Capitalmind

On 17/10/2022 at 11:19, Marisawright said:

You can't set up an account before you arrive.  It used to be allowed but is no longer.  No banks in Australia are government owned nowadays. However all are protected by the bank guarantee.

Commonwealth Bank is one of the "Big Four" banks in Australia (ANZ, NAB, Commonwealth and Westpac). Most people bank with the Big Four, just because they're the biggest.  However they usually have the worst mortgage rates and the poorest interest, because they don't have to compete with customers.   

There will be people who post shortly to say, "I've banked with ANZ/NAB/Commonwealth/Westpac for years and never had a problem".  That may be true -- I've banked with Westpac and Commonwealth in the past and never had a problem that I know of.  However NAB, Commonwealth and Westpac were all found to be rorting their customers for millions in the recent Royal Commission, and many of those customers were blissfully unaware they'd been rorted:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-04/banking-royal-commission-hayne-final-report-two-years-on/13110938

I'd be willing to be the culture hasn't changed that much...

Here are the two most reputable comparison sites in Australia, which give you a rundown on the best bank accounts:

https://mozo.com.au/expertschoice/australias-best-banking

https://www.canstar.com.au/transaction-accounts/best-bank-accounts/

 

I appreciate this thank you, the top banks reviewed is helpful. Considering MacQuarie or ING

I travel across the ditch for work and back and have been using my Spark NZ account which gets expensive, also some clients won't call me if they see a +64 code so I wanted to add an Aussie SIM to my phone. Can someone advise a decent plan for calls and a bit of light browsing, maybe even pay as you go? I'm not a big social media person, just for work and a bit of YouTube.

CommBank is often mentioned to me as is a go to, as is ASB and ANZ. So many choices!

Looking to move over from NZ shortly for work and need to setup an account. I'm used to KiwiBank as a basic good all round bank account, has cheapest mortgage options (Government owned) and the fees are low and I only use EFPOS. What would be the best choice for a similar type of account in NSW? I want to try and setup the account before I arrive. Many thanks in advance.