Guest paulhayley Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 Hi everyone, Were flying out to start our new lives in northern Queensland in 6 weeks and would like some advice on aussie bank accounts. Is it better to open one when we get there or can you open an account from the UK before we go? Any advice would be great, many thanks.:smile: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keily Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 Hi Guys .... We Currently Bank With The Clydesdale Here In Uk .... They Are Affiliated With Other Banks In Uk ... Yorkshire Etc .... They Are Also Affiliated With The Nab [national Australia Bank ] So Its A Case Of Them Opening Us An Account Over There And Transferring .... We Can Do That At The Mo And Transfer Monthly Amounts If We Wish .... But I Think We Would Be Better Waiting For Visa [just Incase ]!!! Mrs Keily Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AndrewL Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 My personal favourite is Citibank, as they don't have account keeping fees. I know they're almost immaterial but I just can't accept paying a bank for them having my money! 99% of others banks charge you see, but generally Citibank don't. I have heard good things about Bank West - backed by HBOS (I think) and trying to get into the eastern seaboard market. In terms of setting up an account before you leave, I wouldn't bother. It's very easy when you are here so long as you have an Australian address. Cheers, Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JoanneHattersley Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 we`re with bankwest. no charges for anything and 9% interest on our savings (shame we dont have any at the moment!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest n&r Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Hi everyone! We've just got our visas through an online company who are saying that we need to transfer our money to allow us into Oz through them, to rpove we have funding for our year out there. Does anyone know if we can just prove we have the money by showing them a British bank account statement, then open an account over there? Sorry if that isnt well explained, we're new to the whole moving to the other side of the world thing, and we're not sure if we're being conned by our visa company... Any help would be greatly appreciated! Cheers, N & R x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mrsjjm Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 hiya my name is jo and i was just wondering if you can open an account with bankwest from the uk ?we are due to fly 2 brisbane begining of sept!any help would be great jox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxine Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Opening an account from the UK is easy and all of the major banks are extremely helpful. We fly out to Brisbane beg of Sept and have sorted an account with Westpac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cazbeckham Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Mrs JJM No you cannot open a bank account with Bankwest from the UK, you have to wait till you get out there. I have tried and they won't do it. I think it the only Australian bank that will not let you open an account from the UK. I need to open one with then for my home account and also a business account, I can't do neither till I get out there, which is a pain really............. I would have liked to have had it sorted before I got there. Good Luck when you leave the UK Caz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mrsjjm Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Thanks for the replys! it seems that bankwest are the only ones that dont have any charges?is this right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cazbeckham Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Hi Jo (no not my Daighter Jo) Yes you are right they dont have any charges as my Daughter JoHatts on here will tell you or has already mentioned in this thread. So I think we will wait till we get there and sort things out then. We will be using HIFX to transfer our money as we want them to transfer my OH pensions that he gets paid now in UK to an Autralian Bank and as long as a direct debit is set up with them for them to transfer the money each month they will not charge. Caz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kali02 Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 According to www.banks.com.au there are other transaction accounts with zero fees out there and the site gives comparisons of lots of other Aus financial products. Most countries have money laundering and fraud prevention requirements that will prevent you opening accounts from overseas. This is particularly true after 9/11 as stricter regulations were introduced to identify and cease terrorist funding. For Bank West, you have to have an ATO number, deposit min $2,000 pm and provide evidence that you can do so, pass an identity check that requires you to get 100 points (which you can only do if you have either an Aus state benefit card, Aus drivers licence, Aus council rate bill or Aus utility bill) and also undergo a credit check. Hence the reason you can't open it from overseas. Some of the migration agents will arrange a bank account for you and there are other ways, such as going via a UK branch of an Aus bank. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia in particular is one bank I know of that opens accounts in Aus specifically for UK residents relocating / migrating there and also for those of us who've decided that the grass isn't greener after all! I got some info from them last year, but it's probably out of date now so worth taking a look at the website. However, they basically get you to fill in an app form and provide a utility bill, certified copy of your passport and a bank statement, then they open an account with a transfer facility. It takes about 1 week to open. You pay money into the transfer facility and it gets converted into Aus $ using an apparently 'preferential commercial exchange rate' (or so they told me last year!) and thn sent direct to your new Aus account. It's free to open the account and you pay a $15 transfer fee for any amount under $30,000. Word of warning, you should check out the fees for Cash Investment Account (page 28) before you apply because it looks like they charge for practically everything! Plus, you cannot withdraw your money again until you are in Aus and have passed the usual checks. As always, shop around and speak to a qualified Aus financial advisor if you are unsure. :yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alan_blue Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 has anyone used HSBC as they are an international bank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sazzle76 Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 Has anyone got an Aussie credit card that they use in the UK? Will this help towards obtaining an Aussie credit rating before we move? Im thinking of getting an Australian Visa card. We dont use credit cards as a rule but wondered if the exchange rate and charges etc would be too high to make it worthwhile? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scottie27 Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 has anyone used HSBC as they are an international bank? Hi, We bank with HSBC, and have just opened an account in the Brisbane branch, it costs £100 to open over here. Ours is the online account min deposit to open $2000. There is no monthly service charge and most of the local transactions are free. Don't know if its the best account available but its convenient. We could have had our cards and pins sent over here but decided that it was cutting it a bit fine, as we leave on 23/8. They will be waiting in the branch when we get there. Barb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ASPIS4 Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 we have opened account with Westpac and if you have bal of 3000 dollars there are no charges, just got to take id to the local branch on arrival to oz, what are Hsbc exactly doing for 100.00?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJ. Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 has anyone used HSBC as they are an international bank? We bank with HSBC, and have just opened an account in the Brisbane branch, it costs £100 to open over here. Ours is the online account min deposit to open $2000. There is no monthly service charge and most of the local transactions are free. I bank with HSBC in the UK, and I have also opened a basic bank account with HSBC in Sydney. It was worth doing, because even if nothing else, your credit history goes with you so you don't have to mess about on that front. Everyone I dealt with was efficient and made it all relatively easy for me. However, unlike scottie27, there was no fee for me to open it - I opened it with no money going into it, the balance is still Nil, and it will remain so until I get to Sydney later in the year and start transferring money across. I should add that I have a Premier account with HSBC, hence the nil fee I think. Lack of ATMs means I might switch my bank at some stage, but at least I've got the account there and ready to use as and when I get there so don't have to worry about it then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scottie27 Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 we have opened account with Westpac and if you have bal of 3000 dollars there are no charges, just got to take id to the local branch on arrival to oz, what are Hsbc exactly doing for 100.00?? I think it was the privilege of opening it for you! But it was convenient. JJ yep paid the fee because not a premier customer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kali02 Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 Just thought of another question - does anyone know if there are charges for transferring funds back from Aus to the UK on the Westpac accounts? We will need to be sending funds back to cover our mortgage payments here, at least initially, and really can't afford to pay a fee on doing so! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pinhead Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 I think it's around $22 for CBA to send a TT back to the UK. It'd setup an account with Hifx in Sydney, that way you'll avoid the charges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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