Queensland Country Bank has been recognised with Canstar's Outstanding Value Award for Green Car Loan for the second year in a row and the 2023 Outstanding Value Award for Green Personal Loan for its Green Reno Loan.
Canstar's Outstanding Value Green Personal and Car Loan awards leverage Canstar's established Personal and Car Loan Star Ratings methodology, which compares both price and features across personal loan products available to Australian consumers. The top performing products then receive an Outstanding Value award.
Queensland Country Executive Manager, Retail Banking, Andrew McArdle said, “We’re extremely proud to be independently recognised for our green car loan for the second year in a row and for the first time for our Green Reno Loan product since launching these from December 2021.
“These products align with our company values and shift to being more sustainable by providing our Members with the option to go green with either a new or demo green vehicle or using our Green Personal Loan option to do home renovations*.
“As a member-owned organisation we put our profits into providing better value for our Members and are aware of what social issues matter to them, so it was a conscious choice to enable Members to have a green alternative.”
Mr McArdle added: “We feel extremely proud of these awards as we've helped over 134 Members in the past twelve months realise their green dreams with more sustainable purchases and home improvements.
“We’ve always prided ourselves on providing flexible financial solutions with competitive interest rates and features that matter, like no deposit required, flexible repayment options, a redraw facility, no ongoing fees and pre-approval for added bargaining power.
“Queensland Country’s decision to take a proactive approach with the launch of both of these products provides a great opportunity for the bank to be a leader in this important social change in the marketplace.
“In December 2021 we launched our innovative, award winning Green Car Loan and then decided to develop our ‘green’ product suite further to ensure they meet the future needs of Members with our Green Reno Loan, rewarding members opting for energy-efficient home improvements with an interest rate significantly lower than our standard Reno Loan.
“At Queensland Country, we believe offering our ‘green’ product suite will enable the Bank to be a leader in this important social change helping to reduce barriers for consumers and our Members to make purchases that have a lower impact on the environment.”
Canstar’s Group Manager, Research and Insights, Josh Sale said, “This is the second year in a row that Queensland Country Bank has received an Outstanding Value Green Car Loans Award for their Green Car Loan, which helps its customers to fund low emissions vehicles.”
“Queensland Country Bank’s Green Car Loan stood out for allowing borrowers to access a competitive variable rate with no early repayment fees and flexible repayment options.
“This year also marks the first time Queensland Country Bank’s Green Reno Loan has received an Outstanding Value Award for Green Personal Loans. This loan impressed by enabling borrowers to have access to up to $50,000 at an extra competitive rate with no establishment or loan maintenance fees.”
Mr McArdle says that Canstar is a consumer focused, trusted source for Australians to turn to when researching and comparing financial products.
Each product reviewed for the Canstar Green Personal and Car Loan awards is awarded points for its comparative pricing and for the array of features attached to the product. These features include product functionality, flexibility, additional fees and charges and the application process.
“To have been independently rated as one of the top products in the country against the criteria that matters most to us too is great news for Queensland Country but more importantly, great news for our current and future Members who take out the loan products.”