Marisawright Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 I still prefer a bank I can physically get to if needed. I suppose we are all different. Yes, and it also depends where you're going to be located. I'm in Sydney so I have two branches easy to get to. But if you're the kind of person who's happy with ATM and online banking, Citibank is fine because you can use Westpac, St.George, BankSA and Bank of Melbourne ATM's as well as theirs, free of charge. And no I'm not on commission! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanderer Returns Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 Thanks to all of you for replying to my original post - I declare (somewhat tongue-in-cheek!) Marisawright to be the debate winner! I've had a Citibank UK account for more than 10 years and when I moved to Oz I opened at Citibank Australia account. Not long afterwards Citibank allowed customers to link accounts globally in different countries, so I could transfer money bank and forth with teh greatest of ease and without any transaction fees. In terms of international banking, Citibank are miles in front of the rest, but they've never had the infrastructure on a local level. That's why I've always banked with the Commonwealth as they have ATMs everywhere and it's so convenient. However, I don't really want to keep paying $4/month for that convenience if I'm living outside Australia (which I soon will be), even if it is only 'just the price of a coffee'. It all adds up over a long period of time and what kind of fool would willing give their money to a bank - like they don't have enough already! I've had an account with USaver and have just opened an USaver Ultra linked account which is completely fee free, with free withdrawals from NAB ATMs. I intend to give this one a whirl and close my Commonwealth Bank account when I leave Oz, just leaving my Commonwealth credit card active. I've got quite a decent limit on that card, so it's worth the small annual fee (about $25) to keep it 'alive' whilst I'm back in the UK. NAB definitely are a bit more generous than the other big banks here in Australia. Thanks again! Mart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Ubank are owned by NAB just incase you didn't know. NAB started Ubank about 3 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MovingtoTasmania Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 I was just going to use NAB until this thread started so thank you to @Wanderer Returns for that overview of Citibank - it was much appreciated. However, now someone has thrown ING Direct in to the mix so if anyone wants to do a little review, that would be much appreciated too :smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Wanderer Returns, you do realise that if you have a Citibank card, you can use it fee-free at Westpac and St George banks at no charge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 I was just going to use NAB until this thread started so thank you to @Wanderer Returns for that overview of Citibank - it was much appreciated. However, now someone has thrown ING Direct in to the mix so if anyone wants to do a little review, that would be much appreciated too :smile: My husband has an ING Direct account and I've had one in the past. They're good, but they have NO branches except an office in Sydney, so you have to decide if you're comfortable with that. You can deposit money at the Post Office. The only downside of ING is that to get fee free, you have to deposit $1,000 a month into the account. If you can do that, it's a good option because you get 2% back on Paywave purchases. However, if you'll need to transfer money between the UK and Oz, Citibank has the edge because you can have a Citibank account in each country and transfer money very easily and cheaply between the two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MovingtoTasmania Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 My husband has an ING Direct account and I've had one in the past. They're good, but they have NO branches except an office in Sydney, so you have to decide if you're comfortable with that. You can deposit money at the Post Office. The only downside of ING is that to get fee free, you have to deposit $1,000 a month into the account. If you can do that, it's a good option because you get 2% back on Paywave purchases. However, if you'll need to transfer money between the UK and Oz, Citibank has the edge because you can have a Citibank account in each country and transfer money very easily and cheaply between the two. I don't often go in to the branch to be honest, but I must admit that since the one around the corner from me closed, the odd occasion where I've needed to go in, it's been a bit annoying to have to travel the 3 miles to the next branch, now that I don't have a car and the quickest route to get there is on foot. Perhaps I need to look more at this Citibank. What happens if you need to withdraw a large amount of cash from your account? You can't be going all the way to Sydney to do so....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 On ING direct. It is perfect for my needs, I don't need to ever go to a bank as I do everything online. You get 2% on all paywave purchases (paywave is available pretty much everywhere) Every ATM is free (seriously used to get annoyed looking for a free ATM even with bank west who use all of the big 4) The mobile app is also very easy to use and works great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 I don't often go in to the branch to be honest, but I must admit that since the one around the corner from me closed, the odd occasion where I've needed to go in, it's been a bit annoying to have to travel the 3 miles to the next branch, now that I don't have a car and the quickest route to get there is on foot. Perhaps I need to look more at this Citibank. What happens if you need to withdraw a large amount of cash from your account? You can't be going all the way to Sydney to do so....... I guess that is a snag, because there's a daily limit on how much you can withdraw from an ATM (you'd have to ask them how much that is, because I've never asked!). It is so long since I've had to handle large cash amounts, it hasn't been an issue for me so far. They do have an office in Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane but not Hobart so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MovingtoTasmania Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Despite this paywave cashback looking attractive, sometimes you need to withdraw large amounts for various reasons and so perhaps, for me, Citibank is going to be the way forward. I'm actually moving to Perth, not Tasmania so the branch isn't going to be a problem for me. The problem is, that as soon as I say, no I don't need to withdraw cash/the cash limit on the ATM is fine, you can bet your bottom dollar, that I will need to withdraw more. It's the way my luck runs........