Daydreamer123

After watching the news about the new atm fees being introduced in March, I went to check BankWest's site to see how the Zero account is affected - this the account that you pay no atm fees for any atm in Aus, and the account will continue to be fee free, see the link below http://bankwest.com.au/library/scrip...dAs 9Feb09.pdf

So it looks like this account will be a good choice going forward to avoid the new fees being introduced yay

ps the info is on page 2 'How will ATM fee reforms affect Zero, FreeB or Agrione Accounts?'

bcworld

Outrageous - $2.50 to check a balance!

http://www.news.com.au/business/mone...013952,00.html

The decision means bank customers will be stung for two sets of fees every time they use a rival cash machine - once from the ATM owner and again by their own bank.

In addition, from March 3, customers will be charged separately for balance inquiries and cash withdrawals.

That means that if the customer checks their balance first and then elects to withdraw cash, they will be charged for both transactions and hit with fees totalling up to $5 for a single visit to the ATM.

Daydreamer123

I was starting to worry about the fees, because we took ages deciding which bank to go with after we arrived. We initially opened a migrant account with one of the big banks, but didnt like the charges. We really shopped around looking for the best deal. We had a list of requirements, my OH drew a diagram of all the accounts we wanted, how they should interact etc and went to each of the banks, and asked how they could provide it for us
BankWest were the only ones who could offer multiple savings accounts linked the way we wanted without fees on everyday banking plus they had the best interest rates. It was funny going around with our little visio diagram to each of the banks - mostly we didnt get taken seriously

CathnPaul

or if you have a min $2k being deposited into your Choice account(transaction account) it can become a no monthly fee account and you dont need to keep the 3000 in it. Its an offer westpac has on until later this year.But you have to get in touch with them/pop into the branch to have it fixed up.

alipally

We bank with Citibank because it's free so long as you have your salary paid into the account.

The ATM thing will probably just be swallowed by Australia.... They don't seem as bolshy and revolutionary as the British when it comes to outrageous charges for things that cost the service provider nothing.

Now we have to use Westpac ATM's, which bothers me, because there aren't that many around here, but I really am NOT paying $2.50 to look at my balance.....

sassie

We use HSBC for our day to day banking and ING for our savings. In 3 years, havent paid a cent in bank fees.

As someone has mentioned, the ATM fees have just changed. With HSBC you used to get 5 free withdrawals a month from non HSBC banks, but now there is a charge. But if you use their own or Westpac its free.

quoll

I dont pay fees at all with St George. I have a portfolio loan account which is like a line of credit and I always keep it in positive but the reason I pay no fees is that my pay goes into it and is labelled as such. The one time my employer changed their system and it wasnt obvious that it was "pay" they slapped on a monthly fee - they did take it off pretty quick smart when I told them what had happened. I keep "my" money in one of their internet savings accounts amongst other things and pay no fees for that either. Usually I buy on the credit card (thanks for the FF points) and pay off in full every month) so not many transactions each month and as long as I dont set foot in a bank (I never do) then they charge me nothing.

squeezzii

HSBC is our bank of choice and never paid any fees yet. although the new change in the banking system has everyone paying for ATM (unless the banks own) to make a transaction I rarely find I need to use that facility as I always take advantage of the 'do you want cashback?' whenever I shop- all the supermarkets offer the facility and many other shops too. But of course dont forget if you do have an EFTPOS card (debit card) you can also withdraw your cash for free from the counter at the post office so there shouldnt be any reason to pay ANY fees!

twizzle

We've just been through the whole routine of trying to set up a bank account ready for our arrival in Aus....

What we found :
HSBC - £100 fee to set up an account before arriving. Outrageous! No thanks.
Commonwealth - too fiddly with having to send in application here by post, with certified copies of docs, rather than verify id in Aus.
NAB - easy online process. $5 fee per month unless min balance of $5000. Verify id in Aus.
Westpac - easiest of all! Online process, $4 per month unless min balance of $3000. During online application mentioned we were referred by HIFX (which we were) therefore they have given us 6 months fee free. Verify id in Aus. So far, impressed with their customer service.

