# How Do I Open a Bank Account in Oz?



## ashsmoen (Jul 18, 2011)

We are moving to Canberra in January, but I am making a quick 8 day trip to Canberra next week to get an idea of what we have signed up for.

I would like to open an Australian bank account while I am in town so that it is smoother sailing when I arrive with my family and start looking for a rental house, buying cars, etc.

Do I bring a stack of cash, or will the bank accept a check or wire transfer from my bank? Do I need anything other than my American passport? Letter from my Oz employer?
Any suggestions on a good bank in Canberra?
Thanks!


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

Hi

Opening an account is very easy, do it now online, you get your details by email, we opened one before coming with westpac, but you get the fee waiver for 6 months (they charge i think 5$ each month if you do not deposit minimum $2000 each month, this fee is waived for PR holders for initial 6 months.

once you have your account number adn other details, transfer the money to the account from there itself, dont come with too much cash in hand, carry 2000$ with you and probably another couple of thousand bux as TC. makes life easier.

validating the account si easy, go to the nearest branch once you are here, carry your id cards with you and your passport, show them those and they validate your account, you can now withdraw money. they send the card and chq book (if you need one) by post to your address. but remember, you can not take the money out till you are in AU, once you transfer the same, it can only be taken out after validating the account.


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## melinscotland (Jul 31, 2010)

I just applied with west pac at the weekend . It's very good I have an account number already just waiting on the documents coming takes 3 wks .then fill them out get them sent back You get a year now without a fee : )


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## MaddyOZ (Aug 16, 2011)

melinscotland said:


> I just applied with west pac at the weekend . It's very good I have an account number already just waiting on the documents coming takes 3 wks .then fill them out get them sent back You get a year now without a fee : )


You can also choose for NAB classic account. No monthly fees and maintanence charges are free for lifetime.

Sent from my ipad using Expat Forum


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

MaddyOZ said:


> You can also choose for NAB classic account. No monthly fees and maintanence charges are free for lifetime.
> 
> Sent from my ipad using Expat Forum


I'm also with NAB and have only received good service from them. I applied online and had an account number the next morning. My bank card was waiting for me when I arrived in Australia and it took about 3 working days to receive my debit card (they only provide an EFTPOS card when you first open your account, with the debit card to follow once they have verified your identity.)


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## xMarcusx (Nov 8, 2011)

We opened our ANZ account in the same way as described above, downloaded the application from their website, scanned and emailed it back and we had our online account setup before we arrived. We had pre chosen our local branch and went along once we arrived to open the account and had our cards in a few days. We even got to choose the colour.

If you want a credit card and are on a 457 visa that can take a few weeks as you'll need to provide some additional proof of income and ID. With ANZ it took about 1 month to get my card.


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## HelloMaggie (Mar 20, 2011)

ashsmoen said:


> We are moving to Canberra in January, but I am making a quick 8 day trip to Canberra next week to get an idea of what we have signed up for.
> 
> I would like to open an Australian bank account while I am in town so that it is smoother sailing when I arrive with my family and start looking for a rental house, buying cars, etc.
> 
> ...


Hi! Guys, for additional info pls. see this link on how to open an account when you are about to move to Australia. This is the link for ANZ Bank.

Australian accounts

and here's from Commonwealth Bank, if you wish to open an account with them.

Commonwealth Bank Group


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## jameswah (Mar 25, 2010)

anj1976 said:


> Hi
> 
> 
> validating the account si easy, go to the nearest branch once you are here, carry your id cards with you and your passport, show them those and they validate your account, you can now withdraw money.


Hi,
Other than the passport, are there any other documents required to validate the account?


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## MaddyOZ (Aug 16, 2011)

jameswah said:


> Hi,
> Other than the passport, are there any other documents required to validate the account?


No. Just your passport would do to open a bank account. Two yrs back I have opened in NAB and it just took 5 mns.

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## jameswah (Mar 25, 2010)

MaddyOZ said:


> No. Just your passport would do to open a bank account. Two yrs back I have opened in NAB and it just took 5 mns.
> 
> Sent from my ipad using Expat Forum


Thanks. But what are the documents required to validate the account once we reach Oz.


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## MaddyOZ (Aug 16, 2011)

jameswah said:


> Thanks. But what are the documents required to validate the account once we reach Oz.


