now we have got our pr visa's the hard work now begins- can someone reccomend a good bank in oz, i know a few but anyone with first hand experience would be helpful?

primary purpose would be for general day to day banking,

regards
mark

Mark all banks in OZ are much the muchness. There are a lot to choose from the biggest ones being Commonwealth, Westpac, National Australia Bank, ANZ, St George Bank. The list goes on.

Im personally with Commonwealth Bank and there OK. But everyone I know who are with National Australia Bank are really happy with their service. Its not so much about choosing the right bank, the talent is more to do with choosing the right type of account. The two main things to base your choice on will be interest earned and bank fees.
The one thing you will notice and have to watch out for is the bank fees. Australian banks are notorious for charging fees for everything (ATM usage, Cheques, counter transaction fees ..etc..etc). The fees vary on the type of account you get. What you will need to do is work out your spending habbits and choose the account(s) that will earn you the highest interest and at the same time has a fee structure that minimises the fees you have to pay for by matching your day to day banking needs. Having two accounts with the same bank is probably the best option.
You'll have the one low interest account designed for your day to day needs and another higher interest savings account.

Oh yeah also forget about the idea of an overdraft facility as they dont exist in Oz. However one perk I do find useful is the fact that when and if you do eventually get accepted for a credit card in Oz you can link all your accounts onto the one keycard and access all accounts with the same bank on the one card.

thanks for that useful info- seems as though i got a lot of work to do then!!!

Mark,

I agree with the advice given. I spent quite some time researching different options & went with National on the $3 pcm rate (unlimited card usage but have to pay to write a cheque & get cash from the bank counter). The reason for this choice was the telephone savings account; not only could you take out money without losing interest for that month, but also the interest rate was 5.4%, circa 1% higher than other banks. The downside is that you cannot open a savings account unless you have an everyday account....

If I had not wanted the higher interest rate then I would have opted for ANZ account($5pcm & no chq/counter charges))as the internet (they all encourage internet banking)is better in my view - you can set up monthly transfers without paying any additional fees.

It is possible to have an overdraft facility set up, however unlike the UK banks there is a fee for this service even if you do not use the overdraft.

Take a look at http://www.hsbc.com.au in particular their on line account. The minimum balance is $2000 but for a checking account they pay a great rate of interest but more importantly ATM use is free for 5 times a month at any ATM in Oz and free for all HSBC ones. There is no charge to use BPay a system to pay your bills direct from your computer, free eftpos, free transfers to other banks in Oz and practically no fees at all unless you use a teller. Oh, and they also have automated telephone banking as well when you can't get to your computer but there are charges for using that.

It is offering a level of service unheard of with Australian banks with none of the extravagant charges.

I had an HSBC account in the UK and they did all the due diligence for me to set up the account while still in the UK. Been using this account for 3 years with no problems.

They also have a link with Vero insurance and have used this service as well after checking out some of the others.

I have heard that Bankwest are doing or are going to be doing something similar as they are now owned by HBOS in the UK.

Hope this helps you.

Just a follow up to my last post re using bank services. Don't even think about using a bank's credit card as they charge the earth. Check out http://www.virgincreditcard.com.au who are running rings round the rest of the competition. Closest thing I have seen to what you would expect from a credit card in the UK

Some great advice here thanks! We are looking at bank accounts tonight! One of the many things on our to do list!

Got to agree with paddy HSBC ofer a great service, I've had on of their accounts now for nearly 12 months and so long as I keep $2,000 in the account I get paid 4.75% interest. They are also very security consious as they have sent me free of charge a sort of random no genertator which I have to use to access my account online. So even if someone has my account no and password without this token they couldn't get in.

Also virgin Blue Credit card is ace and free so go for it.

we went with the common wealth bank and they were great the uk side and have been very helpful this side . even when it came to opening the childrens accounts --can't fault them!
jane

Hi,

We opened a Westpac Account via the internet prior to arrival as Hsbc couldnt open an account from the UK. This enabled us to transfer funds and we are now changing to HSBC as they have no charges - would recommend HSBC.

Helen