Wessmuts Posted December 18, 2017 Report Share Posted December 18, 2017 Hi all Which would be the best bank in Queensland to open an account with. In SA we bank with Investec and RMB and ideally looking for a similar offering. As digitally focused and progressive as possible. It is tough to distinguish between the banks if you have knowledge of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new2forum Posted December 18, 2017 Report Share Posted December 18, 2017 Hi. To be honest, all banks are digitally focused here. Hard to differentiate as there are big 4 banks and then the smaller ones which are even subsidiaries of the big 4. Among migrants commonwealth is popular as well as westpac. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wessmuts Posted December 19, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2017 @new2forum - They seem pretty similar from my online searches. I suppose it is just which brand appeals to you more then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsta Posted December 26, 2017 Report Share Posted December 26, 2017 @Wessmuts Macquarie bank is Australia's answer to Investec. But it is known for being a bank where staff chase performance targets at all costs. Their bonuses for hitting targets are quite large. But do the maths.. The state of New South Wales has a bigger economy than all of South Africa. There are only 7.8 million people in NSW. So, to be "rich" here and to need a private banker takes on a whole new meaning. Two good "digitally focused" banks are Commonwealth Bank. Commonwealth Bank has the best internet banking, best share trading, etc.. but their fees are quite high. The other end is ING bank (http://www.ing.com.au). They are "digitally focused" because they are on-line only. So they don't have branches... but they are quite a bit cheaper than other banks. Another big consideration is your superannuation (i.e. your retirement fund). The big banks are known to give terrible returns. Have a look at the top 10 ten funds over the last 10 years. https://www.smartcompany.com.au/finance/superannuation/top-10-performing-superannuation-funds-for-the-decade/. Just about every investment related document in Australia will say, "past performance is not an indicator of future performance". So don't rely on that list entirely. The federal government also recommends a few comparison sites to compare super funds: https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/superannuation-and-retirement/how-super-works/choosing-a-super-fund/super-comparison-websites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonny Posted December 26, 2017 Report Share Posted December 26, 2017 @Wessmuts sadly you will not find any bank in Australia that can remotely be compared to Investec. Unless you have serious $$$ in investments, which is highly improbable in ZAR 😜 I don't think it really matters. We gave up on the ANZ and went with St George. At least their online offering is modern and transfers are transparent and immediate. We started to find the ANZ app a bit cumbersome. Like any bank, your local staff will make all the difference and we found a couple of SA staff at St G who 'get it' better than some. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new2forum Posted December 26, 2017 Report Share Posted December 26, 2017 All the same at the end of the day for the average customer, more robotic than anything else Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFreshStart Posted December 26, 2017 Report Share Posted December 26, 2017 (edited) @Wessmuts Investec in Australia is BOQ Specialist, they purchased the Australian wing of Investec a few years ago. When we arrived we were with them, we still have an account, but have moved over to ING for our daily transactional needs, progressive and digital. No ATM fees (as long as you deposit a min of $1,000 a month into your account), since they don’t have physical ATM’s in Australia EVERY ATM is an ING ATM. It was strange seeing physical ING ATM’s in the Netherlands on business a week ago, even then using competitor ATM’s were FREE. We have our CC’s with ANZ, largely because our home loan was with them (we’ve since moved this to ING as well) and they are linked to our Quantas Rewards, we’ve already used our generated points to fly our family of 4 for a vacation to Tasmania this year and have just bought tickets for Adelaide in April. We don’t use our CC’s as CC’s, paying them off monthly, thus not incuring interest. I’d suggest if one is not good with managing their funds/budget that you stay away from a CC completely. Contrary to popular belief you don’t need a CC to gain a credit rating/history. These are my own personal views, I am not an accredited financial planner and suggest you seek professional help to determine your own needs. Cheers Matt Edited December 26, 2017 by AFreshStart 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wessmuts Posted December 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 (edited) @freshstart - this was very helpful. Thank you. I think BOQ could be a very good fit us as my husband is a gynea and medical professionals seem to be their specialty. The offerings from ING look great as well and I have emailed both banks and we’ll see who / how they respond. @AFreshStart Edited December 27, 2017 by Wessmuts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wessmuts Posted December 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 @new2forum true, just would hate ending up at the ‘standardbank’ of aus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wessmuts Posted December 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 Thanks @Bonny for that info. I am googling those banks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wessmuts Posted December 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 Thanks @monsta - as soon as I have this bamkikg issue sorted out. Supers are next on the list. We get 30k a year initially and i’d like to top it up and obviously look at if we should fund that with lump sum payouts from here from retirement fund or diversify, but ill chat to a pro. Your links have be n very usefull. i have emailed macquarie as well just to see their offering much appreciated 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsta Posted December 30, 2017 Report Share Posted December 30, 2017 @Wessmuts You must read this forum a lot... you have told us all the advice we give out. especially about talking to a financial adviser! The unfortunate reality is that companies here take advantage of their customers who "set and forget". "Set and Forget" means you set something up and never keep an eye on it. For example, you sign up for a cell phone plan for 5 gigs... 2 years later you could get 20 gigs for the same price, if you shop around. The same applies to your insurance, retirement, bank accounts, etc.