Bhoywonder

I have been looking into opening a bank account prior to arriving in Melbourne and thought you might find the results interesting.

I have only mailed 1 bank as I had narrowed down my search based on the services being offered. I mailed www.national.com.au



Thanks for your enquiry regarding the National's account opening
requirements.

Unfortunately, we are unable to open accounts by correspondence or over the
internet.

However, if you intend to travel to Australia it may be possible for you to
establish a personal account with the National prior to your arrival.

So that we can assist you with the account opening process, could you
please forward via email the following personal details no later than 8
weeks before you intend to arrive:
· Your full legal name
· The address where you will be staying on your arrival in Australia (if
available) or your overseas address
· Your current contact telephone number and mailing address
· Your date of birth
· * Your marital status
· * Your occupation.

*Under Australian Privacy legislation, provision of this information is not
a mandatory requirement when opening deposit/transactional products with
the National.

Once this information is received, we'll forward your details to a suitable
National branch, which will open an account on your behalf. It is
important to note that there are some additional requirements that need to
be satisfied before you'll be able to access funds deposited in your
account. These requirements must be completed by you in person at a
designated National branch when you arrive in Australia.

If you're unable to attend a National branch in Australia to complete
identification requirements, the National is not permitted to release funds
under any circumstances and is obliged to report the matter to the Director
of AUSTRAC under Financial Transactions Reports Act (FTRA) 1988
legislation.

For your information, our most common deposit/transactional accounts are
the National Smart Direct Account and the National Smart Access Account.
These accounts offer an optional cheque book and an ATM Card that will
allow you to withdraw funds via National Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs)
or to use EFTPOS facilities.

There is no charge to open these accounts. Full details of this product
including relevant fees and charges are available on application.

Any interest earned on your account will be taxed at the prevailing
non-resident's withholding tax rate, currently 10.00%.

Please visit our website www.national.com.au for more information on the
National's range of products and services.

Once your account is established and we have advised you of your account
details, you may send money from overseas directly to your National account
in Australia. There are two methods that you can use to transfer money to
your new account.

These are:
· Telegraphic Transfers - these are sent electronically from your bank
overseas into your National account. The transfer usually arrives in around
48 hours and the funds are available immediately. A fee (currently $6.00)
applies for receiving a Telegraphic Transfer. Please note that your
overseas bank may also charge you a fee to use the Telegraphic Transfer
service.
· You may be able to obtain an International Cheque drawn on an Australian
bank from your own bank overseas. If the cheque is in a currency other than
Australian Dollars, the cost of depositing an International Cheque drawn on
an Australian bank is currently $10.00. If the cheque is drawn on a bank
overseas (outside Australia), the cost for depositing it is around $40.00.

Clearance times will apply for both methods before the funds become
available to withdraw. Please be aware that international cheques drawn on
an overseas bank will take at least six weeks to clear and there may be
fees charged by the overseas bank to process the transaction.

Should you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact the
National on 13 22 65 or IDD+613+8641-9083, 8.00am till 8.00pm weekdays
Australian Eastern Time.

Hope this is of some use to you.

Please give some Karma if you appreciated the article.

fraser

www.migrantbanking.co.uk

Alex Hall

I spoke to Commonwealth Bank at Sandown and they will open an Oz account for me (and give me an Oz bank account number etc for paying my Capital Investment Bond Interest money into)

I won't be able to draw money out of the account until I get to oz and walk into a branch with my passport etc, and there would be a $5 a month charge, however it did seem to match what I needed

hth

Alex

dracupg

I seem to remember someone doing this with HSBC sucessfully.

BillnLinz

We did much the same thing in Edinburgh 2 weeks ago, all ready to go, just need to activate as soon as you get to Oz.

Phone them on 0207 710 3990 and ask for Stacey, she was very helpful.

Bill

hedgehog-girl

I already have a bank account and am looking for a savings account and recently found this which compares all of the banks etc....hope its helpful

Bhoywonder

Thanks everyone I will do some more research.

biggy

Wjat a pile of pish....I opened a Westpac account online no probs........you can deposit money but cant take it out until u have visited ur branch with proof of ID then its all goooooooooooo

Bhoywonder

Biggy did you read the whole article as that is what they are saying. YOU CAN OPEN AN ACCOUNT but need to visit your branch with ID to allow withdrawals

biggy

ooopsie lol I got bored half way thro sowwie

Bhoywonder

I'll let you off this time, just send me some karma

biggy

why thank you kind sir.....I will get hubby to give me a spank when he comes home lmao

Karma on its way BTW

biggy

forgot tae ask...hows Glasgow these days? was just listenin to Real Radio on the net and they said there had been a huge pile up on Kingstone bridge....and there was a big fire at Weir pumps....ffs its all gooooooooo

Bhoywonder

Place was at a stand still on Tuesday. I was driving back from Edinburgh and heard the accident on the news. Tail back to Easterhouse. Not good. Had to take M74 into city centre.

Haven't heard anything about the fire but again I listen to Radio Clyde.

Make sure you get that spanking and spread some karma at the same time :scared:

Bordy

Ahhhh Easterhouse, now I remember why I'm never homesick lol.