Briefs: ME board departure, One Nation bill, UnionPay rollout

ME director Christine Christian leaves over 'a potential conflict of interest'

Christine Christian will leave the board of ME Bank next month, “due to a potential conflict of interest.” Christian, in a statement at the ME website, said: “Today we are rightly seeing heightened expectations in regards to corporate governance and so as to avoid a future situation where by my directorship of ME Bank may be conflicted, I have made the decision to resign.” Christian is the longest-serving member of the ME board, appointed in November 2012. She is a former CEO of Dun & Bradstreet and is a member of the board of Flexigroup. Her resignation is effective 31 July 2020.

The Senate’s Economics Legislation Committee will hold a short inquiry into a One Nation bill intended to clear-cut ban any “bail-in” of bank deposits. This policy is a pet topic of a narrow circle. The committee is asked to report on the Banking Amendment (Deposits) Bill 2020 by 10 August.

UnionPay International has accelerated the rollout of its contactless payment service, QuickPass, in Australia since the outbreak of COVID-19. The company said in a statement yesterday that two-thirds of the 490,000 merchants accepting UnionPay cards in Australia offer QuickPass. This includes all Woolworths stores.