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordy Posted December 30, 2017 Report Share Posted December 30, 2017 10 minutes ago, monsta said: The unfortunate reality is that companies here take advantage of their customers who "set and forget". "Set and Forget" means you set something up and never keep an eye on it. For example, you sign up for a cell phone plan for 5 gigs... 2 years later you could get 20 gigs for the same price, if you shop around. The same applies to your insurance, retirement, bank accounts, etc.. This so very very true. If you don't shop around, expect 15% -25% increases in premiums every year. Every single year, at the anniversary of renewal of insurance for cars, contents, house, health etc. I land up changing service providers. What gets me is that loyalty means nothing to them and they wont even try price match. So I just let the one insurance policy expire and take out a new one with a different company. Same goes with banking and credit cards fees and rewards. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nev Posted December 30, 2017 Report Share Posted December 30, 2017 +1 for REST as a super fund, been with them for many years and really like them, nice to see that they are no1 for returns Also to agree, the banks have high fees i wont get any form of investment from them as their fees will eat up your returns 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wessmuts Posted January 3, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2018 On 30/12/2017 at 3:35 AM, monsta said: @Wessmuts You must read this forum a lot... you have told us all the advice we give out. especially about talking to a financial adviser! Yes. It has been a total life saver having these forums, every issue you think of at 2AM someone has asked before and it makes this whole thing a lot less daunting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TamTam Posted March 16, 2018 Report Share Posted March 16, 2018 Bank account opened with Commonwealth - I liked their online offering the best. But as was mentioned above we wont "set and forget"". Was pleased to receive a welcome call from them and have a decent 30 min chat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wessmuts Posted March 19, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2018 Also opened a commonwealth bank account @tamtam. The other private bank BOQ took so long to respond and really are not geared to setup accounts form here. We'll use commonwealth for now and then decide. Only issue was BOQ offers 100% home loans to doctors in Queensland and commonwealth best is 90% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TamTam Posted March 19, 2018 Report Share Posted March 19, 2018 Well I would assume you can then just take a mortgage with a different bank. It doesn't have to be with Commonwealth. Where are you looking to settle in Queensland? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wessmuts Posted March 19, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2018 We are going to a place called Rockhampton and hour north of Brisbane. We will see, I assume you can get a loan with other banks like here. New TSS visa has delayed us by another 8 weeks because of an additional requirement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TamTam Posted March 19, 2018 Report Share Posted March 19, 2018 I also read an article about Aussies starting to favour online mortgage providers over the big banks. Will have to do my research on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wessmuts Posted March 19, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2018 1 minute ago, TamTam said: I also read an article about Aussies starting to favour online mortgage providers over the big banks. Will have to do my research on this. Challange is without PR best i could get was 85% loan and the apartments are 400k so I ideally would prefer more a 90 to 100 percent loan, but yeah once i am there we will decide. We have 3 months of free accomodation once we land so that should help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duggen Posted March 20, 2018 Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 I stand to be corrected here, but I'm on a 457 and when I bought a car I could only get financing for the length remaining on my visa. I assume it would be the same for a home loan, so chances are that without PR buying a home using a mortgage will be prohibitively expensive regardless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grootliam Posted March 20, 2018 Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 @Duggen457 visa holder can get a home load over 30 years from certain providers. All that is needed is for your probation period to be completed. Now just to decide if its worth it as there is extra expenses as a 457 holder for property purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted March 21, 2018 Report Share Posted March 21, 2018 @Wessmuts Personally, I would be very wary of buying property, if you do not have PR! Things can change over night, and a 457 visa holders would be the first to be let go, should the financial situation of the employer change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wessmuts Posted March 31, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2018 On 3/21/2018 at 2:42 AM, Mara said: @Wessmuts Personally, I would be very wary of buying property, if you do not have PR! Things can change over night, and a 457 visa holders would be the first to be let go, should the financial situation of the employer change. Of course, our job offer is a permanent post and if we do decide te leave we would not sell the house anyway, but completely get the point you are making 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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