What do you mean validate? You wil gt the debit card in three days time. So if u wanna take cash (if you have deposited immediately after opng d account) before u receive the debit card then your passort would still be suffice for the bank officer to verify and authenticate with your signature.

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## HelloMaggie (Mar 20, 2011)

MaddyOZ said:


> What do you mean validate? You wil gt the debit card in three days time. So if u wanna take cash (if you have deposited immediately after opng d account) before u receive the debit card then your passort would still be suffice for the bank officer to verify and authenticate with your signature.
> 
> Sent from my ipad using Expat Forum


For better understanding of the process of opening a bank account why not call the bank of your choice directly, they will surely give the details you will need...just a suggestion pals.


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## smartypants (Sep 22, 2011)

I happened to have just done my research on this .

I've come up with NAB (National Australian Bank) as the best option for checking accounts (which are called day-to-day or transaction accounts there). They have zero monthly fees regardless of your balance while all other banks charge about $12 a month unless you deposit some amount (on average > $2k) in the account every month. And the cool thing is you can open the account before you actually arrive in Australia, deposit money into it and/or other interest-earning accounts and they'll have your bank cards, check book etc ready for you when you get there. Pretty cool!


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## MaddyOZ (Aug 16, 2011)

smartypants said:


> I happened to have just done my research on this .
> 
> I've come up with NAB (National Australian Bank) as the best option for checking accounts (which are called day-to-day or transaction accounts there). They have zero monthly fees regardless of your balance while all other banks charge about $12 a month unless you deposit some amount (on average > $2k) in the account every month. And the cool thing is you can open the account before you actually arrive in Australia, deposit money into it and/or other interest-earning accounts and they'll have your bank cards, check book etc ready for you when you get there. Pretty cool!



Perfect choice mate...Didn't i tell ya  I like the customer service too.. pretty fast and prompt in all manner.

You can also open i-saver account for better interest (Savings like a Fixed deposit you can just transfer from classing to i-saver monthly and the yield is much better with a good interest rate)

Good Luck.


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

yeah a good interest rate for sure but the govt takes back 40% as tax on interest


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## smartypants (Sep 22, 2011)

anj1976 said:


> yeah a good interest rate for sure but the govt takes back 40% as tax on interest


Yikes, 40%! 

Is property a better investment tax-wise then? Not that I have that kind of cash lying around but is taking out a mortgage and putting your money into that better tax-wise than parking it in a savings account? What's the property outlook in Australia these days?


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

i think so, most people buy properties as and when they have extra cash, not sure how the rental income is taxed. check realestate.com.au and domain.com.au, they are pretty much it for preperty portals, you can get a decent property starting 350k plus whatever the fee of the solicitor adn mortgage agent is plus the tax for the property. For rent it will be slightly over the monthly repayment, most people are able to buy property here in Australia once they have a saving of 40k as it amounts to more or less teh same amount that you pay rent. The rental market is very good so if someone does pick a property for investment, within 3-5 years the monthly repayment is more or less the same or at times lower than the rent you get from the same property. A few people I know have 3-4 properties within 10 years and they are not too stressed out about paying the loan back, they claim it becomes a little tight for a couple or years after which the rent takes care of the repayments.


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## melinscotland (Jul 31, 2010)

Hey I got my account number from west pac today . Do I need to go in to my branch to transfer the money ? Can I do it online ?


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

hey melin

No it has to be from the bank, all international transactions are done from the bank


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## melinscotland (Jul 31, 2010)

anj1976 said:


> hey melin
> 
> No it has to be from the bank, all international transactions are done from the bank


Thanks for helping I'll head in to my brach and transfer . Does it take long to go into the oz bank ? I'm a bit scared sending a large amount of money over x


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

no it does not take long, it does take close to 48 hours for it to reflect in your account and you have nothing to worry about, make sure you put the correct bank account number and they give you an acknowledgment receipt for the money transferred.


