# Best Bank in Melbourne for US Expat



## YankOz (Jul 26, 2008)

*Best Banking experience in Melbourne for an US Expat*

What's your recommended on banks in Melbourne in terms of best banking experience for someone who has typical American banking behavior - good ATM access, zero annual fee credit cards, and branch access in CBD.


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## Dolly (Feb 17, 2008)

Hi there,

This has recently been discussed on the forum, do a search and see if your questions are answered.

You can't apply for a TFN until you are actually in the country, and you have to have an address (not a post box). Some people use their short term rental address (hotel, motel, Big4 etc) which will suffice.

Dolly


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## Tiffani (Dec 4, 2007)

dunno about applying before arrival, but I would recommend NAB (National Australia Bank) because they offer Visa Debit cards (most other banks just offer an "EFTPOS" card which is fine for most point-of-sale purchases but not online purchases, and they don't offer the protection that Visa offers), and if you deposit a certain amount of money each month into the account the monthly fee is waived.


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## Dolly (Feb 17, 2008)

We have a debit card with Westpac which also has the mastercard symbol on it so we can buy stuff online as well etc (although it isn't a credit card).

We contacted Westpac before we came over and when we arrived all the paperwork was ready for us to sign and activate the account.

They've done us proud so far!

Dolly


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## Tiffani (Dec 4, 2007)

yeah, the trick is to bank with one who offers either Visa debit or M/C debit as a standard procedure instead of a "key card" for EFTPOS purchases. If you can find one that will waive the monthly fee in certain situations, all the better


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## palvador (Jul 6, 2008)

Citibank.
They offer cheap monthly fees, unlimited transactions, credit card services, full online service (though there internet banking is slightly less intuitive that others). You can also open a citibank account in the US and link them through internet banking.


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

palvador said:


> Citibank.
> They offer cheap monthly fees, unlimited transactions, credit card services, full online service (though there internet banking is slightly less intuitive that others). You can also open a citibank account in the US and link them through internet banking.


Aah Citibank, My husband has an account with citibank, I did not know they are present in Australia as well. Will try and find out the details on the same. Can we open a citibank account sitting in India?


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## palvador (Jul 6, 2008)

You might be able to open one from over there, but I would say that you need an Australian address.
However, once you have an Australian address and the account is open, you can get them to send your mail to anywhere in the world. I lived in Europe and with one phone call, they organised to send all my statements, credit cards...etc.. to my address in Europe, no extra charge. Also, as i said, open a citibank account in India, US, UK... anywhere - and they can link it up to your Australian citibank account for instant transfers. 

Believe it should be $5 per month flat fee and there are no fees for using any bank's ATM in Australia. Unlimited online transactions..etc.. so you don't get eaten up by fees. Also consider using a linked savings account. 

The Visa clear is about 11% or 12% interest which is low for credit cards. Let me know if you need more help


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

palvador said:


> You might be able to open one from over there, but I would say that you need an Australian address.
> However, once you have an Australian address and the account is open, you can get them to send your mail to anywhere in the world. I lived in Europe and with one phone call, they organised to send all my statements, credit cards...etc.. to my address in Europe, no extra charge. Also, as i said, open a citibank account in India, US, UK... anywhere - and they can link it up to your Australian citibank account for instant transfers.
> 
> Believe it should be $5 per month flat fee and there are no fees for using any bank's ATM in Australia. Unlimited online transactions..etc.. so you don't get eaten up by fees. Also consider using a linked savings account.
> ...


In most cases, people go there without any address, which means one can not open an account without an address? 
I was going through the ANZ site and all they had was the city, and I was told that they activate your account once you reach, which means you can go on transferring the money in it and could not withdraw till you activate it. This is confusing.
You said you opened the account sitting in Europe, did you give them an address?


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