Does anyone use these guys and if so are they any good?

Also, I understand that you normally get a monthly charge from the banks and was wondering how much they usually charge.

I'm also looking at ANZ - so any comments on either would be gratefully received!

Ta x

We took a look at them (westpac), depends what account you take out with them but the normal one with unlimited atm withdrawals is $5 a month.

Nev.

I am with ANZ and they charge $5 a month for unlimited banking is good have had no problems they even gave my hubby a CC even though we are only on temp visas which they are aware of.

poshrice

I am with Westpac, $5 per month to run your account, $2 per withdrawal transaction if not from a Westpac ATM and NO interest paid, So open 2 accounts, 1 for everyday as just described, 1 internet that pays about 5.9% interest, then move money across as you need it.


Simon

We are going to go with westpac. Are in the process of opening an account. They seem ok. J and J

We're with them and they're been fine... $5 a month unless you keep $2,500 in your account in which case it's free... Run 2 accounts side by side with the savings account paying about 6%... Opened the accounts from the UK no problems...

HTH

Hi
Could anyone tell me if you have to put money in both of the westpac accounts i.e one main account and maxi 1 direct account or can you transfer money between the accounts while in the UK.
Brad

Don't know if you can do transfers whilst you're still in the UK... We sent our money out to Oz and it was put into the Maxi account... We then had to validate the account before we could withdraw anything... You do this by turning up at your chosen branch with passport, etc... very easy to do...

If I open an account from the UK does anyone know if I can then validate the account during a reccie trip ?

We are with Westpac. We opened our accounts with them whilst we were on a reccie in 1997. They're OK, but I find them frustrating at times to deal with, and what really p*sses me off is the fact that we have applied twice in the last five years for credit (car loan and credit card) and each time they have said no. Even though we have great credit rating, good wages, no overdrafts, and a history with the bank. Other places we applied said yes straight away.

Really... That's crap... We haven't applied for any credit at all yet, but if they do that to me I'll be off...

ANZ here and yep $5 a month and they dont pay interest... but we put all our savings into a Bankwest account which pays 6-odd% or something interest. Bankwest offered us a credit card which we have and pay off every month, at least it means we're building up a credit rating and it's handy to have 30 days interest free credit!

Havent had any problems with ANZ other than a breakdown in communication when we needed our last cheque for the house build, but it got sorted by popping down to our local branch (only five mins away)

HTH

We're with the Commonwealth bank - we picked them because they had loads of branches and ATMs.

$4 a month gets us unlimited cash withdrawals, internet banking, transfers, bill payments etc, but no cheque book. (Never needed one anyway.) My 16 year old got a free account since she's a student.

They gave us a credit card too, though there's an annual fee of $24 - but then most credit cards (such as Virgin) require you to be a PR - we're on a 457 temporary visa, so our choice was limited.

We opened our accounts when we got here - for the first 5 weeks (I think) you can open an account with just a passport (with visa stamp of course )

One thing that lots of people get wrong (we had a long chat at the bank about this) is that credit ratings don't work the same in Oz as they do in the UK and USA.
In Oz, there is no such thing as a 'good credit rating', only a bad one. They assess you on your debit liability.

So, the more lines of credit you have, the bigger credit risk you are, and the less they'll lend.

Doing the UK thing of getting a credit rating by applying for loads of credit cards is wrong! If you then go for a mortgage, they take all this potential borrowing power into account, thus reducing the amount of mortgage you can borrow. Note this is potential borrowing - they don't care how much you have on your card now, it's how much you might borrow.

The bank told us they'd rather lend to someone with no credit cards at all!

One final point, all the banks have a central database, so they can all see what you've applied fror.

Dave x

We've been with them since we got here, on the whole id say there pretty good, they've made a few small gaffs but always seem to sort them out, all of the people we've dealt with there have been helpfull, we even have our own dedicated person to call if we need anything, (he's now known as our Banking Bitch )

If your getting a mortgage, go with the rocket repay homeloan, everythings offset, credit card all linked in, no fees etc as its all bundled together.
Works really well and saves you heaps in interest and help you pay of your loan quicker.