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## melinscotland (Jul 31, 2010)

Thanks very much  I feel better about it now . I'll take my letter in with all the account info then surly I can't go wrong x


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

oh and call the bank in a couple of days to confirm if they see the amount in the account.. that will give you a breather


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## smartypants (Sep 22, 2011)

melinscotland said:


> Thanks for helping I'll head in to my brach and transfer . Does it take long to go into the oz bank ? I'm a bit scared sending a large amount of money over x


Make sure it's a TT (telegraphic transfer). The outgoing bank usually charges around $25 here in the US and the incoming bank said they charge A$6 to A$12. If you find that too steep, there are companies like moneycorp and ozforex.com which works out cheaper depending on the amount you're transferring over.

Note that you can't withdraw any money from the OZ account until you have met with the banker there locally and "activated" your account. Your money will start collecting interest the moment it's transferred over, but you can't access it until the account is activated by showing your ID.


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## melinscotland (Jul 31, 2010)

anj1976 said:


> oh and call the bank in a couple of days to confirm if they see the amount in the account.. that will give you a breather


Thankyou very much


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## melinscotland (Jul 31, 2010)

smartypants said:


> Make sure it's a TT (telegraphic transfer). The outgoing bank usually charges around $25 here in the US and the incoming bank said they charge A$6 to A$12. If you find that too steep, there are companies like moneycorp and ozforex.com which works out cheaper depending on the amount you're transferring over.
> 
> Note that you can't withdraw any money from the OZ account until you have met with the banker there locally and "activated" your account. Your money will start collecting interest the moment it's transferred over, but you can't access it until the account is activated by showing your ID.


Thanks forth info I've no idea how much the bank of Scotland charge but I'll be finding out . Thanks or the links  I'll check them out also x


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

ours was swift transfer


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## smartypants (Sep 22, 2011)

BTW, mel, the last time I checked WestPac charges a monthly fee ($12 or so) unless you keep depositing some amount (> $5000 I think) every month. As long as you're aware of this and ok, good. But if not, NAB might be better cuz they have no monthly fee.


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

westpac charges 5$ i think if the deposit is less than 2000$ but they give a waiver of 6 months to migrants which i believe now has become 1 year, check with them. and once you start earning depositing $2000 each month is no problem, your salary can straight go in the account. we have had no issues with westpac so far


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## smartypants (Sep 22, 2011)

anj1976 said:


> ours was swift transfer


Hmm, not sure that's the same thing.. the girl I talked to at NAB in Sydney said to do a TT.

Before I found out about the TT, I had a cashier's check (bank draft) drawn on a Sydney bank in Australian dollars made that I'm carrying with me. Depositing that should be free though it cost me $25 to get made.


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## melinscotland (Jul 31, 2010)

smartypants said:


> BTW, mel, the last time I checked WestPac charges a monthly fee ($12 or so) unless you keep depositing some amount (> $5000 I think) every month. As long as you're aware of this and ok, good. But if not, NAB might be better cuz they have no monthly fee.


It says I your a migrant it's free for a year .And after that it's 2000 a month for a fee of 12 dollars . At least that was my understanding :/ got me worried now have to double check that !


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## smartypants (Sep 22, 2011)

anj1976 said:


> westpac charges 5$ i think if the deposit is less than 2000$ but they give a waiver of 6 months to migrants which i believe now has become 1 year, check with them. and once you start earning depositing $2000 each month is no problem, your salary can straight go in the account. we have had no issues with westpac so far


That's good. But I can never keep track of when the time runs out on these fee-free periods, so I like to go with upfront no-fee-ever sorta deals.


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## melinscotland (Jul 31, 2010)

http://movingtoaustralia.westpac.co.uk/banking-in-australia/everyday-bank-accounts

Yep free for a year then 5 dollars if you pay in 2000 dollars


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## melinscotland (Jul 31, 2010)

So I go my letter from west PAC with my account number so do I just take this into the bank in order to transfer the money in ? Do I need anything else ?


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## smartypants (Sep 22, 2011)

Don't use the bank! They give horrible exchange rates and have high charges usually. Use an online forex dealer if you're changing huge amounts - good rates that are very close to the interbank market rates, and also have things like forward contracts, bidding, options and so on. Ozforex.com or XETrade.com are two I know of. There's also MoneyCorp.


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## MaddyOZ (Aug 16, 2011)

smartypants said:


> That's good. But I can never keep track of when the time runs out on these fee-free periods, so I like to go with upfront no-fee-ever sorta deals.


