brian.w

I have an account with hifx,was going to set up a bank account with westpac,how do they compare with other banks in oz as in how big they are,strong etc.
I read in a paper today in the uk hbos,are to sell there st george i think it was called and bank west in australia to commonwealth bank,how do they rate as a bank in oz compared to westpac?

I was thinking if these are buying these banks then more places and maybe better offers deal etc to customers,are would westpac still be as big or maybe bigger still.

I have no idea what banks of the them in oz are biggest to smallest,i also believe you can set up a migrant account in the uk before you leave it this right and where do i get them details,i already have westpac info,but maybe will be looking into commonwealth now,what you reckon?

iamthecreaturefromuranus

Just chose the bank closest to where you end up living because, to be honest, there is nothing to chose between them. They are just like banks in the UK, except the ones in Oz will usually charge you for stuff that is generally free in the UK.

I went through the process of setting up a Comm Bank account in the UK, designed to ease the process of migration. When I arrived in Oz and went to my local Comm Bank they looked at me as though I had grown a second head... they had no idea what to do with the UK Comm Bank account... they just opened up an account for me there and then. As I had no perm address they used the banks own address !?

comet555

When we opened our Westpac account we had no address either as we were travelling around from hotel to hotel. So they used the banks address and we just had to update it once we got settled. This meant that our bank cards arrived at the branch and we had to go pick them up.

They didn't have any big issues with doing that once we explained our situation of having just arrived and that we were travelling for job interviews.

I quite like Westpac and have no problems with them so far.

Rosscarbery

We found Westpac a real pain when we first arrived. They sent our cards to a temporary address when we had asked for them to be held at the branch, lost one lot then had to re-issue, didn't update our details despite the fact that we went in three times to check, the member of staff we first dealt with couldn't speak enough English to explain how their system works (couldn't care less where she was from, just needed an explanation we could understand). I actually ended up in a branch one day banging my head on the desk in frustration, I really couldn't recommend them.

Grayling

I have a westpac and a Commonwealth account (and others) and have had no problems with any so far.

G

Looking forward to Oz

That's very funny!! I can't imagine any UK bank doing that!

ittakesages

Have to say, we went with Commonwealth and I cannot believe how helpful our bank manager has been!! We signed up for a holding account which was in London and then when we arrived we went into the City (Melbourne) and opened up the account. I have held a bank account for nearly 25 years in UK but none of them compare to the help I have received from Commonwealth. They sorted us out with bank cards, visa cards and even offered us a mortgage if we needed it. They have insured us for our car and house contents at very competitive rates. They gave us a reference for when we started house hunting for the estate agents - honestly, the list is endless. They even waiver bank charges!! Strongly recommend you to look at them.

iamthecreaturefromuranus

I stayed with the Comm Bank myself and after the initial query about my UK account, no doubt because I seem to have moved to a part of Oz that could be described as being part of Greater Serbia in population make-up, the Comm Bank have proved excellent.

Bix

We use Commonwealth and have found them excellent so far.

Here's the link you need
http://www.migrant.webcentral.com.au/

alipally

Do whichever you want, but once you get a TFN here, change to Citibank, cheapest by a long, long way!

You can apply online for it, which is just as well as there are no branches in SA!