# Organising Banking



## NickSuzy (Jun 2, 2008)

Afternoon All

I am in the process of organising mine and my familys lifes to move to Australia.

My question is with regard to banking.

How when and with whom.

I have been passed a link for the 'commenwealth bank of australia' and told i can open up an account before i leave.

What are these people and has anyone any experience with them or do you recommend anyone else

Cheers Nick


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## Halo (May 8, 2008)

Mmmmmmmmmmm - They were a pain "for me" and are not big on opening accounts from abroad BUT thats were Westpac came in - They did it all, including allowing a transfer to a online saver (great rates) with access to internet banking.

Give them a go, you can always jump ship when you get there but it makes money transfers easy and you can get some credit history going.


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## British Kiwi (Jul 5, 2008)

My fella opened an account with commonwealth bank before he moved and transferred money there. i think in general he has found them fine, though he was a bit frustrated that he couldn't get a visa debit card like he had in the UK. He has finally given in to the world of the credit card as you are limited to what you can buy online without a visa card. I will probably follow suit until I'm over there and check out the situation for myself. I think he intends to leave the banking decisions to myself! One of the things we had looked into is amount of ATMS, as you tend to get charged to withdraw money from an ATM of another bank, so if you can find a bank with plenty you should be fine. I think commonwealth and westpac are pretty good on the atm front.


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## Dolly (Feb 17, 2008)

We opened an account with Westpac whilst back in the UK. When we arrived we went to the branch to action the account. At that point we sorted out cards and cheque books. So for a the first week it was cash for everything. 

We chose a debit card (with the mastercard symbol) so can be used either way (like my Lloyds account). Most things go on the credit (although it isn't credit it comes straight out of the account) and if we want to crash some cash we choose the cheque option. It took us a while to suss this out!

Dolly


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## kaz101 (Nov 29, 2007)

We used St George's and found then fine although they wouldn't give us a credit card because we couldn't prove income to their satisfaction (and assets didn't count) so we had a visa debit card.

Possibly each bank has different rules in regards to bank cards...

Regards,
Karen


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## Gail (Mar 23, 2008)

Hi

I went with National Australia Bank as you could apply from online in the UK and activate your account. You could then transfer money into your account before you left. When I got here I popped along with my passport and activated it all there and then. They set up telephone and internet banking for me, plus got me what I would all a switch card and another card which was for shopping on-line etc.
I have a gold account with the NAB, its either $12 a month or free if you deposit enough (your wages) and then you can use every cash machine (ATM) for free. I also have a linked on-line savings account which I can easily transfer savings too.
My boyfriend went with Commenwealth and wasn't too pleased with the service (two weeks in and still no switch card).

Best advice, shop around, check all the banks websites. They nearly all have migrant services and remember there are more than just the big ones, look at ones like St.Georges as well. 

The thing I am missing is money comparison websites, like moneysupermarket.com - where you can easily compare all the rates and charges on all the banks - anyone found one for Australia?


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## kaz101 (Nov 29, 2007)

Gail said:


> Hi
> The thing I am missing is money comparison websites, like moneysupermarket.com - where you can easily compare all the rates and charges on all the banks - anyone found one for Australia?


I've found RateCity.com.au and CANNEX > Find Rates & Compare Home Loans, Credit Cards, Car Insurance, Savings Accounts but as usual check the actual company website to check that the details are correct.

Regards,
Karen


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## Tiffani (Dec 4, 2007)

Definitely NAB for us. We started with Commonwealth but switched to NAB after a month because they had a lot more benefits: as someone mentioned, if you deposit enough money into the e-banking account (it varies depending on what account you have, but we have the $12/month account as well) then the monthly fee is waived. Even if you move the money straight into your savings account, they waive the fee for a large enough deposit ($5K/month). Also, they offer Visa Debit which is really helpful if you ever make online purchases. The other EFTPOS cards are fine for in-store purchases but do nothing for online shopping. Also, visa provides more protection than most EFTPOS cards. 

It's also really convenient to be able to use any ATM without fees


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

How about ANZ? I heard they are good too???


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## Tiffani (Dec 4, 2007)

They are one of the Big Four, which are basically six of one, half a dozen of the other (with the exception of the NAB which has a few extra goodies mentioned above). 

