily close the East Maitland Branch in February 2025. The Mutual Bank’s passion for service shines through our entire business and we are committed to continuing to provide exceptional personal service in our branches. We can’t wait to welcome Members to our contemporary, state-of-the-art premises in East Maitland which we believe will bring a fresh modern feel for you, our Members, and for our Branch Team. According to data collected by APRA, almost 800 bank branches have closed in regional areas between June 2017 and June 2023. That number accounts for more than one third of all regional bank branches. In contrast, The Mutual Bank recognises the importance of a physical presence for our Members which has sparked this multi-year program to refurbish our branch network. East Maitland is the first branch we will redevelop in our Branch of the Future program with the aim to provide a modern and functional environment that our Members enjoy visiting and our teams enjoy working in. You are invited to look at the designs now on display in our East Maitland Branch. As a customer-owned bank, our profits go back into supporting our community and into providing better products and services for our Members. Our goal is to give you the best banking experience possible. We believe in offering our Members a choice. Some of our Members choose to deal with us in person, while an increasing number of Members may choose to self-service online. We successfully implemented a Digital Loan Origination Platform in 2024 as part of this choice offering. The construction works are expected to take up to 12 weeks and during this time we will establish a temporary branch at our Head Office in Green Hills, right next to the Stockland Shopping Centre. You can also visit our friendly teams at Raymond Terrace, Maitland, Rutherford, Dungog, Mayfield and Edgeworth. The ATM at the East Maitland Branch will still be operational during the construction works, but there may be times when the service is interrupted. We thank our Members for their patience and continued support during the construction period and apologise for the inconvenience. We can’t wait to welcome you into your fresh new branch!

The simple things can often have a bigger impact than we could ever imagine – and that’s exactly what the organisers behind the Susan Roskell Memorial Toy and Gift Drive see every year. The Mutual Bank is once again partnering with this incredible community initiative that helps to create happy memories for families affected by hardship over the holiday season. The Susan Roskell Toy and Gift Drive was established with the goal of providing gifts and toys to children, and their parents and carers, who have been impacted by the effects of domestic and family violence, homelessness, illness and injury. The Mutual Bank’s Chief Member Officer Matthew Dunnill said continuing to be a Platinum Sponsor of the well-established and respected appeal was an easy decision for the member-owned and community focused bank. “The Susan Roskell Toy and Gift Drive aligns with our values and supports grassroots charities and community organisations, helping them to aid families seeking assistance at what can be a really challenging time of year,” Matthew said. “Our team was thrilled to take part in this project last year and we hope the community will be just as generous this year by supporting the drive – the smallest of gifts are so important as they all add up.” Todd Sheldon from Bolwarra Heights organises the annual event, which is now in its ninth year. It all started in 2016 when a request from Maitland’s Reading Cinema to support struggling families during the festive season saw Todd, his wife Penny, and their son Lachlan (who was named Young Citizen of the Year 2024 for his toy drive efforts), donating wrapped gifts to a Wishing Tree and from this, the idea of an annual toy drive was born. “It is heartening to see that with every year, the support from the community and small businesses has grown which enables us to support the ever-increasing number of Hunter families that are seeking a helping hand during the holiday season,” said Todd. As well as The Mutual Bank branches being a collection point for the gifts, the bank’s team will also volunteer over two days to help sort the donations at their Head Office in Green Hills for distribution to the charities. Community members can drop unwrapped, new toys and presents and gift vouchers into one of the large boxes at each of our seven branches – Dungog, East Maitland, Edgeworth, Maitland, Mayfield, Raymond Terrace and Rutherford.

While the Paralympics were in full swing in Paris, we had the chance to cheer on our own athletes right here in the Hunter. The Mutual Bank was thrilled to partner with Active Inclusive and Good Shepherd Support Services for a special Disability Community Day on Wednesday September 4. The day was designed to allow people living with a disability to come together and enjoy a day of fun whilst participating in some sporting activities. Around 200 participants took part in the event at No. 2 Sportsground in Newcastle, taking part in some fun events along with sports such as golf and touch football. The event was free for participants and included: A free barbecue and drinks for competitors Zumba Dance Sessions by Healthy Change Challenge Facepainting Sports round robin Appearance by some of the Newcastle Knights Face Painting Lucky door prizes, raffles Craft stations Certificate ceremony Proceeds from the day support the Susan Roskell Toy Drive and the Sione Foundation.