I reckon we'll do a good shop around other accounts once we get there, but in terms of setting them up before you go, NAB & Westpac were easiest, with Westpac having the edge.

ABCDiamond

Is that a new thing ?

twizzle

No idea. I saw this on their site at least 6-8 months ago, and have kept checking regularly simply because everyone here keeps recommending HSBC, but it's still set at £100. Quite possibly if I open an account with them when I get there it wouldn't be, but on principle there's no way I'd be prepared to pay a £100 fee up front to open an account there before I arrive, not when everyone else charges much less (or if the right balance is held, nothing).

Oh, I should also mention, if you're currently an HSBC Premier customer, the £100 fee is waived. But I'm not even a bog-standard HSBC customer currently, and it does seem OTT to charge so much just to open an HSBC account.

ABCDiamond

I have just had a look on their site and can't see anything.

Can you give me the URL to the page, as no-one has ever mentioned it before, and I would like to check this out as I have often recommended them.

However, their current interest rate is not good to do so now, but if they were charging $100, that would be a big no-no.

You also say: "not when everyone else charges much less " I wasn't aware that any bank charged anything to open an account

caliburn

I opened two accounts with Commonwealth Bank -

1. Streamline Account: $4 monthly fees, its a current account with .01% interest. Unlimited and free Commonwealth Bank ATMs withdrawals, EFTPOS etc.

2. NetBank Saver: a saving account, currently paying 4.5% interest. No charges, no minimum balance. If you keep around $1,000, the interest itself will off-set the fees on Streamline Account above.

I am not yet in Australia, but have started putting in some money each month in the savings account. Commonwealth Bank will give you the option to verify your ID when you come to Australia or send in certified documents when you are abroad. If you wait till you arrive in Australia, you can only deposit money, but can not withdraw. Also, you will not get all the functionalities of internet banking. I had my passport copy and lease agreement cerified by my existing banker in a different country and sent them across. Now, I have a fully operating current and savings account. However, I will get the ATM card only when I arrive (I don't need it now anyways).

I think Australian dollar is at its lows now. So, transfering some money every month will allow me to lock in these good exchange rates.

twizzle

When you go to HSBC website Australia & look for migrant banking, you get referred back to HSBC where you currently reside. In my case, UK. The HSBC site for UK has the following page for Migrant Banking :
http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/personal/t...RCqa:12c5cbtmp

See where it says :
The International Banking Centre can assist by providing the following international services, available to you for a one–off fee of £100 per account

Well, it's not $100, but it really is £100 they're charging. That's more than twice $100, so an even bigger no-no.

What I meant by that was the monthly fee.... ie. if you pay a monthly fee of $5, it's $60 per year. But if you work the accounts to your advantage, you can get it free either by holding the correct balance, or making the correct deposits. But even if you paid up the $5 per month = $60 per year, that's still a LOT cheaper than £100 (+- $220) that you pay just to open an HSBC account.

Like I said, it's probably a different story if you open an HSBC account when you're already in Australia, but in my opinion they do themselves no favours by charging this exhorbitant fee simply to get an account set up in advance of arriving.

Hope that's clearer, sorry about the confusion

Bluenose

I'm moving to Melbourne in 3 months and decided on HSBC or Citibank who both use Westpac Atm's.
Went with HSBC in the end as they have a few more branches in Melbourne and as I wanted a UK account as well, convient to go into town and open up the UK one.
The branch manager mentioned the £100 International Service but said I may as well wait until I get down to Australia. The fact I already have a UK account means I'll have no problems opening an Australian HSBC account.

I had a moan to her about all the fees in Australia and she said that UK is probably 1 of only a few countries that is fees free but she predicts this will change soon because of the amount of money they have lost giving back those bank charges. Unfortunately the minority who are always above their authorised overdrafts and don't seem to care will ruin it for the rest. She's also heard a rumour that Nationwide will be withdrawing the option of using their card abroad and not getting charged for it. I was hoping their may have been a similar card in Australia. I'm afraid the good times maybe coming to an end. Be interesting to see if she's proved right.