Last Updated:
Saturday, 26. July 2008

Banking and Money Information

Your Questions or Comments on
Australian Banking

Feel free to pass this page link onto others, the URL is: http://www.britzinoz.com/info/banks.htm

Many Australian Banks have account keeping fees, commonly $5 per month, although some are Free, it is worth shopping around. HSBC is a common account for many newly arrived British, as it can provide FREE banking, and a decent interest rate on deposits. However, it is designed for Internet banking as there are very few branches around.  You can however make deposits and withdrawals at any Post Office, Free of Charge, and you are allowed to make 5 withdrawals per month at other banks ATM machines, without charge.  The normal fee for this type of transaction, with almost every other bank, is $1.50 to $2 per transaction.  HSBC allow FIVE free, as they have very few of their own ATM machines.

AUSTRALIAN BANKS with Facilities in the UK to assist in opening an Australian account

• Commonwealth Bank, Financial and Migrant Section, London EC4V 4HA, Tel: 0207 710 3990
• HSBC Bank, International Branch Tel:  020 7991 7278  (Local High Street Branches may not know about it)
• NAB Migrant Banking Centre, 4th Floor, Gateway House, 28 The Quadrant, Richmond, TW9 1DN.  Tel: 020 8614 9320

AUSTRALIAN BANKS with special facilities for opening an Australian account from the UK

• ANZ - The ANZ Access Advantage Account is available to be applied for to open an account prior to coming to Australia.
• Westpac - Migrant Banking Facility from Westpac Bank
• NAB - The NAB now have a dedicated migrant banking team.

Most of these accounts will require you to visit the branch that you opened the account at, to identify yourself and activate the new account.  Identification, mainly during the first 6 weeks, normally consists of your Passport, and proof of an Australian address.  After this initial period, you will need more forms of Identification.

BANKS

• Info Choice - NOT A BANK But a web site to compare banks and their services.

The Big Four/Five Banks

• ANZ Bank
• Commonwealth Bank
• National Australia Bank  (NAB)
• St George Bank
• Westpac Bank 

Some of the other Banks

• Bank of Queensland    Mainly for Queensland
• Bendigo Bank - A nationwide Community Bank
• HSBC Bank   (Due to the lack of HSBC Branches here, you can use the Post Office for deposits and withdrawals)
• SunCorp

 

ONLINE BANKS (Normally higher interest rates but with less facilities)

• ING DIRECT    6.90% Standard Deposit Rate as at 1/6/2008
• HSBC Online    5.40% Standard Deposit Rate as at 1/6/2008 (between $5,000 and $499,999)
• HSBC Serious Saver    7.50% Standard Deposit Rate as at 1/6/2008 (No minimum opening or ongoing account balance)
• St George Dragondirect    7.00% Standard Deposit Rate as at 1/6/2008
• Rabobank Australia Ltd    7.30% Standard Deposit Rate as at 1/6/2008

These online Savings accounts often have promotional interest rates that revert to the standard rate after a short period; for example:

• ING Direct have a promo rate of 7.90% which expires on 20th Sept 2008
• Rabobank have a promo rate of 7.80% which expires on 31st July 2008

CREDIT CARDS

All the banks offer various options on Credit Cards, some with Low Interest, some with High Interest but also with Interest Free days.  I would consider looking at the following that I have details of.  I do suggest thoroughly comparing the credit cards, as benefits etc change over time.

• A Free Compare Credit card service Credit Cards Australia (Which Credit Card is best)

• Virgin Credit Cards - No Annual Fee
• ANZ Rewards Credit card  - Rewards examples An annual card fee of $48, which includes the reward card fee.  This card provides rewards points of 1 point for every $1.50 spent on the card. Spending $9,504 a year will provide you with at least 6,336 points which would be valued at $48 in cash. (Although you do need to reach 13,200 points before you can cash them in for a $100 credit on your credit card account).  Net result is that if you spend $9,504 per year, or more, your card becomes FREE, and you may even then get paid for using it, on any spending above that figure.
• CitiBank BP Credit Card : The BP Citibank Credit card provides a 1% cashback at the end of the month (up to a $60,000 spend per year).  It also gives 5% off the cost of BP petrol.

Note:

ANZ Rewards Credit cards

ANZ Balance Visa    Annual Fee $79    Interest rate 13.99% (at May 2008)
Reward Points are: 1 point for every $1 spent
22,000 points provides $100 Cashback = Spend $22,000 for $100 cashback

ANZ Rewards Visa    Annual Fee $48    Interest rate 20.74% (at May 2008)
Reward Points are: 1 point for every $1.50 spent
13,200 points provides $100 Cashback = Spend $19,800 for $100 cashback

FINANCIAL PAPERS

• Business Review Weekly
• The Financial Review
• Money Magazine

EXCHANGE RATES

• HIFX Currency Converter and Overseas Transactions
• OZForex
• www.oanda.com exchange rates
• www.x-rates.com exchange rates
• www.iccfx.com exchange rates

MORTGAGE BROKERS / Non Bank Lenders

• Aussie home loans - 30 Retail Shop fronts as at May 2008.
• Rams home loans - 100+ Home Loan centres at the start of 2008.
• Wizard home loans - 250+ Wizard branches and are now part of the GE Consumer Finance Group, May 2007.
• Mortgage Choice - 445+ Mortgage Choice franchisees nationwide at Dec 2007.

Bank Accounts for Temporary Visa Holders, Backpackers etc

• Citibank - The Citibank Traveller Account, designed specifically for backpackers and travellers coming to Australia on a temporary visa, is the safe and simple way to get your Aussie bank account sorted before you fly.  Once on the website, click on the "About the account" option, to check out the account information, and costs, etc.

OTHER PAGES to look at:

• Banks
• Mortgages
• Finance

VISA DEBIT CARDS

The following financial institutions currently issue Visa Debit Cards: (Nov 2005)

• Adelaide Bank (SA)
• B & E Limited (TAS)
• Bank of SA (SA)
• Bendigo (National)
• Greater Building Society (NSW)
• Elders Rural Bank (National)
• Heritage Building Society (National)
• Home Building Society (WA)
• HSBC (National)
• IMB (National)
• Laiki Bank (National)
• Newcastle Permanent Building Society (NSW)
• St George (National)
• Suncorp (National)
• Westpac (VIC)
  Visa Debit is also issued by most Credit Unions

MasterCard debit card

MasterCard announced a push into the Visa dominated debit card market with HBOS’s BankWest, on 24th November 2005. MasterCard hopes to lure two million new customers with the debit card product that essentially replaces EFTPOS cards.