Scams are on the rise, and we want to help arm you with some information to help stop and shut down scammers. During Scams Awareness Week, from 26-30 August, we are encouraging our Members and the community to learn more about scams, speak up, share and report scams to help others. This year’s theme for Scams Awareness Week is “Share a story, stop a scam.” It’s about helping others to spot and then steer clear of these digital deceivers. You’re invited to join us at our community events in branch and at Stockland Green Hills during Scams Awareness Week. Share a cuppa and a cupcake with our Financial Crimes Team at your local branch as we talk all things scam related  - what to look out for, the common scams and trends they see and importantly, how to spot and avoid them. Our compassionate Financial Crimes supports our Members impacted by scams and you may be surprised to learn you are not alone, if you have been a victim or have had a close call with a scammer. Along with the Little Black Book of Scams the bank will also have its popular ‘be scam aware’ fridge magnets to give away, which have a handy checklist to run through when you receive a suspicious phone call to help you spot scam calls. Please join us: Monday 26 August at East Maitland Branch from 9-11am Tuesday 27 August at Dungog Branch from 9-11am Tuesday 27 August at Raymond Terrace Branch from 2-4pm Wednesday 28 August at Maitland Branch from 9.30-11.30am Thursday 29 August at Mayfield Branch from 9am-11am Thursday 29 August at Edgeworth Branch from 2pm-4pm Friday 30 August at Rutherford Branch 9am-11am Cupcakes will be available to the first 50 people at each event. You can also catch the team at Stockland Green Hills Shopping Centre, just outside Coles, from Tuesday 27 August to Thursday 29 August. We will also be talking scams with the wider community at Stockland Green Hills Shopping Centre (out the front of Coles) from Tuesday 27 August to Thursday 29 August. By learning more about common scams and by sharing our experiences, we can keep our community be scam aware. We can’t wait to see you! Please remember: to avoid being part of a scam, you can take three key actions – Stop, Check and Report. Stop: Don’t give money or personal information to anyone. Scammers will offer to help you or ask you to verify who you are. They will pretend to be from organisations you know and trust like service providers, the police, your bank or government services. Check: Ask yourself could the message or call be fake? Never click a link in an unknown message. Only contact businesses or government using contact information that you find yourself from their official website. If you’re not sure, say ‘no’, hang up or delete. Report: Act quickly if something feels wrong. Contact your bank if you notice unusual activity or if a scammer gets your money or information. Seek help and report the scam to Report Cyber and Scamwatch. When you report scams, you help all Australians by building our defence against scams.

As faster and more secure payment options have become available, more Australians are choosing alternative payment services to cheques. With cheque use in rapid decline, the Australian Government has announced that the cheque system in Australia will wind down no later than 2030. The Australian banking industry is now planning for this phase-out, with some banks and many merchants already no longer accepting cheques as a form of payment. We understand that ongoing changes in the payments landscape can be challenging for some Members, and we want to ensure you are provided with sufficient notice and support to adjust to a world without cheques. As a result of these changes to the Australian cheque system, The Mutual Bank will phase out cheques by 31 December 2025. We will be in contact with impacted Members to explain the phasing-out timelines and provide support with switching to the many alternative payment services available. We are here to help you navigate through this transition – please talk to our friendly Contact Centre Team on 1300 688 825 if we can assist you. You can learn more about the timeline and read our Frequently Asked Questions here.

Money mule scams are becoming more common in Australia, with criminals recruiting victims through job ads and romance offers. Money mules transfer the proceeds of crime – such as fraud or scams – into a third party’s bank account to hide them from authorities. Sometimes, unsuspecting victims get caught up in these scams because they’re disguised as an employment opportunity or even a new romance. Here’s how people get caught out and how you can help stop it from happening to you. How money mule scams work Money mules are intermediaries who act on behalf of other criminals, who are trying to launder or hide money derived from crime. To cover their tracks, money mules may try to recruit new people to get involved in the transfer of large sums of money. One common way of recruiting new people is under the guise of a legitimate employment opportunity, where the employee can earn sums of money quickly by making transfers. Another way involves a potential partner asking their online match to transfer money for them. Shielding yourself from a money mule scam These scams can be quite sophisticated, with fraudsters creating legitimate-looking email addresses and websites to reduce their chance of being detected; however, there are often red flags. The following tips may help: • The old adage ‘if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is’ applies when it comes to money mule scams. Beware of any offers of large sums of money for minimal or easy work. • If you’re offered a job, conduct research on the company, including their ABN, how long the company has been registered and who its director/owner is. Be extra wary of businesses that are listed overseas. • Ask a trusted friend or family member for advice if something seems fishy. • Don’t send money to anyone you don’t know or have not met in person. • Protect your banking details and update your passwords periodically. • Always treat links in emails and text messages with caution. What to do if you think you’ve already been scammed: Immediate actions to take If you believe you’re the victim of a money mule scam, it’s important to report it to both the police and your bank as soon as possible. Call our Hunter-based Contact Centre Team during business hours on 1300 688 825. The sooner you contact us, the more likely it is we may be able to stop the transactions. However, some transactions – such as wire transfers – cannot be stopped. Money mule scams can involve identity theft. After you’ve spoken to us, consider contacting IDCARE – the national identity and cyber support service – on 1800 595 160. You can also report the scam to Scamwatch, the website run by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to help consumers. Remember, The Mutual Bank may contact Members from time to time but: • We will never ask you for your full card details including your CVV. • We will never ask for your passwords, access codes or One Time Password. • We will never ask you to make a transaction on your account. • We will never ask you to download a program or request remote access to your device. Learn more about how we protect your account and information here. Report a suspected fraud here.