Bendigo Bank has moved to close all remaining personal accounts held in Nauru, just days after explosive allegations surfaced in the Australian Senate about suspicious multi million dollar transactions linked to senior Nauruan politicians. The island nation, home to around 12,000 people and a long time partner in Australia’s offshore immigration system, had already been adjusting to Bendigo’s 2023 decision to wind down its presence but many locals had expected to keep using their individual accounts while a new provider came online.
In practice, the shift means Commonwealth Bank is set to become the only retail banking option in Nauru, with residents now encouraged to move their accounts well before a March 2026 handover deadline to avoid losing face to face services. The change comes against a backdrop of allegations that about $3 million in transactions through Bendigo accounts in 2020 showed signs of possible money laundering and corruption, with some funds reportedly linked to Australian taxpayer money meant for offshore detention contracts. Financial intelligence reporting is said to pre date late 2022, and the alerts are understood to have originated from Bendigo’s local customer service arm on the island.
The broader picture is that Australia’s relationship with Nauru seems to be entering a more complicated phase, even as Canberra relies on the country for migration processing and resettlement under a 30 year arrangement that could exceed $2.5 billion, depending on how many people are moved there. Banking reshuffles, earlier talks between Nauru and a major Chinese bank and questions about governance standards all feed into wider concerns about strategic influence in the Pacific and how Australia manages corruption risks in its offshore partnerships. The outcome looks likely to shape not just Nauru’s financial system but also the way Australia structures and oversees future agreements in the region.
