recommended banks

[Guest chillyanna]

HI all

can any body recommend a bank in adelaide to bank with, i have heard about WESTPAC linking up with HIFX and what benifits that has and i am interested in them at the mo,

but i would like to hear from other people with their opinions of other banks please.

many thanks

paul

[Guest dglamoore]

Hi Paul

We used the link up between HIFX and Westpac to sort our banking. The account was set up quickly and have had no problems with them this end - even on first name terms with our bank manager who is a scouser and very friendly :jiggy:We even had internet banking sorted from UK so we could see our transfers had arrived ok in OZ which was great for peace of mind.

 

Do know of a few friends that used commenwealth with no problems too.

 

Lisa:p

[foxychick]

ANZ been good so far, opened from UK with little drama, was able to open additional savings account in order to get interest, easy to sort once arrived, appears reasonable fees.

 

Based on experience so far would recommend them

[Guest thecartwrights]

Certainly WOULD NOT recommend ANZ! We opened a Bank Account with them whilst we were here on our reckie the beginning of last year, with no problems. Then 3 months later we emigrated out here and went to them after 4 weeks of renting asking about mortgages and they did not want to know, wouldnt even talk to us about them until hubbie had been in his job more than 3 months!

 

So we went to THE COMMONWEALTH BANK via a Broker and a week 3 days later we had a Mortgage Offer. Plus the fees on the new Bank accounts and the Credit Card were waivered

 

We moved into our new house just 2 months after being here...................now 10 months later and cant beleive how quick its gone

 

Sarah

[Guest Guzzler&Sas]

Hi,

 

We opened an account with the Commonwealth in London and transfered our funds with them (they gave us a better rate than Hifx), on arrival in Adelaide activated the account and everything was up and running, applied for a credit and got that within 2 weeks.

Make sure you inform them of your Tax File Number(can only be applied for once you are in Oz) as soon as you get it.

 

Good luck

 

Guzzler

[Guest LOUISE HANNAH]

How Much Did You Pay In Fees

[cormcvcr]

Hi Paul,

 

We opened an account with Commonwealth Bank while we were over in April 07. Very easy to do, we also used HIFX a few weeks ago to transfer our savings over while the rate was good, no problems at all, very simple/easy experience and staff from bank and hifx were excellent.

 

HIFX don't charge any fees, the bank on the other hand charge $6 per month for their fees on a streamline account (current a/c), but the interest rate wasn't great so we opened a savings account online which only gave 6.25% interest and we wanted more!

 

So on advisement from the online advisor, we contacted the commonwealth bank branch and spoke to a customer service agent and asked for a better rate, in the end we froze the money for 3 months initially with an interest rate of 6.75%. This timescale can be adjusted again after the 3 months, hopefully we will know a bit more as far as our visa is concerned and make an executive decision based on this, whether we will leave as it is or freeze again for another short time.

 

The customer service in Australia does seem to be a lot better than here and no job seems too much for them. So far anyway!!!!!

 

see ya.

[Guest smit]

Used Commonwealth initially, and had to many problems dealing with the incompetent woman in the city branch..........moved to ANZ local branch and have had no problems.........Used HIFX initially, good and professional. but haggle between rival traders. Also used ozforex recently.......also very good and probably prefer to HIFX.

 

Smit

[Guest Rachel & Jeff]

We saw a mortgage adviser when we were on our reccie and were advised to use Commonwealth particularly if we want a mortgage before we have been there for 3 months. He said that even with a substantial deposit some banks wouldn't give a loan immediately but that Commonwealth would.

 

Rachel

[Guest chillyanna]

hi and thanks to all who posted info on this page, it has been a great help deciding which back to go with once in adelaide. i was thinking of westpac but now im split between westpac and commonwealth??

 

now more questions have come to mind,

do i have to go to london to open a account with the commonwealth bank or is there another way and also where is there branch in london?

i wont need a mortgage right away but maybe after 6 months it is good to know they are a good option for one.

 

i also heard westpac will send you your vias/mastercard cards while still in the uk and then you activate them when you arrive in adelaide,is this a similar thing with the commonwealth bank?

 

thanks everyone

paul

[Guest Guzzler&Sas]

hi and thanks to all who posted info on this page, it has been a great help deciding which back to go with once in adelaide. i was thinking of westpac but now im split between westpac and commonwealth??

 

now more questions have come to mind,

do i have to go to london to open a account with the commonwealth bank or is there another way and also where is there branch in london?

i wont need a mortgage right away but maybe after 6 months it is good to know they are a good option for one.

 

i also heard westpac will send you your vias/mastercard cards while still in the uk and then you activate them when you arrive in adelaide,is this a similar thing with the commonwealth bank?

 

thanks everyone

paul

 

Hi Paul,

 

Give them a call and they will talk you through it, you will not need to go to London to open an account

 

United Kingdom

Commonwealth Bank of Australia Branch Office

Senator House

85 Queen Victoria Street

London EC4V 4HA

Telephone: (44 20) 7710 3999

Facsimile: (44 20) 7710 3939

Regional General Manager Europe & North America: Paul Orchart

 

Good luck

 

Guzzler

[Guest sarahsmartiepants]

I wouldnt touch the yellow bank beginning with C with a 40 foot barge pole, the women in the city couldnt organise a p up in a brewery!!! Lost my money, the only way I could get it back was at tax return time, due to her imcompetence! Closed the account after that mistake, it was the 4th one they had made in as many months!!!

sarah

[Guest dglamoore]

Both Westpac and Commenwealth have migrant banking websites with info and can apply online -

 

Commonwealth - http://www.migrantbanking.co.uk/moving_to_australia/

Westpac - http://www.westpac.com.au/internet/publish.nsf/Content/PBITMB+Moving+to+Australia

 

Lisa:v_SPIN:

[foxychick]

I guess there are good and bad in both, we looked on BE also for threads on banks and kind of looked at the majority of opinions, the ones you can open over the internet appear to be limited, so that narrowed down choice. So far (fingers crossed) our dealings with staff have been excellent (at 3 different branches) and their charges seem reasonable.

 

Go with whatever you feel happy with, you can always change once you arrive if you are unhappy.

 

One thing to note, our kids had a reasonable bank balance due to money given when they were born etc. I made the decision to shut the UK accounts which pay good, tax free interest, only to find here, kids accounts aren't really like that, they pay very little interest, you are likely to be better off opening them a regular account like ANZ V2plus (only using that as an example as they are our bank at present) to get higher interest.

[Guest Tracijbc]

Last weekend at an emigration show nab (National bank of Australia) gave us info about their migrant services. An account can be opened up to twelve months in advance of move with no deposit. Funds can be transferred to nab from either Yorkshire Bank or Clydesdale Bank so the money is under FSA conditions at all times. The nab account is an interest paying savings account with instant access and once arrived more accounts can be opened. The transfer is supposed to be cheaper than other banks but not as cost effective as HIFX. However seems safer and less hassle afterall most towns and cities have Yorkshire and or Clydesdale branches. The other advantage is having a longer banking history once arrived. Thats what the man said. I haven't read all the small print yet. May be of interest. What experiances of nab does anyone have.

 

Matt