pabloako

After looking at the bank charges in Australia I think I am in shock! :scared:

Most charge at least $5 a month and then only let you access your money a couple of times without being charged extra. Excuse me for wanting to spend my money!
If you want to pay money in or withdraw money from the branch (over the counter) they charge you even more!

I have seen that HSBC in Australia do not charge a monthly fee and give you unlimited transactions.... I know they do not have many branches yet, but if other banks charge so much for walking into a branch does it matter if HSBC only have a couple of branches.

What do other people do?
Do most people just get paid their wages in cash and stick it under their bed to avoid these crazy charges?
Do people just close their eyes and let the banks take their money as they wish?

r.bartlett

what about a nationwide internet account they don't charge for overseas transactions (not sure if you live oversea's tho')

cheers

richard

walaj

Business accounts get charged for every cheque paid in/out, cash paid in/out etc.
It can seem harsh as a personal a/c customer where the norm is no fee then large fees if you go overdrawn without authority etc.

A case of tough, you have to live with the norms for the place you are moving to and you can shop around to which bank suits you personnal circumstances.

Banks have to cover there costs somehow and I suspect that in Oz extras charges are less, interest rates higher (on credits) (relative to base rate) than compared to 'non fee' a/cs

Dinky

Australia has yet to wake up to the "free" economy!
Competition equals rights for consumers but don't hold your breath.......

Dinky

Teliko19

But the fees only cover for money out of ATMs over the counter etc.

EFTPOS is free, at least for me, with St. George and ANZ. Credit transactions are free for us as well.

Anon E Mouse

Too easy.... You go to Coles each week, buy your shopping, key in your pin and get a couple o' hundred out in cash. 1 transaction. Simple. Oh and dont expect a cheque book. There's no guarantee system and gov will charge you stamp duty on every transaction if you have a chq book isued on an account....

In the UK you pay plastic for everything. Here you use high-tech plastic coated cash (which BTW goes through the washer very well and is great for shoving down the front of you wetsuit....)

Yep, bank fees suck. Sign on the CBA ATM - "Get a list of the last 10 transactions. Just 50c"....


Now is that credit, cheque or savings mate?

etlniwd

I still can't get my head round this Credit, Savings, or Cheque question that I get asked every time I use a card in Australia. Does anybody know what it means ?

I hand over a credit card and they say 'Credit, Savings, or Cheque ?' I feel like saying 'It's a F***ing credit card mate, are you blind or what ?' The next day I use a debit card and they ask the same stupid question when it is so bloody obviously a debit card. Then they ask you to do their job by swiping it through and pressing half the sodding buttons for them.

The other really annoying thing about shopping in a supermarket is the fact that the check out girl insists on packing all the bags for you. This takes forever and results in massive queues and three times as many carrier bags as you need. It also means that they have to employ more check out girls to cope with the resulting queues which means that ultimately you pay more for your shopping.

And while I'm having a good old rant ... why can't you buy alcohol in the supermarket ? How stupid is that ? It means that you have to take all shopping down to the car, unpack your groceries, and then go all the way back up to the shopping arcade to find a separate bottle shop and make another transaction, and then go all the way back down the long, zig-zag slopes to your car again.

Anon E Mouse

Weeeelll, it's real simple. There's the EFTPOS network and the VISA network. You can also have multiple accounts assigned to one card.

So, my St George Visa debit card can be processed thru the VISA network (free!!!) or thru the EFTPOS network (buck 50 - boo...)
Hence credit or eftpos (ever noticed the credit button's red?)

Then, since I only have a "cheque" account (which is actually a savings account without a cheque book - go figure...) That means I need to press the CHQ button if I want to donate $1.50 to the bank.

Simple eh?

As for the self swipe/key PIN, ever heard of card surfing? You hand over the card, the shop asst double scans it and makes a nice copy for her mates, complete with carbon copy of the till roll with your signature on it. No worries about that here. Think about this - the UK are moving towards pin entry at POS which will really p*ss certain people off when they move back there :-)


Of course, if it's a credit card you still sign.....Or a visa debit card....



As for beers, just think about the concept of a drive through bottle shop......

The Clarkes

And while I'm having a good old rant ... why can't you buy alcohol in the supermarket ? How stupid is that ? It means that you have to take all shopping down to the car, unpack your groceries, and then go all the way back up to the shopping arcade to find a separate bottle shop and make another transaction, and then go all the way back down the long, zig-zag slopes to your car again. [/QUOTE]


Best way is to find a drive thru off licence (dont get those in U.K)!!!!!!!!!!!

t.c

etlniwd

Thanks for the explanation. Don't understand the check out girl fiddle bit. Why doesn't that happen in the UK then ?

I'm still not convinced about the PIN entry at POS idea. I only ever use credit cards for shopping (why pay now when you can earn interest for 56 days) and twice in the last year I've had fraudulent entries on my statement. In both cases my bank were initially reluctant to believe that I had not made those purchases. I then challenged them to show me a credit slip with my signature on it and they then accepted the fraud straight away. With PIN-only identification you have no proof that it wasn't you. It doesn't take much to look over someone's shoulder, remember four digits, and then later on 'borrow' their card for an hour or two.

Anon E Mouse

That's just the point. It does happen in the UK. Lots. Ever paid a bill in a resturant "I'll take that for you sir" And copy your card whilst it's away......

The pins here are 6 digits, up to 12 if you're really paranoid which *may* make it a bit harder for the shoulder surfing crim to remeber. Of course, with the UK system, you just borrow the card, the signature's on the back - yay, spending spree...

The credit card frauds you're talking about are usually put through as customer not present sales - like over the phone ordering. Petrol stations are notorious for this in the UK. But you cant do not present sales with EFTPOS (I think). And yes, our system doesn't stop that, no credit card system does (maybe?)

I'm not saying it stops fraud - we'll only get that with DNA scans :-) Hmm, there's a thought. Swipe you smartcard and leave a sample..... :-)

jayr

Ordered pizza over the phone last night, got it delivered and signed slip at door, wasn't asked for the card to verify the signature, this attitude seems to prevail in some shops too.

karawara88

I had forgotten all about them, fantastic idea.

Alan Collett

Fear not, for Sir Richard Branson is on the way!
http://www.virginblue.com.au/news/may2003.html#120503

Best regards.

Kiwipaul

Don't understand how you get free ATM cash withdrawals with ANZ.

I am with them and have 2 choices.

1) No monthly fee and about 5 free automatic transactions and then $.50 per transaction above that.

2) $5 per month for unlimited automatic transactions.

I've gone for 2 as 1 just cost me more than $5 per month??