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanderer Returns Posted October 19, 2014 Author Share Posted October 19, 2014 The ING account sounds really good if you're living in Oz and having you're wages paid in there monthly, especially with the 2% cashback on Paywave transactions. However, if you're leaving the country for a while then you'll be paying a monthly charge, which is the same boat as I'm in now with the Commonwealth Bank. It will be interesting to see how long the Paywave incentive lasts for - it sounds like it could be a bit of a 'loss leader' to me. There's been a lot of discussion recently that Paywave maybe quickly phased out, as credit card fraud has gone through the roof since its introduction - like they couldn't have predicated that?! :-) It seems like the UBank Ultra combined with the USaver would probably be the best option for me right now, combined with keeping the Citibank account open for any international transfers. I'll just need to get a SIM with international roaming so that I receive the security SMS whilst in the UK because I know that Lebara doesn't work over there. Does any one has any experience of this and can recommend a SIM that they know that works well in the UK? Many thanks again to everyone for their input, Mart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 It seems like the UBank Ultra combined with the USaver would probably be the best option for me right now, combined with keeping the Citibank account open for any international transfers. I'll just need to get a SIM with international roaming so that I receive the security SMS whilst in the UK because I know that Lebara doesn't work over there. Does any one has any experience of this and can recommend a SIM that they know that works well in the UK? Many thanks again to everyone for their input, I'm still curious, mainly because we've got our Citibank account specifically because we're moving TO the UK. Why can't you just have a Citibank account in both countries and not bother with Ubank? Citibank Plus has no fees. What am I missing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Ubank interest rate is far superior on Usaver compared to Citibank Online Saver. over 4% as long as you can deposit $200 per month. I'm not sure it is suitable for a non resident though so I would check that point out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cez Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Ubank interest rate is far superior on Usaver compared to Citibank Online Saver. over 4% as long as you can deposit $200 per month. I'm not sure it is suitable for a non resident though so I would check that point out. i think they're only looking to withdraw funds in the uk, not add to them? In which case the interest rate with ubank will be the basic 2.9%. It's a bit better than this now but due to go down to 2.9% in a few days time. Citibank online saver is the same rate, though it's 4% for the first four months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 To get the higher Usaver rate you can withdraw $200 to an external account and next day add the same $200 back in to the Usaver. That qualifies for the higher savings rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanderer Returns Posted October 19, 2014 Author Share Posted October 19, 2014 (edited) I'm still curious, mainly because we've got our Citibank account specifically because we're moving TO the UK. Why can't you just have a Citibank account in both countries and not bother with Ubank? Citibank Plus has no fees. What am I missing? When I opened the USaver account (about 3 years ago) the interest rate was superior to any other instant-access account at that time (more than 5% I recall), but it's gradually been eroded since then as interest rates have fallen. They have also made the operation of the account less straightforward with some convoluted 'sweep thing' that you need to put in place to get the highest rate of interest. That said, it still seems to be a bit higher (3.66% p.a.) than Citibank, although I agree, that there's really not much in it. The interest is currently paid gross, which is particularly convenient because (I assume!) I'll be a non-taxpayer once I've left the country. Edited October 19, 2014 by Wanderer Returns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 When I opened the USaver account (about 3 years ago) the interest rate was superior to any other instant-access account... The interest is currently paid gross, which is particularly convenient because (I assume!) I'll be a non-taxpayer once I've left the country. Interest on all Aussie bank accounts is paid gross. As soon as you give them a foreign address, though, they'll deduct 10% tax on the interest. Like you, I assumed non-resident meant non-taxpayer but that's not true. You pay 32c in the dollar on investments as a non-resident, with no tax-free threshold. However, if the ONLY Australian money you have is in ordinary bank accounts, the bank deducts 10% at source, and that's all you have to pay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanderer Returns Posted October 20, 2014 Author Share Posted October 20, 2014 Marisawright that is very good to know - thank you. I guess 10% isn't too harsh considering the generally high rates of tax here. By the time I leave I'll have only worked 5 months of the current tax year, so I think I'll cop a higher rate of tax when I do tax return for the Y/E 30th June 2015, won't I? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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