JoandPaulW

All

just wondered if anyone had any advice about opening a bank account before we go....

I was going to open one at the london branch of Commonwealth bank of auz who would then open one in aus for me.

But, i currently bank with HSBC and have done for years...they said they can open an account with HSBC aus for me for a charge of £100. This means that i would not have to get all my ID checked etc... as they would do it all for me & also means that the aus bank will be aware of my lending & banking 'behaviour' (i.e. i'm a good customer with good credit history) making it easier to get loans/mortgages....

anyone think this is a good idea? has anyone had problems opening accounts, borrowing money, obtaining credit cards, mortgages etc...

only 8 weeks to go now & so much to do & get sorted!!

cheers

jo

scrubbedexpat001

Do a search - this has been literally dozens of times before - search for my posts. We opened ours with Commonwealth Bank Of Australia and it cost £1 - I certainly would not be paying £100. Plus look at things like ATM availability (not idea what HSBC's ATM network in Oz is like.

tawkins1

Citibank seem to have a good reputation
Do not charge to use any ATM facilities so i've read.

Does anyone have any experience with citibank as thats who we're thinking of opening one with

paul30

It's not hard to open an Aus bank acc I opened one online with NAB (even though I'm still waiting on my visa) then I went to Aus for a hol/reccie over christmas informed the bank who made an appointment for me to go in to do the security checks went in with my passport had a nice talk with the guy (a lot friendlier than british banks) and walked out with a fully active account and my bank card and pin etc and they are waiving the monthly fee till I get to Aus and get a job. Why do HSBC want to charge you £100 to set up your acc if you are a loyal customer ?

Swerv-o

I have just moved to Citibank, and have found them to be excellent - the service is very quick and speedy, and the account security features are excellent too.

The general benefits are:

* Visa debit card
* Unlimited free transactions
* Unlimited free ATM usage in Australia at ANY ATM
* No monthly account keeping fees (usually $5, but waived if you have your salary credited to the account)
* Access to a linked account currently providing interest at 7%
* Regular account services available at Australia Post and NAB branches

The gem is the free ATM usage. most banks charge to use a competitor's ATM, which is why most people hold a great deal of stock in a bank's ATM network. With Citibank, you are released from the hassle of having to seek out an ATM of your particular bank's flavour, and can just use the ATM in the pub with impunity.

I was with HSBC prior to Citibank, and they were good too, but you only received 5 free competitors ATM transactions a month.

I swear I have typed this all in recently. Am I repeating myself?


S

tawkins1

Probably!
Thanks for that information AGAIN!