National Australia Bank rolls out gambling payments blocker

National Australia Bank (NAB) has become the first bank in the country to offer customers the option to block gambling transactions via its mobile application.

Retail banking customers with a NAB Visa Credit or NAB Visa Debit card can now restrict most gambling payments, including sports betting, casino games, lottery tickets and online gambling.

Customers will have the option to remove the blocker via the app or by calling the bank’s customer support team, but there will be a delayed reactivation period of 48 hours, during which the request to reactivate can be cancelled.

The tool is now available on the latest version of the app across iOS and Android devices, having only initially been available on iOS when it was first introduced in December of last year.

“It’s very easy to place a bet, so there’s real value in giving people the option to plan ahead and control their spending,” NAB chief customer experience officer Rachel Slade said. “This tool is designed to put the choice in the hands of our customers.

“Since commencing the roll-out in December we have seen more than 10,000 customers turn on the restriction, highlighting the importance of offering easy-to-use tools for customers to manage their finances.”

The wider roll-out of the tool builds on other gambling-related services that the bank already has in place. In March 2019, NAB introduced a service allowing its customers to call customer support and block most gambling transactions.

In addition, NAB’s customer support team is able to offer further assistance to customers with gambling-related problems, including referring to them to a specialist gambling financial counsellor via Uniting’s CareRing program.