killamarsh

Can you tell me which banks are good and which are not? I know they are all rip off merchants but who did you think is the best, and WHY.

I have heard so many differing opinions and have seen that they charge for everything, but I simply can't work out which are the ones to avoid.

bradfordlad

Try this link.
http://www.infochoice.com.au/banking/default.asp

Have a look at the Info Alerts for rates and charges.

Hope this helps a bit

Ian

Chris and Anna

ANZ are good. We've been with them 10 months and no problems. www.anz.com. Lots of bankc charge you for withdrawls etc, but pay ANZ $5 (£2.20) per month and you get unlimited (assuming you use their cash machines!

Centurion

NAB (National Australia Bank) www.national.com.au

Dont charge you if you maintain a balance of over $3000 in your account. You still pay for withdrawls from others ATMs but thats pretty much standard.

mackinnon

If you're looking for a bank account with no monthly maintenance charge and no minimum balance requirement:

http://www.ezybanking.com.au/

It's basically a Woolworths account provided by the Commonwealth bank, which means you've got plenty of cash machines to use & you can take out & deposit money at Woolworths/Safeway stores also.

Couldn't tell you what their customer service is like, the account was opened when we were backpackers, but will be getting used very soon I think!

sean trethewey

Can you open a bank account in Australia before you get there to transfer funds and access cash.

Chris and Anna

Nope. Need to go in to the bank. Sorry!

killamarsh

I spoke to Commonwealth Bank in London and they stated I could open a account here and deposit money from here when I wanted which is ideal for the transfer of funds from a house sale. I found their number on the internet. I don't think any of the other banks can do this as they don't have any customer facing branches.

Obviouly you have to go into a branch once you get to Oz, but I don't feel very comfortable transfering a large amount of money from a house sale to a acount that dosent exist or thorugh some company that may not be based in OZ.

fraser

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Don't do it :scared:

killamarsh

[Why not? I have absolutely no intention of staying with them.

Has something happened to you.

fraser

Yep I used them and they didn't give me access to my money in form of a card until I'd been here for 3 weeks, when they did they didn't send a pin so that I still couldn't use it and sid to get one I had to go into the head branch, that's just the tip of the iceberg, do a search.

keithandsam

hi
try westpac,have been brill,usual sort of charges though,using other atm`s etc.
we set up the account online before we left the uk and the money from our house sale was transfered using a broker also before we left.you just need to visit a branch when you arrive to `activate` your account,all very easy.

gedge

I recently answered this for someone else by finding this thread on HSBC.
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=348457
It is possible if you call the London International Branch Tel: 020 7991 7278 and get them to send you the forms.

Sorry to correct you C&A.

brisnick

if you are in queensland, try suncorp

spalen

You can open with hsbc or commonwealth or others before you leave. Lots of people are fans of HSBC because they are pretty low on charges but to bank over here in aus you have to go to post office I think which if you see the queues in the post office would put you off ;-) . Commonwealth also have an international account you can open from UK but they are often slated for bad service. My advice is to not bother - but open one when you get here - its just so easy its unreal so dont bother with theheadache.

What we did was opened a bank of queensland account - you can open it immediately when you are here very easily and get given eftpos (switch) cards immediately over the counter. Walk in with passport, etc, wihtin the first 14days of arriving and you are allowed to open it without 100 points of ID. AT least then you have an account - can use it - and buy things. Then take your time and decide which bank is best for you based on where you live/with atm's nearby / with branches are nearby etc. You dont want to endup banking with someone when their nearest atm is 3 miles away and end up paying 2$ a for taking some cash out every time. Also - BOQ only give you an EFtpos card so you cant buy things over net or over 1000$ in a day - but its only your 'first' bank account so sort that out later or get a visa card application filed. All shops take Eftpos (well 99.9999% , minimum of 5$ transaction). BOQ is not the only bank that will allow you same-day opening and giving you the cards etc - the message is - dont sweat it, its easy to do here, there are FAR better ways to get more value when transfering GBP to AUD

If you are opening an account to transfer money - then this is not a good thing to do. You are better off using a foreign exchange broker HIFX (www.hifx.com) or www.tranzfers.com are two. Tranzfers are more friendly and have had better feedback on here + other sites - if you do register use my referral id if you like so i get more brownie points http://www.tranzfers.com/refer.asp?r=ijcollins

When you look at the rates to compare on their websites - you need to ignore the rates offered on the 'front page' only the rate that you get inside the website is the one tha tmatters when you actually want to trade.

With Tranzfers you can 'load' money into tranzfers -so you can for example put 5 x 5Kpounds lump sums into the tranzfers system - send them the money , then step on plane. When you get over here you create you bank of queensland account, logonto tranzfers website - chose one of the 'lumps' of money and click on the 'trade' button, 24hrs later the money is in your BoQ account in Ausie Dollars. The reason you would split the money up like this is to be able to manage the excahnge rate - or if the rate is fantastitc when you move then do it all in one go - its up to you. They charge 7 quid per transaction. They are tremendously easy to use.

HIfX will not let you 'front load' like this . If you register in UK for HIFX you have to -re-register again in Australia since they have regulation rules stipulating you cannot trrade in australia on a UK account. HIFX trading is all done via fax - Tranzfers is all online just like online banking. Tranzfers use barclays bank.. Trading with HIFX involves faxing multiple 'instructions' and making phone calls to trader etc, its a pain in the ass to be frank. We used them once for our bond and went to use them when here in Australia only to have to go through the whole registration process again which was enough for me to cancel it all and head to Tranzfers. Tranzfers is all online, you can track your money - see what stage its at, and they are a phone call away both UK end and Aus end so you get help when you need it. I have used them 15+ times for amounts from 1kgbp to 20kgbp. Tranzfers + Ozforex are same company.

If you leave money in a uk bank account and plan to transfer it later - be aware of the daily banking limits for the account - i got caught iwth this - a 1k per day transfer limit becomes a pain in ass when you want to buy a car with money left in the UK !.

Nationwide(or maybe natwest) have a pretty good/cheap visa card for international use - it uses close to inter-bank rates wihch are better than tourist rates.

Do Not exhange your money at post office / via your bank - they will really cream money off you cmpared to the deal you get at HIFX or Tranzfers.

Finally - Read the insiders guide to foreign exchange article on BE under articles, written by the chap who runs Ozforex/Tranzfers - its pretty impartial and good advice contained therein.