schoemie Posted February 7, 2007 Report Share Posted February 7, 2007 Hi all,I am currently a Investec Private Bank client. I went to them after alot of fees and bad service form my previous bank (Standard bank).From what I searched on the web it seems that the requirements for Private banking in OZ is alot more than here is SA. I think the private banks here saw a gap in the market (bad service etc.) and filled it.Investec do not have branches and make use of ABSA if you really need to go into a branch otherwise everything is done online and there is only one monthly fee and NO other fees. They also have the concept of the one account, so all you debt (overdraft, credit card etc.) is part of your account.Can anyone help to compare or share their experiences with the banks in OZ and their serivce and fees.Anton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ottg Posted February 7, 2007 Report Share Posted February 7, 2007 HiWhile this is a personal choice, I did a comparison back in 2003 by using different scenarios. These were based on financing for morgage, business loans and credit facilities. Another factors was to see how easy it would be to obtain credit when you have no credit history when arriving in Aus. I first used a similar website to:http://www.infochoice.com.au/banking/default.asphttp://www.quicken.com.au/BusinessFinance/compareRates.aspxI also called their call centres to confirm the facts obtained. While I do not have the exact figures anymore the ANZ bank did it for me. I established an ANZ bank account (with Internet connection) during my LSD trip with a small deposit. Once arriving in Aus I found that providing you have a substantial deposit/equity to secure loans there should be no problem. When arrived, the biggest challenge was to obtain a car loan but with a 30% deposit and phoning around it was possible. Because of the risk to the lender be prepared to pay small premuim on the rates offered. I have to add that all bank rates are very competitive! Recently I went through the exercise to obtain a business loan. Most banks will provide this providing it is secured against the equity of your property. ANZ offered a partially secured and partially unsecured loan.Obviously personal loan accounts and business loan accounts are seperated but all personal accounts can be linked and are Internet accessable, once activated.I still have my Standard Bank RSA savings account which I use monthly via Internet doing transfers from Aus to RSA.I gave myself 2 years where after I will review all my accounts to see if they are still offering value.Hope it helps!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schoemie Posted February 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2007 Hi ottg,Thanks for those sites, they helped a lot. I am considering either ANZ or NAB, will see how their responses are to my mails.Anton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starfish Posted March 1, 2007 Report Share Posted March 1, 2007 Hi ottg,Thanks for those sites, they helped a lot. I am considering either ANZ or NAB, will see how their responses are to my mails.AntonHi AntonLet me know how it goes - am interested in your findings.Regards,Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schoemie Posted March 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2007 Hi AntonLet me know how it goes - am interested in your findings.Regards,ScottHi,I've looked at the sites and spoke to a friend of mine in Sydney, and decided to go for NAB. The reason for this is that they offer surfaces that is a lot like what I've currently had for eg. one account for all my debt. The one negative thing about it was that you can not open any accounts from South Africa. The other good bank was ANZ. The banking fees for both these banks was $7 with unlimited transactions and withdraws . hope this helps. If you need more specific info, PM me. Anton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted March 4, 2007 Report Share Posted March 4, 2007 Anton, after so many years of banking with the 4 main "High Street" banks in Australia, and fed up with challenging them over every time they tried to hit my hip pocket with their ridiculous fees and charges, I took my money to a bank called "Member's Equity" Banking with the Commonwealth, National Australia, Australia & New Zealand and Westpac was like dealing with loan sharks. Their hidden fees and charges would be stuck on EVERYTHING that you needed to do to operate a day-to-day monetary existence. No wonder the shareholders of the banks in Australia are seeing record returns on their capital growth and dividends and the banks are making "record" profits each half-year period . . . . . but at whose expense? Blow that! Member's Equity is a fully fledged bank with a full banking licence granted to them by the Australian gov't in 1999. M.E. operates a full banking service . . . . EFTPOS, credit card (Mastercard), home loans, business loans, personal loans, savings accounts, etc. They have only one branch in each State in Australia and keep their running concerns down to a minimum. M.E. is owned by the main Superannuation funds in Australia that wanted its members to get access to a fair deal in the banking transactions. No hidden fees and charges. Cheapest home loans. Very low credit card interest rates (10.9%) with no "honeymoon" period before the real slug begins! Cheap personal loans. 15 free EFTPOS transactions on savings accounts, with free cash withdrawals if doing it on EFTPOS. ATM deposits $1 ATM withdrawals $1You can have a bank account with the big 4 banks if you enjoy paying fees and charges. . . . . and you WILL be charged fees and charges!Your choice, but you aren't doing your homework if you don't compare the services of the big 4 banks with M.E.www.membersequitybank.com.au Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bronwyn Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 (edited) Hi Schoemie - Did you know that within the past 2 years Investec has opened branches in Melbourne and also Sydney? They are starting to advertise here on Foxtel, with the zebra ad series . I was staff of Investec, and still use my SA account daily, but opened an ANZ account here because it is so inexpensive ($6 p.m for unlimited transactions).Might I add that I am joining ANZ Private Bank in Adelaide as a staff member on 14 March, so when I know how they compare to Investec I will let you know! Haha! Edited March 5, 2007 by Bronwyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenda Posted March 22, 2007 Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 Being a real novice when it comes to banking etc. I'd like to post a question. Which bank's are most commonly used in Oz, and in particular in the Albany area? We'd like to open up a banking account before we get to Oz, but don't want to open an account with a bank that dosen't have a local branch in Albany.Any advise? