mehman Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Hello Folks, I'm moving to Oz in January 2015 and need to get started on transferring my savings. I currently bank with HSBC. Perusing the forums here, I tend to get the impression that they prefer NAB over here? Has anyone used HSBC? What was your experience like? Thanks, Mehman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 I think an Aus bank makes more sense. One on every corner sort of thing. Also we don't do bank to bank transfer for our money. Use HiFX, much better rates etc and no fees. Far easier IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearlythere1 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Hi, I have been transferring money from the UK recently, to my ANZ account and my daughters NAB account.. Check the small print.. I'm not saying they're the best as I have limited experience of the banks in Oz, but when I transferred to my ANZ it cost me about $15 but, transferring to my daughters NAB cost $25. Not a huge amount in the grand scheme of things, but a lesson to check the small print and fees etc was definitely learnt.. Hope this helps.. :chatterbox: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainR Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 We have HSBC accounts in several countries and were premier customers, but found it difficult to get a HSBC account setup before we arrived, and then when we did arrive they seemed to want ID and documents that we couldn't provide as new arrivals. I got the feeling that they just weren't interested. It would have been nice to be able to have an account in Oz and linked with global banking, but we just have up. They also have very few branches. NAB on the other hand allowed is to register online before arriving, gave us online banking access before we arrived and had our debit cards printed and ready to collect when we arrived. So easy. So far, very happy with NAB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mehman Posted September 17, 2014 Author Share Posted September 17, 2014 Thanks for the answers folks. I figure its best to go with an Australian bank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peach Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Hi, I have been transferring money from the UK recently, to my ANZ account and my daughters NAB account.. Check the small print.. I'm not saying they're the best as I have limited experience of the banks in Oz, but when I transferred to my ANZ it cost me about $15 but, transferring to my daughters NAB cost $25. Not a huge amount in the grand scheme of things, but a lesson to check the small print and fees etc was definitely learnt.. Hope this helps.. :chatterbox: This is why people use a specialist money transfer company (such as Moneycorp) and not a bank to transfer money internationally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearlythere1 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 This is why people use a specialist money transfer company (such as Moneycorp) and not a bank to transfer money internationally. Thanks for that Peach, though I did use a specialist money transfer company (such as Moneycorp) and not a bank to transfer money internationally, the fees were charged at the receiving end by the Australian bank when the money transfer company transferred the funds to my account.. It's still an international transfer whatever currency it arrives in.. :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Keeneyboy Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 We were longstanding HSBC customers in UK. We had HSBC Aus account set up over the phone from UK. Very easy and straight forward. Picked up our bank cards on arrival in Perth. Great service all round. HSBC is not a big bank here with only a few branches. This hasn't been an issue at all for us so far. However, don't use your bank to do money transfers, much better rate with the likes of Moneycorp and HiFx. Mrs K x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tina0101 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 I've found that if we don't use an ANZ cashpoint, they always say that they will charge a fee (like the UK used to do 20 years ago). Not it sure if this is the case everywhere, but you probably want to go with a bank with a supply of cashpoints! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn2002 Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Hello Folks, I'm moving to Oz in January 2015 and need to get started on transferring my savings. I currently bank with HSBC. Perusing the forums here, I tend to get the impression that they prefer NAB over here? Has anyone used HSBC? What was your experience like? Thanks, Mehman We were HSBC Premier customers in the UK. We set up the account in Australia with them (also a Premier Account) from the UK. We went into the branch in the UK filled in the forms and they did the rest. We received all our cards etc before we left. We also got a credit card with them. Personally I wouldn't use them. I found the service when we got here poor, you can use Westpac ATM's for free. There aren't many branches or HSBC ATMs about. We also found it insanely difficult to get a bankers draft from them when we needed to for the rental bond. Hence we have changed banks to ING which is internet based and only now use the HSBC credit card as we get vouchers off them every now and again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Mmm never get a charge when transferring cash from UK into Westpac using forex. As they are receiving dollars they shouldn't charge anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 I have an HSBC account and it is okay. As mentioned you can access Westpac ATMs free of charge. However I use Internet Banking a lot and am very underwhelmed with HSBC's. I mainly use NAB for my banking and find their Internet Banking to be the best of all the banks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasepom Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 We opened accounts with Westpac from the UK. They seemed the best option at the time cause we met them at migrant fairs and they offer a lot of help with the process. When we arrived in Melbourne we just confirmed our identies and started banking with them (getting cards etc). Pretty easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Thanks for that Peach, though I did use a specialist money transfer company (such as Moneycorp) and not a bank to transfer money internationally, the fees were charged at the receiving end by the Australian bank when the money transfer company transferred the funds to my account.. It's still an international transfer whatever currency it arrives in.. :wink: We don't get charged a cent from our Aus bank or UK one with HiFX. The money we 'transfer' comes from their Aus division so is paid directly here. It does not have to 'transfer' in the sense of the word. You should look in to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conor222 Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 ANZ and commonwealth are Westpac are the big ones. Westpac I'd recommend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
an1ta Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 We opened out account over the phone in the uk with HSBC. When we got here we just took our passports in and that was it. They aren't the greatest of banks but I find them better than any of the Aussie banks. 6 years down the line and they are still our main bank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuinninOz Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 As others have noted, any of the BIG 4 are going to be good as far as accessibility - ANZ, Commonwealth, NAB and Westpac. However if you plan on working or travelling in remote parts of Australia - Commonwealth operates through Australia Post outlets - which in small towns can be very helpful. (Imagine no machines or bank branchs for 1000 klms but their still are postal outlets) When you are choosing a money transfer company - the exchange rate they give you is often much more important than the fees, which you can avoid all together in some cases but in all cases they are lower than banks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whites Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Hello we are planning to move to Brisbane - Sunshine Coast in February 2015. I'm really a bit clueless on the whole moving money situation. If I didn't have much I wouldn't really worry and just open a bank acc when I get there! But I have quite a bit of money in my bank ( inheritance) and I don't know where to start ????? :chatterbox: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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