Stopping online financial abuse

After a career in banking, I founded Flequity Ventures, a social enterprise which aims to empower business to disrupt financial abuse and gender bias through more flexible, safe, and equitable product and service design.

"Early data shows that simple, direct contact from a business about abusive behaviour can stop perpetrators in their tracks. For example, banks have reported that 90 per cent of customers stopped sending abuse through payment descriptions when sent a warning letter.

The business aims to address the hidden epidemic of financial abuse that is estimated to cost $5.7 billion to the 2.4 million victim-survivors annually.

What is behind this?

The problem

We all know the economy is well into a digital revolution – we are seeing all the touchpoints of our life that used to be handled in face-to-face transactions now at our fingertips on devices from phones to tablets to computers.

But long-term societal problems often find a way of infiltrating new mediums of communications and payments if we don’t guard against them – hence why we are seeing a big rise in what's called technology facilitated abuse.

And we’re now understanding more about coercive control – the sustained tactics used by perpetrators to manipulate and exert power in domestic and family violence. Financial abuse is one of those tactics which involves controlling a victim-survivor through their access to money.

Unlike physical abuse which generally occurs behind closed doors and there is limited opportunity to intervene, financial abuse often involves the manipulation of systems. Perpetrators misuse services like banks, insurance, telecommunications, energy and water to threaten victim-survivors or build up debts in their name leaving them financially ruined. In fact - anywhere there is a joint account or online services - is ripe for abuse.

First steps

That means businesses have a direct role to play and why we have launched “respect and protect”, a national initiative to disrupt financial abuse by making it clear that businesses don’t want abusers to weaponise their products and services.

The campaign already has 26 Australian businesses signed-up - including some of the biggest in telecommunications, insurance, banking and education, and smaller companies in water and technology. This includes ANZ.

Each business has agreed to ban the misuse of their products and services for financial abuse with an update to their terms and conditions or policies. The change promotes respect for women and protects from financial harm. It also sends a strong signal that these businesses do not want to be a safe haven for abusers.

We’re asking other businesses to join the first movers. It is the simplest of asks, but it has huge ramifications for victims and survivors.

Ultimately, this is a message of cultural change. When companies put this in their terms of conditions it means they will take action – and be ready to protect the vulnerable – when abuse occurs.

Early data shows that simple, direct contact from a business about abusive behaviour can stop perpetrators in their tracks. For example, banks have reported that 90 per cent of customers stopped sending abuse through payment descriptions when sent a warning letter.

Left unchecked

This is not just a problem for technology and security people in the online world. It is about real people and their path to escaping abuse and poverty.

Unfortunately, at the moment we see in the reports of men’s violence against women the outcomes of not doing enough as a society.

If we don't do anything, we'll continue to have women and children murdered. We will continue to have women living in long term poverty. We know that women over the age of 55 are the fastest growing group of people experiencing homelessness in Australia.

The question is - do we want to perpetuate a structural problem in our society?

That's why the campaign has the ambition to enlist every business in Australia with joint accounts or digital access to services.

Emerging threats

To stay on top of this problem businesses also need to be aware of new risks to customers.

There are a lot of conversations and discussions about the ethical deployment of generative artificial intelligence, but we need to start turning our minds to how perpetrators could turn to emerging technologies to further abuse.

Company directors have a duty to consider foreseeable risk – my view is that financial abuse could potentially be magnified and accelerated if we don't get this right and it’s something they should be mindful of.

Next steps

A critical next step is to evaluate the empirical data on whether anti-financial abuse terms and conditions are changing perpetrator behaviour.

We will have a wealth of data coming in due to so many businesses joining the campaign, so it will be important to examine its impact.

For instance, banks could evaluate the actions they have taken over the last few years to block and respond to abuse written in transaction descriptions to say which part of our intervention is working?

Is it the blocking of inappropriate language? Is it writing a warning letter? Is it providing support to victim survivors? What is most effective in preventing that behaviour? And there is a real opportunity to evaluate that, not just in each bank, but also then across the sector.

The respect and protect campaign includes some of Australia’s biggest companies, meaning millions of people are now afforded better protections.

It is important that that this is a collective effort between companies. Because you don't want one business to be the last resort for abusers to continue their activities. This needs to have everyone on board – from the smallest to the biggest companies.

I’d encourage every business to join the first movers. Actually, we’ll continue the campaign until they do. We owe it to victim-survivors.

Catherine Fitzpatrick is the Founder and Director of Flequity Ventures

For help contact, 1800 RESPECT, Elder Abuse Help Line 1300 651 192, 13 YARN.

Or also access Family violence and financial abuse | ANZ