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April 2024

Welcome to our quarterly newsletter, which is published in the first week of January, April, July and October. Enjoy the read!

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As we approached the end of 2023, it provided an opportunity to reflect on the role that Queensland Country Bank has played in supporting the local communities we operate in. A really important role that Queensland Country plays is providing finance to support economic development in these communities.

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Read more from our CEO, Aaron Newman

In terms of our role in the community, one of the most important things that we do is finance economic activity. For local communities to grow these communities need the construction of infrastructure whether private or public. As a result of having branches and staff based in many Queensland communities, we have a deep understanding of the local economies and a genuine appetite to provide finance for business expansion and new home construction that is necessary to support economic development.

In the six months to 31 December 2023, we provided more than $420 million in new loans to help people buy homes and cars and make business investments. This compares with the total loans issued in the 22/23 financial year, which totalled $657 million.

Another important benefit we provide to communities is the provision of community grants. We have concluded this annual process recently and have announced approval for grants to 12 not-for-profit associations for a total of $144,000. These funds will assist the recipients to develop social infrastructure that include improvements to a BMX track, recycling machines and improvements to a kitchen for Meals on Wheels, to name a few. Our goal with the grants is to help make regional communities more liveable.

A major focus for the Bank in the next six months is making investments in digital systems to improve the banking experience for our Members. We will be making further enhancements to our mobile app and website to provide more convenience for people who want to transact or receive information online.  

Another area we will be communicating to Members on is frauds and scams. Unfortunately, we have seen an increase in the past six months of Members losing money as a result of being encouraged to make fraudulent transactions. These are payments and transfers our Members are willingly making that result in being a scam. These scams include overseas investments, online romance scams, online Marketplace purchases, etc.

We will be increasing our efforts to highlight what are considered risky transactions so Members can be better prepared to determine what might be a fraud or scam and avoid these. If you do believe you have made a payment that is fraudulent, please call us with urgency to see if we can assist you to recover the funds.

In addition to increasing the awareness of scams with Members, Queensland Country will be improving our systems to increase our protection of Member funds. The Government through their agency Scamwatch, the Australian Banking Association (ABA), Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA), and the National Anti-Scams Centre, have announced the new Scam-Safe Accord.

The Accord establishes six initiatives which are aimed at making banking safer for Australian consumers and creating friction and roadblocks for the perpetrators of fraud. Queensland Country, as a Member of COBA, is bound by the Accord and we have commenced planning work to ensure compliance with the initiatives within timeframes established. Scams and frauds are a financial burden on the whole community, and we will be making our contribution to the industry initiatives to reduce the opportunity for perpetrators of fraud.

As a Queensland based business, we make efforts to stay in touch with what is taking place in local communities. The Board and executives have recently spent some time in Ipswich, that included a Board meeting and a business lunch with local business people. This enabled us to better understand the challenges and opportunities in Ipswich and also what the banking needs of that community are.

In 2024, the Board and executives will be holding Board meetings and Member meetings in Mount Isa, Cairns, Townsville and Brisbane that should build on our understanding of these communities.

I wish everyone a safe and relaxing holiday period and would like to acknowledge your ongoing support of our Bank.

Canstar Awards

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Queensland Country awarded for investment lending

We're proud to announce that we have been awarded two Canstar Awards in the investment lending category:

  • Outstanding Value Investment Home Lender 2024
  • Outstanding Value Investment Variable - Home Lender 2024

Investment lending is an area of growth for our organisation and being able to showcase these awards is a great way for us to attract new Members.

As a Member-owned bank we often talk about providing better value for our Members and awards like this are a great sign that we are doing this right.

Scam Article

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10 tips to protect yourself from online scammers

Whenever you're using any online platform, keep these tips in mind to ensure you are staying safe and keeping your personal information secure.

  • Make your social media profiles private and limit your audience to only your known family and friends.
  • Do not place any sensitive personal information on social media – this includes things like your date of birth, contact details or any tax or social security information. 
  • Use strong passwords.
  • Enable 2-Factor authorisation on your accounts, where possible.
  • Watch out for AI generated photos and videos – these are often used by scammers, particularly to endorse fake products, events or celebrity endorsements for products. 
  • Always review the profiles of any seller before you make a purchase online and only use reputable reselling websites.  
  • Don’t click on pops ups you receive while you’re on the internet – these can often be a scam or contain malware. 
  • If paying an invoice, call the company you’re paying first, to confirm the payment details on the invoice are correct
  • Make sure you have anti-virus software installed on your electronic devices.
  • Learn how to do a reverse image search online – this might help you identify if a picture you’ve received is from a legitimate source

Getting budget back on track after Easter

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Getting your budget back on track after Easter

As Easter draws to a close for yet another year, are you worried you may have overindulged in the long-weekend holidays and chocolate? With these tips in mind, you could get your budget back on track.

  • Review your previous budget to determine where you overspent
  • Develop a new and improved budget that caters to your financial situation
  • Revise your current financial goals and ensure they align with your budget
  • Implement strategies to assist you with your spending habits
  • Review your spending at the end of each month to determine if you are keeping your budget on track

We have a team of Money Mentors* who can help you plan and assess your budget. Get in touch today!

 

*This service will provide budgeting tools for personal finances and is limited to our products and services only. There may be other products issued by other providers that may better suit your needs.

General Advice Warning: This information is intended to be general in nature and is not personal financial advice. It does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information in this article, you should consider the appropriateness of the information provided. In particular, you should seek independent financial advice.

Reference: Carmen Reinicke, 2021, How to get back on track after blowing your budget, CNBC, https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/28/how-to-get-back-on-track-after-blowing-your-budget.html

Mount Isa Member Event

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We invited our Members to an event in Mount Isa

In February, we had the pleasure of inviting a number of our Members to a special event in Mount Isa.

This gave our Members the opportunity to meet our new Board Chair, Lewis Ramsay, as well as to hear a business update from our CEO, Aaron Newman.

We were also fortunate to have our Brand Ambassador, Romy Teitzel, join us for a Q&A session. This gave our Members the chance to get to know her, hear about her career, how she juggles multiple jobs and forms of income, and her decision to come on board as an Ambassador for us.

Tips for travelling overseas

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Tips to help you travel safely and securely

Before you jet off on your next overseas holiday, keep these tips in mind to help you keep your banking card safe and secure.

  • Let us know when, where and how long you’ll be travelling overseas – this will ensure we do not mistake your foreign transactions for fraudulent ones.
  • Research your destination and familiarise yourself with local laws, emergency phone numbers, and medical systems.
  • Double check your travel documents (such as your passport and travel visa - if applicable) are valid.
  • Use our banking app or Internet Banking to check up on any transactions you’ve made while overseas.
  • Research options for mobile and Internet access while you're travelling. 
  • Carry other sources of funds as well, such as foreign cash or a travel card.
  • Arrange travel insurance.

Check out our travelling tips for further useful information.

Queensland Country Bank is everything I ever imagined!

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