The payment of interest was to be at the institution's discretion. What the banks are offering In December 1995, the first of the major banks released their BBPs. By March this year, all banks should have had a BBP available for consumers. So far at least 26 banks have proposed BBPs, but because the 'big four' dominate the retail market, only their products' features have been discussed and compared to the standards laid out in the PSA draft. While the banks have interpreted the PSA draft in quite different ways, there are some similarities.
Deposits are free at all the banks.
If we compare the old account structures with the new BBPs at a variety of different balances and transaction volumes, we will find that most low-income consumers will not be better off using the new BBPs. But this is on condition that they forego interest on the account, have no cheque access and accept a considerably higher level of fees if they transgress the threshold. Once a consumer is over this free transaction threshold, the fees become quite significant irrespective of the balance in the account. A test run A series of simulations revealed a number of interesting results. The CBA consumers fare a little better.