One thing that ANZ is advertising now is that on their credit cards, they offer reward points for paying the balance off, not for charging the card. Kind of a different way of thinking about the credit card system


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

Tiffani said:


> They are one of the Big Four, which are basically six of one, half a dozen of the other (with the exception of the NAB which has a few extra goodies mentioned above).
> 
> One thing that ANZ is advertising now is that on their credit cards, they offer reward points for paying the balance off, not for charging the card. Kind of a different way of thinking about the credit card system


Oh, reqard points is not common there? Out here everytime we swipe the card we get points which we can redeem for goodies that they have on their website. Maybe because here credit cards were not so common, they used to charge a big sum as an annual fee, and with time they have waived those charges and keep increasing the limit as long as you keep purchasing on the card and keep paying on time. I just got a call a few days back from my credit card company that they have increased the limit to 4 times than what it was just because i have always paid on time. even though i dont spend too much on it.


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## Tiffani (Dec 4, 2007)

no, reward points are common here among credit cards, but generally (as with your card) you earn the points when you SPEND money. with ANZ, you earn points when you pay money toward the balance on your card. Does that make sense? The idea is that instead of rewarding people for spending like crazy, they reward people for paying their debts. It seems counter-intuitive in a way, but I come from the US where I've known people who have $40K in credit card debt, so any reward for actually paying the debt off is a welcome change!


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

Oh Oh alright, that sounds interesting.


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## northern mover (May 30, 2008)

Hiya,
the HSBC has branches EVERYWHERE! They charge just £100 to open the account in any Australian city, from the UK. Premium accounts (£50k+) are ok too; however, the interest rate is only 1% ( swindlers), so you could use the service to get cracking, then change later.......... think i will use them.


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## Halo (May 8, 2008)

I 2nd HSBC - Would have used them if it were not for a contact.


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## Gail (Mar 23, 2008)

Why pay £100 to the HSBC when the rest do it for free?

And it might just be because I haven't been looking for them - but I haven't seen any HSBC branches or ATM's.


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## Tiffani (Dec 4, 2007)

I have seen one HSBC branch in Melbourne (the suburbs) and very few ATMs. I would go with an Aussie bank that has plenty of branches and ATMs. there's no need to start with HSBC and switch later, because all you really need to open an account with an Aussie bank is a passport and visa, an address (not necessarily permanent, you can always change it later) and some cash.


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## ijbrown (Jul 20, 2008)

I have not moved out to OZ yet but am planning to next year, I was out there this Christmas and prior to going out there I opened an account with ANZ I down loaded to forms here and posted them off, you have a nominate a branch and when you get out there show them you passport. The whole process in the branch took about 20 minutes and they ordered cards that were with me within 5 days. excellent service.


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

ijbrown said:


> I have not moved out to OZ yet but am planning to next year, I was out there this Christmas and prior to going out there I opened an account with ANZ I down loaded to forms here and posted them off, you have a nominate a branch and when you get out there show them you passport. The whole process in the branch took about 20 minutes and they ordered cards that were with me within 5 days. excellent service.


Nominate a branch?? now that can be an issue since most people would want the branch to be near their residence or workplace. That means one will have to decide where he plans to stay or where he gets work. 
It can be an issue for people who plan to go without a job. Isnt it?
Or is it possible to open the account in any branch, say in Melbourne if we plan to move to Melb, and later once the accommodation and work place is decided transfer the branch to the one nearest?


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## Dolly (Feb 17, 2008)

anj1976 said:


> Nominate a branch?? now that can be an issue since most people would want the branch to be near their residence or workplace. That means one will have to decide where he plans to stay or where he gets work.
> It can be an issue for people who plan to go without a job. Isnt it?
> Or is it possible to open the account in any branch, say in Melbourne if we plan to move to Melb, and later once the accommodation and work place is decided transfer the branch to the one nearest?



Hi Anj,

Our account was opened in Mornington but we use our local branch here for most things.

Dolly


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

Dolly said:


> Hi Anj,
> 
> Our account was opened in Mornington but we use our local branch here for most things.
> 
> Dolly


Kool, thanks Dolly. At times I feel, there is so much more to learn everyday, what would we do without you guys.


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## Dolly (Feb 17, 2008)

Trust me, my life in the UK before we moved over was spent researching, researching and.....oh yes, researching. But, I'm here and I'm still learning! 

