Westpac has cut the rate on its market leading bonus saver account, Life, by a massive 50 basis points to 2.5 per cent. The account is for customers aged 18 to 29. The bank also cut the introductory rate on eSaver by 10 bps to 30 bps. Westpac subsidiaries St George, Bank of Melbourne and Bank SA also cut rates.

 

The “temporary” increase in the contactless payment limit has been extended again, this time until December 17. The increase from A$100 to $200 was first made in April last year, as a way of helping limit the risk of COVID transmission by reducing physical contact at the point of sale. It has been extended every three months since then. Time to make it permanent?

 

Corporate lender Metrics Credit Partners has appointed a sustainable finance investment director. Alison Chan has left NAB, where she was director sustainable finance, to take up the role. Before working at NAB she was a senior adviser at Climate Bonds Initiative, based in London. Metrics is a signatory to the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment and a founding member of the Australian Sustainable Finance Institute.

 

A former senior adviser (industry, trade and investment) in the Office of the Prime Minister, Brendan Pearson, has been appointed as Australia’s next ambassador and permanent representative to the OECD. His CV also includes a stint as counsellor (trade policy) at the Australian embassy in Washington and North Asia bureau chief for the Australian Financial Review.