Guest Wallace Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Hey guys. Just wondering what the majority of people do re:opening an australian bank account? Has anyone opened an account prior to moving to Australia? Or do most people just wait until they are actually out in Australia? Any information welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pinhead Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 You can open an account before you get to Australia. This is a link from the CBA bank specifically for people looking to open one before arriving. http://www.commbank.com.au/movingtoaustralia/ CBA have ATMs everywhere in Oz and I've always found their service to be excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sam&Si Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Hiya Wallace, We opened a current account online with Westpac a couple of weeks ago, was really easy, no difficult questions and our paperwork/account number etc arrived within 10 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pingpongpom Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 You can open an account before you get to Australia.This is a link from the CBA bank specifically for people looking to open one before arriving. http://www.commbank.com.au/movingtoaustralia/ CBA have ATMs everywhere in Oz and I've always found their service to be excellent. Yep we also opened a Commonwealth Bank account before we went and have found them to be very good.. Tess:cute: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lmeade Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Commonwealth bank worked well for us since you can have it done it advance, we transferred some money with them to get the accouns generated and will be using HiFx for the rest since their rate is marginally better. All in all is was a painless process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jonseywife Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 We used Westpac.......... Most of the big Aussie banks offer a migrant account you can open from England. You have to activate it asap once you arrive and show your passport/visa etc (the call it 100 point ID check) I would check on-line first to see if there are any branches of the particular bank your thinking of, in the area you are heading for first. Good luck Sally-ann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest interested16 Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Thought i would get my little bit in.I opened an ANZ account before i came out here and was ready to use when i arrived and i also transferred into in every now and again from UK. Hope this helps ANZ Personal homepage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Like the above poster we opened an ANZ account before we left and they have been great ,i cannot fault them or there customer service.Westpac and commonwealth see the other popularones for us newcomers. Cal x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hazel and dave Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 Hi, Just like most people I opened an account with Commonwealth. Sent the forms off last monday and received a phone call last tuesday confirming the account was set up, got the paperwork wednesday morning - how's that for efficient? I intend to shop around for a more suitable account once I'm settled, but they were very helpful and they will transfer your cash over at pretty reasonable rates too from what I can gather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest melba Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 Thought i would get my little bit in.I opened an ANZ account before i came out here and was ready to use when i arrived and i also transferred into in every now and again from UK.Hope this helps ANZ Personal homepage I hope this isn't a REALLY stupid question :wacko:, but do you need an Australian address to open an account before you go, or can you use your UK one? I had an ANZ account when I was in Oz on a working holiday visa & would like one with them again. Even easier if I can open it before we get there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pinhead Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 No you can open one with a UK address no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest melba Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 No you can open one with a UK address no problem. Thanks, just had a look. Link for anyone else who's interested Preparing to move from the UK It is quite easy to open one when you're over there but I think I'll do it now- it's one less thing to worry about! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Oxfordlad Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 looking through the posts about setting up accounts in Oz before a move it seams most accounts can only be set up about 2-3 months before you move out there. Is there a way of opening an account for a longer term?? Or can you open one then fly over for a recci and confirm your details then fly home???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pinhead Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 I set up my CBA account 2 years before I got to Oz and before I had a visa etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sam&Si Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 looking through the posts about setting up accounts in Oz before a move it seams most accounts can only be set up about 2-3 months before you move out there. Is there a way of opening an account for a longer term?? Or can you open one then fly over for a recci and confirm your details then fly home???? We had no problem opening our current account well before we are due to leave. But, when I enquired with Westpac about their migrant savings account where your money can stay in sterling until the exchange rate improves and you want to turn it into $ - they said we had to validate it within 90 days of opening it so we're holding off on that at the moment - and trying to find the best account - any tips Pinhead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hazel and dave Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 Hi, Commonwealth said we could have the London part of the account active for 2 years before we took anything any further. That bit wasn't entirely relevant to us, but I'm pretty certin that was the deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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