The Customer Owned Banking Association has put greater emphasis on support for vulnerable customers in a revised industry code of practice that takes effect this week.

The new Customer Owned Banking Code of Practice, which replaces the 2018 version, was developed after a review by consultants Cameron Ralph Khoury and further work by a COBA board advisory committee.

The new code establishes obligations for more inclusive banking products and greater support for customers experiencing vulnerability.

Expanded protections include commitments to provide accessible banking services for older and First Nations customers, people with a disability and customers who speak English as a second language.

Code subscribers must take additional care in circumstances involving disability, elder abuse and domestic violence.

There are expanded protections for guarantors.

In June, the Customer Owned Banking Code Compliance Committee released a report on the preparedness of code subscribers to meet the new requirements, saying very few of the 57 code subscribers had policies and processes covering all of the vulnerable circumstances detailed in the new code.

It said even subscribers with substantial vulnerability frameworks would have more work to do to ensure they complied with the new code.

Another key change to the code is an obligation to provide information about banking products that may be more suitable for people on low incomes and Commonwealth concession card holders.

And the code calls for more transparency around credit card sales, including requirements to ask customers to specify the dollar limit they would like on a credit card and prompt customers to cancel an account when a balance is transferred to a new card account.