Hi Folks

Will be moving out to Brisbane on July 17th so will need to sort out a few things.

Ive done a search on the forum but cant see a definitive answer to a couple of my questions, apologies for cluttering incase ive missed something.

Im looking for advice from folk already in Brissy.

Basically what is the best bank to go with in Brisbane? I know its relatively easy to open an account with most of them, but is there a biggy where I can open online?

Im not too fussed about interest rates and charges, my main priority is to get my savings over to Oz safely. I really dont fancy taking a money belt with 10,000 australian dollars in it.

I currently have my savings with Lloyds Tsb but Im not sure if I can transfer to an online account before i go?

Reading through other posts it seems as if HSBC is the best option from the UK?

Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers again

Jamie!

Also how does that company work in the link on this page, OZFREX? I take it they are good if they advertise on here?

HSBC will charge you £100 to change your UK a/c to an Aussie a/c. We have opened an a/c with ANZ which costs $5 a month for unlimited transactions. So far so good, have had no problems so far....

Debbie

Do they not require a minimum transfer of 25000 pounds though?? Hold on I'Ll double check..

Thats good $5 for unlimited transactions.Are there plenty of branches and can you bank online with them?

Just submitted an application for an account online with National Australia Bank. Seemed really easy, too easy than compared with ANZ (they wanted certified passport etc sent over from UK), and they only seem interested in transfers over 25K.

Fingers crossed NAB seem okay.

I am looking at those too .Anyone know what their bank charges are like? And available branches in and around Brisbane?

NAB are one the largest banks in Australia and have branches everywhere. They represent good value comparatively speaking from a large bank.

We've banked with them for years.

Ozforex and Hifx are two excellent money brokers which have good reps on here and been used by many, Ozforex I have used myself frequently.

We were with Commonwealth and their bank charges were AARRGGHH!!!! We bank now with Bankwest and have NO charges whatsoever for anything. Our savings acct (if we dont touch if for 12 months) yields 9%. ONly hassle in Brissie at present is the fact that they are newish here and there arent many branches. We have to go into the CBD to do anything but thats not hard!

im probably going to use HSBC when i arrive at the start of July. You need an Aus address to apply for it online though, hence the wait till i arrive. You also need to put in A$2000 to start with.

But the benefits are free banking and the ability to use lots of ATMs.

Yes you can use lots of non HSBC ATM's, but if you weren't already aware, only 5 withdrawals a month are free.

Free and umlimited at post offices

Also consider Citibank's Cityplus account - they offer fee free banking, and unlimited ATM withdrawals from any ATM in the country.

Very good value IMHO.


S

Forgive me for being so daft!

Ive checked thier site, how exactly do they work?

Would I be able to use them to transfer my money into my Australian Bank account? Getting more $ for my £'s??

thanks for the tip swervo, ive added them to my list of possibles.