Can Banks See Your Other Bank Accounts in Australia?

In Australia, your bank can’t access your accounts at other banks unless you explicitly authorise it. This protection is built into the Consumer Data Right (CDR) — Australia’s open banking framework — which empowers you to control how and where your financial data is shared.

How does it work?

Open Banking allows you to share your banking data between institutions securely, but only if you say so. That means you can, for example, share your transaction history from Bank A with a budgeting app or a loan provider at Bank B — but only when you opt in.

Under CDR, data sharing is:

• Customer-driven – You choose what’s shared, who it’s shared with, and for how long.
• Secure – Only accredited data recipients can receive your information.
• Revocable – You can withdraw consent at any time.

You'll know if you've enabled it

The CDR has strict consent flow requirements — meaning you’ll never unknowingly share your data. Every data-sharing authorisation involves:

• Clear, upfront disclosure of what’s being accessed
• Step-by-step consent screens
• Verification of your identity
• The ability to manage or revoke access at any time

If you haven’t gone through this process, then your data hasn’t been shared.

Why would you share your data?

There are real benefits to allowing your bank or fintech provider to access other account data. These include:

• Faster credit assessments
• Tailored financial products
• Smarter money management tools

So no, your bank can’t just peek.

Unless you give them the green light through a CDR-compliant process, banks have no visibility into your accounts held elsewhere. Data privacy is core to the design of open banking in Australia — and that means you stay in control.