Comm Bank defends deposit fee hike for businesses

Commonwealth Bank is jacking up fees for small businesses making cash deposits. (Morgan Sette/AAP PHOTOS)

The Commonwealth Bank has defended its decision to hike deposit fees for small businesses, citing rising cash handling costs.

From October 1, the fee for each individual cash deposit will increase from $3 per payment to $10 per payment.

For those who already pay a $10 monthly deposit fee, the number of available deposits per month will drop from 20 to five.

The changes are due to rising costs around handling, processing and storing cash, a CBA spokesman said.

"While these changes may impact some of our customers, our preference is to work with our customers to help them avoid paying fees by taking advantage of self-service and digital payments," the company statement read.

Customers can continue to withdraw and deposit cash without additional charges at the bank's instant deposit ATMs, the spokesman said.

Unlimited electronic transfers will also remain available through the internet banking system.

But the Cash Welcome campaign has accused CBA of gouging small businesses.

"This fee is a heavy impost for the thousands of small businesses already dealing with tough economic times," spokesman Jason Bryce said. 

"Commonwealth Bank will profit from this fee plus all the transaction data they harvest from consumers and businesses using cashless payments."

Businesses should have the option to receive cash rather than be pushed towards card-only payments, Mr Bryce said. 

"Our banks need to support us to use our own money how we choose," he said. 

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