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matman Posted March 22, 2007 Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 Being a real novice when it comes to banking etc. I'd like to post a question. Which bank's are most commonly used in Oz, and in particular in the Albany area? We'd like to open up a banking account before we get to Oz, but don't want to open an account with a bank that dosen't have a local branch in Albany.Any advise? Glendamost of the major banks in Aus on their websites have a location search tool to find a branch or atm etc in a location.ANZ - click on the Locate Us hyperlink top of the page - Albany in WA has ATMS and a BranchSure you will find something like this for National (NAB), Commonwealth(CBA), St GEorge, Citibank, HSBCList of banks in Australia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenda Posted March 22, 2007 Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 (edited) Many thanks for you help. Will certianly do a bit of research to decide which bank we'll be using. Edited March 22, 2007 by Glenda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR_ Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 Is their any way that you can open an Aus bank account while still in SA ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohanK Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 (edited) Banks are banks people, shitty they will be!! It is more a question of how you make them work for you. I am with Anz and up and till now they have not made me want to leave and go to another bank not that it will help, and yes if you want to you can open an account on the internet. For those of you planning a LSD trip, once you are here and think you like and would want to move to the Land of Oz open an account wile you are here, as it will save you lost of trouble. Edited March 28, 2007 by JohanK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swerwer Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 Just a question....on 1 March 2007 I applied for a bank account via the post at ANZ. I have not heard from them yet. Is this supposed to take this long? How long should it take and do they respond via email or normal post again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR_ Posted March 29, 2007 Report Share Posted March 29, 2007 Just a question....on 1 March 2007 I applied for a bank account via the post at ANZ. I have not heard from them yet. Is this supposed to take this long? How long should it take and do they respond via email or normal post again?Swerwer , I checked their website for application. It was down for maintenance. So you have to apply via snail mail ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohanK Posted March 29, 2007 Report Share Posted March 29, 2007 Hi Swerver that is one of the services ANZ can improve, I waited for just over a month before I received a letter from them but also no emails of nothing. Just to proof my point about banks. Dearest Nedbank just charged me a fee for requesting a statement over the counter, now I ask you I AM IN AUSTRALIA how do they get to this. Guess what I am going to do now, it might be a bit stupid as the call to SA is going to cost me more then what they charged me but I cannot resist to subject them to my normal natural charm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandi Posted July 3, 2007 Report Share Posted July 3, 2007 Just want to get an idea of where you bank & what you would recommend.We'll be on a 457 visa if that would make any difference as to what we should look at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dedrei Posted July 3, 2007 Report Share Posted July 3, 2007 Hi SandyI have merged your post with a previous discussion about banks in Australia.CheersDedrei Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy Posted July 3, 2007 Report Share Posted July 3, 2007 JR,I'm in touch with a lady from CBA and so far I've had good service. I'm opening a few accounts before I get there - no deposits required in any. Fees look good too.Tracy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martyn Posted July 8, 2007 Report Share Posted July 8, 2007 JR,I'm in touch with a lady from CBA and so far I've had good service. I'm opening a few accounts before I get there - no deposits required in any. Fees look good too.TracyWe're with HSBC and are happy with them. We have an online savings account and have yet to pay fees for anything which is pretty unusual here. They only have a few branches though which can be a pain when you have a cheque to desposit. The rest of the time we do everything online.Martyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saffer2 Posted July 8, 2007 Report Share Posted July 8, 2007 Hiya.Anz is very good, cheques, deposits + internet banking all for $5 a month, nothing.....Also the branches are all over the place and their ATMS are also all over.Whole process took 15min!!CheersReid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nilo Posted July 8, 2007 Report Share Posted July 8, 2007 As far as I'm concerned it's all much of a muchness. We're with NAB and pay $3 per month bank charges, have 2 debit cards (one for hubby one for me) and a savings account with over 6% interest.Reid: have you seen the ANZ add on TV lately? "ATM's are all over..." I feel so sorry for the ATM when it gets to the Servo and it is out of breath!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aramat Posted July 10, 2007 Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 ANZ seems to be quite popular! anyone with Westpac? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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