For those that haven't heard...

NAB are abolishing monthly account fees
http://www.nab.com.au/wps/wcm/connec...=UHN&WT.ac=UHN

I have had a lot of dealings with St George and they were OK whereas i have had problems with a particular NAB branch - but other NAB branches have been good. Customer service is an important criterion for making a decision about which branch to go for but there are also others too that should be considered (fees, location of branch, ATMs, etc).

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia seems to be winning so far, anymore opinions people?

Do Aussie shops do 'cashback' like they do here in the UK? I find I never have to go to the bank these days and like it that way lol

Also, has anyone registered online/opened a new bank account from the UK with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and if so, did it matter that you didn't have an address in Australia yet?

There were different access options when I was looking @ their online application form, and some of them spoke of a flat rate fee for the month for different kinds of access, how much would this fee be? Any ideas?

Looks like you are trying to do the same as me, and for the same reasons.

A few things I've found out so far:

• At the expo in London I went around each of the main four banks. None were forthcoming on the possibility of credit cards - which annoyed me given their necessity for many things (like hire cars). Lesson for the Aus backs, give me a credit card on the basis of my UK credit score and I'd go with you. Most of the banks seemed poor in customer service, not really trying. In person the best was the NAB rep.
• NAB are also planning to do away with fees on many accounts in Jan. Thus they start getting somewhere close to UK reasonable.
• HSBC would be good, but for the disconnect between UK and Aus arms and the idea that you should pay £100 for the UK part to get their finger out and pass on documents. Lesson to HSBC, stop being jerks and you'd get loads of UK migrant accounts.
• One suggestion that was potentially useful, from the HSBC UK bank person. Look at getting a proper headed paper copy of your credit report (from someone like experian). Not the online one, the real one. Might help in proving credit worthiness to aussies, and it can't hurt.

I've never paid much attention to the banks here. Never use branches. I put money in, and take it out. The idea is to remain in the black which as the cost of living has fallen, (my income is rising) is easier and easier.

I phoned from the uk to open an account with these, got the usual you have 30 days to turn up and show id or the account will be closed, then had to put the move off for a while. They have been sending statement with increasing monthly charges ever since to my uk address..... I've never been to the branch and shown ID but they are still charging me to have an account with them....I guess this does not make them a bad bank, but its a bad experience for me

Westpac were great. I opened an account from the UK 20 odd days before, sent some money over. Then turned up on the 1st day with ID, cards were ready 2 days later. Monthly fees are waived as I have my salary paid in there. Online banking is easy and it also has the super on it and ability to change investments etc.

From a customer service perspective most of the banks are pretty much on a par with each other.

In terms of bank charges you have to look at your complete financial picture to gain the best deal. For example, the NAB has a banking package which on face value has reasonably high charges, however if you also have a mortgage, credit card, insurance, etc. with them you can end up better off by paying for this fee based banking service because you get a discount off some of the other services i.e. when you take everything into account it can work out cheaper.

Other banks such as HSBC, ING, etc. offer very good banking services if you simply want a current account and not only do they not charge fees but they also pay reasonable amounts of interest on money held in the account. However, this is once again an area where careful thought is required because if earning interest on your savings is your priority then you may be better off looking at other deposit based accounts such as UBank, Suncorp and others.

To minimise your charges and maximise the interest earned on your savings you are going to have to do a bit of research and may require a combination of accounts.

Yes they do. I think it started in about 1986.

These fees range from about $4 per month. But some banks no longer charge these fees.

I almost feel like I am letting the cashier down when I say 'No' to cashback.

Quick update for those in a similar situation.

I decided to go with NAB since they were doing away with fees in Jan. However on their website when you try to apply they attempt to push you towards an Investment Account - with no debit cards, transaction fees, etc. Talking to their representative on the phone, the trick seems to be to select 'other' as visa type and tell them you want a classic banking current account instead. Not sure if it will work, but I thought I'd pass it on.

And no idea why they try to push an investment account when its a current account you need when you turn up...

Bank ? Best ?

A better question may have been - "which is the least ruthless Aussie Bank and why the hell do we them anyway ?"

There is good reason why the Aussie banks are amongst the richest in the world

We started with a Westpac account that we opened whilst back home, which was very convenient. And it was good to have something when we got here that we could put our money into, but we started looking straight away for a new bank once we were here.

BankWest had the best offering for us. No fees, and a really good interest rate on savings and also multiple savings accounts - I need to have more than one as I dont do PAYG tax.

I must say I am really very happy with them. I do actually need to go in branch quite often, and they are lovely, they know my name and have always discounted me any cheque fees or other fees that they would normally charge. For us they are a good choice, we did a fair bit of research into the best rates of interest and at the time they were very high. Citibank was our other option for fee free and good interest, but they did not allow the flexibility of the multiple savings accounts.

Good Luck!

We opened our account with the Comm before we moved over. Got here and had brilliant service and support from day one. Don't go into the branch very often but when I do and use the service desk, they remember my and my girls' names and can't do enough to help.

Never had any charges, their Netbanking is excellent and so easy to use (imo). We're very happy with them. As for how they compare to the other banks, I've no idea, not had anything to do with any of the others

HSBC have been ok. We're about to open a current account with BankWest though for the fee free banking, and the fact you can use any ATM in Oz for free.