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How to dispute transactions.

Read time 3 min

If you don’t recognise a transaction on your account, tap on it for more details. Call us on 13 17 19 if you believe it’s suspicious, or, to dispute the transaction for a different reason, complete the transaction dispute form.

Before you raise a dispute

If you’re unsure about a transaction, take a moment to review the details to decide whether it’s suspicious.

How to check a transaction

  1. Open the Bankwest App
  2. Tap on the transaction 
  3. Tap ‘More about this transaction’.

You’ll be able to see the transaction description, contact details for the business, and its location. While you’re reviewing this you can temporarily lock your card in the Bankwest App.

Alternative explanations

Sometimes the transactions you don’t recognise are for reasons other than fraud, such as:

  • The purchase was made by an additional cardholder
  • The transaction was converted from a foreign currency to AUD
  • The transaction is a direct debit (like a membership or subscription) or an app download
  • The business is trading under a different name (you can search business trading names by searching for their ABN).

How to raise a dispute

There are different ways to raise a dispute depending on whether you authorised the transaction.

If you didn’t authorise the transaction

Call us immediately to report an unauthorised transaction or suspected fraud. We’ll cancel your card and organise a replacement. 

If you’re in Australia call 13 17 19. 

If you’re overseas call us on +61 8 9449 2840.

If you did authorise the transaction

You can either call us or use our Transaction Dispute Form. However, we do suggest that you contact the business who charged you to raise your concerns as they may be able to resolve these transaction disputes quickly. 

To submit a Transaction Dispute Form, download and complete it digitally, then return it to us via email or Bankmail. 

Alternatively, you can print the form, complete it and send it to Bankwest using the details printed on the form.

Transaction Dispute Form (PDF)

Here are some common reasons for a transaction dispute:

  • The issue is to do with refunds or exchanges for returns
  • You have an issue with a membership or subscription
  • The product or service is defective or unsatisfactory
  • You think you’ve been charged more than once
  • You cancelled a regular payment but were still charged
  • There are differences in the charges on your receipt and statement
  • You didn’t receive your products or services, or a credit that was promised.

Common questions

We’ll contact you if we need more information or supporting documents such as copies of receipts, or correspondence you’ve had with the business who charged you. If you reported an unauthorised transaction we’ll need to cancel your card and send you a new one. We won’t be able to start our investigation until this has happened. 

We'll keep you updated via email where we can, and by post, if required. Keep in mind these updates may take longer to reach you due to postal delays. 

A transaction dispute can typically take up to 45 calendar days, as we work with Mastercard and the business’ bank to resolve your dispute. However, if we need more time for the investigation to be completed, we’ll let you know.

If you had your card replaced, you can access your new card details in the Bankwest App on the next business day. We recommend you update your direct debits and regular repayments with your new card details. 

Once we’ve sent out your physical card, you should receive it within 10 business days.

It means that the payment is still processing, or that the business who charged you is holding the funds for a deposit. When you buy something using the credit or PayPass® option on your card, the funds are reserved in your account as ‘authorisation only’. 

If your transaction is ‘authorisation only’, it should be fully processed in 3-5 business days and the business name will appear in your account instead.

Any obligation to pay an amount for the disputed transaction, or interest and other charges related to the disputed transaction, is suspended until the disputed transaction is resolved.

While the disputed transaction is still being resolved, you should continue to pay at least the minimum monthly payment.

If the disputed transaction is resolved in your favour, you will not need to pay for the disputed transaction, or any interest accrued as a result of the disputed amount.

If the disputed transaction is not resolved in your favour, (e.g. if the transaction was authorised), you will need to pay for the disputed transaction amount, and the usual rules for calculating interest will apply to that transaction.

  1. Take note of the ATM provider, the time of the transaction, and the location of the ATM
  2. Keep all your receipts from the ATM
  3. Complete a transaction dispute form, and return it to us.

We’ll contact the ATM provider to investigate the details of the transaction. The dispute can take between 21 to 45 calendar days.  We’ll need to wait for the other bank to confirm the results of their investigation before we’re able to let you know the result. We’ll send you a letter if it’s likely to take longer. 

Contact us

Call us

On 13 17 19.