Dolly


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

Dolly said:


> Trust me, my life in the UK before we moved over was spent researching, researching and.....oh yes, researching. But, I'm here and I'm still learning!
> 
> Dolly


Thanks to the internet. We get as much information as we want, and even more.
Life is all about learning, we learn every step of the way. Sometimes bad relations teach us, sometimes a downfall does it.

I have been reading about Australia since more than a year now, and everyday I learn something new, even after going through most of the websites that exist.


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## ijbrown (Jul 20, 2008)

you can nominate a branch to have it opened in and then pop into any ANZ branch to activate the account.

I have mine at Bondi Junction. I would imagine that you can transfer you branch to one nearer to where you will be working or living, however how oftern do you go into your bank branch at the moment. I have never been to my own branch to do my banking is all done on line now or over the phone as I can do with ANZ.


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## NickSuzy (Jun 2, 2008)

Afternoon All

I have been reviewing all of the banks identified and all request a montly charge.

Is this right or am i looking in the wrong place.

Cheers Nick


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## Halo (May 8, 2008)

They do.... BUT
Most like Westpac do NOT charge if you have AU$3000+ in your current account... so just keep it loaded.

Remember that OZ is stuck in the 80's

Bendigo Bank do x number of free transactions per month (hole in the wall stuff and cheques, YES they still use them) AND they do not charge for electronic transactions.


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## sgilli3 (Mar 23, 2008)

We have used Bendigo Bank for years, and still use it even though we arent in the country at the moment.
We are very happy with the service we get from them.

Halo: what do you mean stuck in the 80's?? Its the 2nd time, Ive read the same comment from you. Just curious as to what you mean.


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## Halo (May 8, 2008)

sgilli3 said:


> Halo: what do you mean stuck in the 80's?? Its the 2nd time, Ive read the same comment from you. Just curious as to what you mean.


Style, forward thinking and attitude....


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## sgilli3 (Mar 23, 2008)

Sorry, still dont get what you mean. What specifically makes you think its stuck in the 80's?


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## Halo (May 8, 2008)

Mmmmm, not sure what more I can offer... perhaps its a generation thing.... (I've lived in allot of places and OZ is just not "with it" - But for the most part, its a good thing.)


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## sgilli3 (Mar 23, 2008)

Thanks for trying to explain...and for what its worth- I LOVED the 80's- & still do !!


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## Gail (Mar 23, 2008)

Its interesting that a lot of people think that Oz is stuck behind the times (or in the 80's) especially on this thread. Australia is actually a great innovator in stuff like banking - who do you think invented "one" accounts and daily calculated interest?
Paying for your banking may seem archaic but do you really think you get it free in the UK? Or do they just make their money from rubbish interest rates on current accounts and high lending charges? And anyone who ever went overdrawn by 2p and got charged about £60 knows what I am talking about!

You also have to remember that the population of australia is about 21 million which isn't that much more than the number of people that live in New York (around 19 million) - so there a lot fewer people to prop up and pay for a banking system. 

I'd rather live here and pay for my banking than go back to the UK and live in the grey, ferral, depression any day!


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## kaz101 (Nov 29, 2007)

Gail said:


> Paying for your banking may seem archaic but do you really think you get it free in the UK?


There are certain things with banking that they are behind the times with when it comes to investors but considering what happened with the sub prime mortgages in the USA that may be in the Australian banks favour now. 

One thing I have noticed with banks is because you pay for it transfers between banks are much quicker even when it comes to foreign banks. As Gail says the banking in the UK isn't free - they take longer to transfer money so that they keep the interest they make. I know that some banks in the UK speeded up a little when this was brought to the public attention but not by much. 

I'm with Gail that I'd rather be here than back in the UK 

Regards,
Karen


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## British Kiwi (Jul 5, 2008)

Over the next few years the banks in the UK will probably start charging a monthly charge. Some have already started to charge for premium banking. Probably follow the Aussie approach of a charge unless holding a minimum balance etc. It may not seem like it, but it is getting harder for banks to make profits and this is just another way and to be honest is probably more cost effective for the banks and the customers!
P.S. I work for a bank, so maybe a bit biased!!


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## ijbrown (Jul 20, 2008)

One tip I have had from my Aunt in oz with regard to card transaction fees it always select Credit on the machine that way you do not get charged.

And as for Oz being stuck in the 80's why is it that the UK now seem to be bringing in some of the Australian ways now.

ie. Recycling Waste, Points System to get in. I think that we could learn a lot from Australia.


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