Travel card issuers to return funds on expired cards

Travel card issuers ANZ, Cuscal and Bank of China have changed the terms and conditions of their cards and will allow customers to reclaim leftover funds even after the expiry of the card.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission said the standard industry practice was now that customers do not forfeit their funds when travel cards expire.

ASIC has recently completed a review of the travel card market, looking at the offering of eight issuers.

It said the review would result in a number of other changes in the sector, including improved disclosure in product disclosure statements about how customers can reclaim funds after expiry.

Issuers will improve their communication with customers when a card is due to expire, alerting them to any available balance.

Issuers will also remove or reduce fees, including inactivity fees.

Cuscal is the issuer of Westpac's travel card and Bank of China is the issuer of Australia Post's Load&Go China card.