Heritage Bank

Heritage Bank (formerly Heritage Building Society) was the largest mutual bank in Australia until it merged with People's Choice Credit Union on 1 March 2023; the name survives as a trading name of the merged mutual, Heritage and People's Choice Limited, which trades as People First Bank. It provided a range of financial services to personal and business customers. With 780 employees, it offered current and savings accounts, home and personal loans, credit cards, business loans, business lines of credit, term deposits, superannuation and financial planning, online banking as well as motor vehicle insurance, life insurance, travel insurance, home insurance, landlord insurance and platinum insurance. Heritage operated via more than 60 branches in southern Queensland and 37 mini branch outlets. It also sold home loans through a network of mortgage brokers in every state and territory in Australia. Heritage Bank had 25 branches and 258 ATMs in the Brisbane Region, 8 branches and 52 ATMs at the Sunshine Coast, 8 branches and 85 ATMs at the Gold Coast, 4 branches and 20 ATMs in the Wide Bay Burnett Region and 16 branches, including one at Oakey, and 62 ATMs in the Darling Downs. In 2015, Heritage scored a 93.5% customer satisfaction rating, the highest in Queensland and 10% higher than the average score of the four big banks. As of June 30, 2015, the Bank had total assets of $8.56 billion, loans and receivables of $6.8 billion and deposits and borrowings of $7.7 billion. The company was created in 1981 by the merger of Toowoomba Permanent Building Society and the Darling Downs Building Society. In 2011, Heritage Building Society officially changed its name to Heritage Bank.

Head office address:
6th Floor 400 Ruthven St
Toowoomba QLD 4350
Australia
Phone: 13 14 22 (from Australia)
+61 7 4690 9000 (Overseas)
Opening Hours: Mon - Fri 8:30am - 5:00pm
Website: www.peoplefirstbank.com.au (formerly www.heritage.com.au)

Merger and rebranding. Heritage Bank merged with People's Choice Credit Union on 1 March 2023. The surviving legal entity is Heritage and People's Choice Limited (ABN 11 087 651 125), which the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority's register of authorised deposit-taking institutions, current at 10 August 2026, lists as trading under the names Heritage Bank, People's Choice Credit Union and People First Bank. The combined mutual adopted the People First Bank brand, formally launched on 5 May 2026, and reports about 740,000 customers, some 2,000 employees and 55 branch and service locations. APRA's monthly authorised deposit-taking institution statistics for July 2026 record total residents assets of A$29,901.3 million for Heritage and People's Choice Limited, against the A$8.56 billion reported for Heritage alone at 30 June 2015.