LOL :D They tend to be expensive, and some bad comments have been seen in the past. Have you done a search for comments on here ?

A poll was done a little while ago, on which bank was best at http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...hreadid=199643

Bank of Queensland have a good reputation, but I haven't compared their fees properly yet.

Thanks again ABC,

I think my best bet is to phone them first thing on moday morning, as time is getting closer to us leaving i hope that they can help us out.

Mark.

Re: HSBC
 

Can you name this petrol station?

Might be good to stay clear of it rather than find out after you have filled up.

Mark.

Hi ABC,

Many thanks for your help in providing the telephone number to HSBC in London.

I phoned first thing this morning and a very helpful woman dealt with me, said that i needed to fill out the form, send it back to her, She will forward it to Brisbane, they will send it back to her, she will send it to me, i then take it to my local HSBC branch here in Belfast to validate the account, and that seems to be it.

She did say that it would take about 5 weeks to complete it, which is not too bad as we are flying out on the 3rd August, that gives us an extra 3 weeks to play with.

Thanks again to everyone who has helped me sort this one out.

Mark.

Is that the letter of introduction they speak of??

Hi Timber,

I believe that it is the actual account that is going to be set up, well at least i hope so, as this was the impression i got when i made my enquiry.

Any further developments and i will let you know.

All the best, Mark.

When I went into my HSBC bank they said they would do a letter of introduction, thats all !!! and then for me to give that to HSBC in Oz...

Hmmm now im wondering

Hi timber,

I used this info (Phone number), http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...hreadid=235099 when i contacted the HSBC, why dont you give them a call and see if they can give you better advice or clarify your own situation.

Let me know how you get on.

Mark.

Don't worry Timber - that's fine.

I've listed a step-by-step guide in this thread to explain opening the account. A letter of introduction is covered in that guide.

For what it's worth, it is often a standard letter; sometimes it says how long the account has been opened and that there is no evidence of you causing problems with the account. The important thing with the documentation you provide is to ensure your exact name is on the documentation. That is, exactly the same name as the name you want to open the account in - consistency with middle initials, abbreviated names etc.

Did you have to put in a certain amount?

It's free when you have lots of money and costs when you have none!!!

Hi, the initial deposit is $2,000. After the account is opened, there is no limit on the amount of funds you have in the account. a lot of oz banks make a charge if you go below a certain limit. if you go below $2,000, then obviously the interest rate will drop.

Thank you

I was just thinking it might be worth opening one when the exchange rate is good!

That's not been my experience. It would only cost me if I used an ATM more than 5 times a month, or used cheques, and very few people seem to use cheques here. ATM's are not needed when you can get "cash back" when supermarket shoppping.

The HSBC Online account

* A high 4.50% p.a. interest rate - on deposits greater than $2,000
* 5.25% p.a. on deposits greater than $500,000
* Fee-free banking options within Australia - including deposits and withrawals at any Post Office
* Unlimited HSBC ATM transactions - but not many HSBC ATM's around
* Five free ATM transactions per month, at any bank ATM - First 5 non HSBC ATM transactions per month are free and thereafter $2.00 per transaction
* Free BPAY®, EFTPOS and GiroPost
* Free automated Telephone Banking access
* Cheque book option at $1 per cheque
* Instant access to withdrawals
* Interest calculated daily and paid monthly
* No minimum balance after opening
* Link to your online broking or margin lending account

Funds can be accessed at over 20,000 ATMs, 430,000 EFTPOS and at 2,500 giroPOST offices throughout Australia and worldwide more than 810,000 ATMs and 1 million Maestro and Cirrus outlets.

There is a minimum of A$2,000 deposit required to open an Online Savings Account, but this does not need to be maintained after account opening. Please note applicants who are under the age of 16 or not Australian residents are not eligible to open an Online Savings Account.