Bank offers up to $4k cashback to frontline workers

The lender is making available an additional $1,000 for health, education and emergency services workers with eligible home loans.

The details

All eligible mortgagors with a home loan of between $250,000 and $750,000 and a loan-to-value ratio (LVR) of less than 90 per cent will be eligible for $2,000 upon refinancing, with an additional $1,000 cashback for frontline workers.

Meanwhile, mortgagors with a loan of over $750,000 and an LVR of less than 90 per cent will be eligible for $3,000 cashback, while frontline workers will be eligible for an additional $1,000, bringing their total to $4,000 cashback upon refinancing with Suncorp.

The tiered offer is available on owner-occupied and investor loans where repayments are either principal and interest or interest-only. 

The offer is available now for new refinancers who apply before 10 July 2020 and settle by 10 November 2020.

The new refinance offer joins other Suncorp initiatives aiming to assist customers throughout COVID-19, including loan rearranging with no establishment fees, $0 account-keeping fees for all deposit customers and reduced variable and fixed home loan interest rates. 

Suncorp’s executive general manager, lending, Glenn Haslam, said the offer was being rolled out in gratitude to health, education and emergency services workers who are putting themselves on the frontline every day to help Australians during this pandemic.

“As many Australians manage the financial strain of coronavirus, this offer will support households by putting cash in the pockets of Australian home owners,” Mr Haslam said.

“We understand that customers want the choice – to use this extra cash to help with the household budget or to own their home sooner.

“If you haven’t reviewed your home loan for a while, you could be missing out on big savings, especially in this current low rate environment, so contact your local Suncorp branch or your broker or apply online.” 

The bank joins nine other lenders that have recently offered cashback incentives for those looking to refinance with a new lender, including three of the big four banks – ANZ, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac. 

Virgin Money also recently announced it was extending its cashback offer for refinances too.

The deals come as more borrowers look to take advantage of the low interest rate environment and competitive offers. 

Suncorp launches financial education program

Suncorp has also announced that it has partnered with national charity the Financial Basics Foundation to launch a free online resource kit to help parents talk to their children about money.

The program, called the Financial Rules of Thumb, hopes to respond to recent research suggesting that greater financial literacy among children and young adults is required, particularly in light of COVID-19.

Financial Basics Foundation chair Brigid Leishman said Australian schoolchildren deserve every chance to be taught the fundamentals of money to secure their financial future and be ready for a rainy day.

“As communities face the economic and social impacts of COVID, hundreds of thousands of young people have lost their jobs, families are being forced to prioritise their spending on essentials – it’s a very tough lesson,” Ms Leishman said.

“Through the online kit, we’re helping to equip parents and carers with an easy online toolkit to help them reinforce good money habits with their kids.”

Suncorp Bank CEO Lee Hatton said the aim of launching the Financial Rules of Thumb kit was to equip young people with the right education to take charge of their financial future.

“Australian teenagers are digitally savvy, so we’re bringing learning to life through digital to give them hands-on experience in budgeting, investing or paying bills.

“Educating our children on the financial basics will help them weather challenging times later in life,” Ms Hatton said.

[Related: Suncorp cuts business rates]