NAB Classic Account no monthly charges as well.


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## Pradiprn (Jul 21, 2011)

anj1976 said:


> ours was swift transfer


Anj, Maddy

A quick question...Is there a limit to the amount of money you can transfer from local account in india to australian bank account that you open?


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## MaddyOZ (Aug 16, 2011)

Pradiprn said:


> Anj, Maddy
> 
> A quick question...Is there a limit to the amount of money you can transfer from local account in india to australian bank account that you open?


Do it equivalent of 10000 AUD max. at one time (to be safer), more than this you may be questioned by Bank officials to prove the genuineness of the savings account transfer.

Good Luck.


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

no limit, we transferred 30k at one time, no questions asked, my husband was earning, had been working for 8 years and this was our saving, his taxes were paid each year. converted some to TCs and cash and transferred the rest a few weeks before leaving.


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## MaddyOZ (Aug 16, 2011)

anj1976 said:


> no limit, we transferred 30k at one time, no questions asked, my husband was earning, had been working for 8 years and this was our saving, his taxes were paid each year. converted some to TCs and cash and transferred the rest a few weeks before leaving.


Okay..Good.. Its a info to me as well. Was there a commission levied for each transfer? 

Cheers.


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

yes i think 1200 INR was fixed amount set by RBI, the bank charges another 1000 INR as their fee but if the amount is big you can get that waived off, they earn enough as in exchange rate. one can even bargain with the bank for the best rate, i think the rate was 48 that time and we got 47.2, see if you know anyone in the corporate banking sector, they can get you a good rate.


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## MaddyOZ (Aug 16, 2011)

anj1976 said:


> yes i think 1200 INR was fixed amount set by RBI, the bank charges another 1000 INR as their fee but if the amount is big you can get that waived off, they earn enough as in exchange rate. one can even bargain with the bank for the best rate, i think the rate was 48 that time and we got 47.2, see if you know anyone in the corporate banking sector, they can get you a good rate.


Okay... Cheers.... Thanks..


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## melinscotland (Jul 31, 2010)

It's only a small amount I'll be transferring .


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## MaddyOZ (Aug 16, 2011)

melinscotland said:


> It's only a small amount I'll be transferring .


Then you may very well do it safe and sound 

Cheers...


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## melinscotland (Jul 31, 2010)

Hey I still hvent paid my money in to my west PAC account and I leave in a few wks. ..... Do I take the letter with a count and sort in ? Do I need some code thing from on line I forget what it I called ? Anyone ?


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## smartypants (Sep 22, 2011)

melinscotland said:


> Hey I still hvent paid my money in to my west PAC account and I leave in a few wks. ..... Do I take the letter with a count and sort in ? Do I need some code thing from on line I forget what it I called ? Anyone ?


I'm not sure what 'sort in' means, but you have multiple options:

1. Go with an online forex dealer - they will do free electronic transfers from your source account and to your destination account, using the standard direct deposit system which is free of charge (in the US, it's called ACH). They will also give you the best exchange rates - usually very close to the market rate you see when you Google. This is good for large amounts. Takes about 2-3 days.

2. Send a wire transfer using the SWIFT code and other bank routing details they've given you. You can do this through your bank. The source bank will charge you about $35 or equivalent, and the destination bank will charge about $25. I'm giving you the standard US amounts here. Fastest option, takes about a day or usually less (I haven't tried this internationally, but in the US, it takes less than a day).

3. Get a bank draft / cashier's check issued by your bank and then carry it physically and encash it at the destination bank. Supposed to be even more expensive than a wire transfer.

4. If the amount is manageably small and you feel you're okay carrying it, withdraw cash from your source bank and deposit it physically at the destination bank. No extra charges, but like options 2 and 3, the banks usually won't give you good rates. They have large margins in order to remain profitable (their expenses are higher).


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## smartypants (Sep 22, 2011)

BTW, for the wire transfer, since it looks like that's the option you're going with, just go to the bank with the letter from WestPac that has the account details. Tell them you want to send money to your account in Australia. And they should be able to take care of it.


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## melinscotland (Jul 31, 2010)

Thanks very much for the info ! Yes I think I found away to do it online through my bank in uk cost only a few pounds . It isn't very much but too much to carry . Thanks again xx


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