Cheque, Credit or Savings?????

[Guest Carkyde]

Hi can someone explain the difference in these when you are asked at the till? Also how do you get Flybys cards? and are they worth it?

 

Thanks C

[sue2oz]

Hi can someone explain the difference in these when you are asked at the till? Also how do you get Flybys cards? and are they worth it?

 

Thanks C

 

i had the same problem still dont understand dont know what flybys are either good luck hehe

 

suexxx

[Guest cornish Busdriver]

Hiya.

Credit is credit card and takes a few days to show on your account.

Saving comes direct out of your account.

Dont know about cheque as i dont use that one, i only use saving.

Fly buys are like shell fuel points, spend $5 to get 1 point.

Hope this helps.

Matt.

Christies beach

[Guest Carkyde]

Thanks that makes it clearer.

[Guest Martin and Val]

The way I read it is.

If you say Cheque it comes out of your account immediatly as does savings. If you use a credit card it is obviuosly on credit. At an ATM machine if you put in your debit card and press withdraw cash from "savings" it is invalid, you must press the Cheque option.

It's all a bit silly.........

Flybuys: we applied for Flybuys cards over the internet and within a couple of days a card each arrived which are both linked. Use these the same as the old Tesco loyalty card and collect points. These points can be used against shopping vouchers, dining, hotels, movies etc. You can earn points at: Target, K-Mart, Coles, Bi-Lo, Liquor Land, Office Work and others.

Visit: www.flybuys.com.au

Woolworts are also doing a loyalty card called Everyday Rewards. Just ask at the till for a card and then go on line to register. Again you can link cards to one account. Woolworths will stop issuing the fuel voucher at some stage and instead it will be linked to the loyalty card.

Visit: www.everydayrewards.com.au

Hope this helps

Martin

[Diane]

Thing to bear in mind with FlyBuys is that the points expire after three years - I keep trying to save enough for a weekend away and just as I get close the old ones drop off and I'm nowhere near again!

 

Also, our Debit (EFTPOS) card is linked to our Cheque Account here, but occasionally when a shop person has accidentally pressed "Savings" by accident, it just comes out of one of our other accounts!

 

One other small tip for newbies to the aussie banking system - if you withdraw cash from a machine other than your own banks you will get charged for the privilege - avoid this by geting Cash Back at the shops when you use your EFTPOS card - you can also do this at such places as petrol stations, postoffices, and fast food places.

 

D

[wizzywozza]

If you choose the cheque or savings option you are slugged MUCH higher fees for the privelege. Get a DEBIT Visa option linked to your account and ALWAYS choose the credit option. The fees will then be minimal. The Visa option is processed the same day through your account, so if there is a debit balance it usually will be declined at point of sale. Worth noting that the usual saftey guards associated with paying by credit are only there if you SIGN a slip, if you choose to use a PIN and anything goes amiss with the transaction then the onus is on you to cough up.

 

Cheque accounts attract very high fees, and there really is no need to have a cheque book in Oz. I doubt if I have used more then 4 or 5 cheques in 18 years here, in the UK I used a whole cheque book a week! If you do ever need a cheque drawn on your account you can get a bank one drawn in the bank for you.

[Lazy Cow]

I wouldn't normally disagree with Wizzy

 

a; because she's gorgeous and

b; because I'm

 

but we 'only' pay $4 per month for our cheque and savings accounts with Commonwealth - I kinda opened two by accident when we came over and have never bothered to close one down (oh yes, I truly am lazy!), anyway the four bucks pays for unlimited EFTPOS use. We never bothered getting a cheque book so I just use one account for bills and emergency (that means regularly obv!) cash whilst the savings option I use for er, stuff. Which means that I have two accounts, am paying two sets of fees for the same thing - unlimited use.

 

For credit I use my Virgin Mastercard which has no annual fee and therefore costs me nothing...provided I pay it back each month, which I do. to Virgin!

 

LC

 

PS. Flybuys might seem slow, but it only took me three years of shopping to get an $100 Coles card!

[Guest guest569]

we bank at westpac and have always used our debit card as 'savings" to pay for everything. The cards have now expired and they have told us to use our mastercard as " cheque" to get the money out of our account.

[Riponian]

Now I am confused even more! I just don't get why the banking system has to be complicated!

If we use our cheque option it is only for purchases of less than $1000

Savings does not work for us so generally we us credit all the time!

[Guest ReadyPenny]

Hi Guys

 

I work for Bank SA and this is how it works with them.

 

Whether you press credit, savings or cheque it still comes out of your day to day transaction account.

 

Hitting credit takes longer for the shop to get their money and creates a difference between your current and available balance.

 

Hitting savings or cheque means the shop gets their money immediately and your account balance is affected immediately, hence no difference between current and available.

 

Hitting the credit button as opposed to the cheque doesnt cost any more, eftpos transactions are eftpos transaction whichever options you choose. You will only incur a fee if your account charges fees for eftpos transactions.

 

Hope this is a little clearer. This only applies if you only have the one account linked to the card. If you have two accounts linked to the card, then you press cheque or credit for your day to day account and savings if you want to debit your savings account, but the bank will tell you which account is which on the eftpos terminal. Be careful with this one because if not set up correctly at the bank then hitting savings may not necessarily debit your savings account.

 

If you have more than one account linked to the card, double check with your bank which option to hit at the terminal to debit which account.

 

hope this clears things up a little

Mandy

[Guest ReadyPenny]

Hi Guys

 

I work for Bank SA and this is how it works with them.

 

Whether you press credit, savings or cheque it still comes out of your day to day transaction account.

 

Hitting credit takes longer for the shop to get their money and creates a difference between your current and available balance.

 

Hitting savings or cheque means the shop gets their money immediately and your account balance is affected immediately, hence no difference between current and available.

 

Hitting the credit button as opposed to the cheque doesnt cost any more, eftpos transactions are eftpos transaction whichever options you choose. You will only incur a fee if your account charges fees for eftpos transactions.

 

Hope this is a little clearer. This only applies if you only have the one account linked to the card. If you have two accounts linked to the card, then you press cheque or credit for your day to day account and savings if you want to debit your savings account, but the bank will tell you which account is which on the eftpos terminal. Be careful with this one because if not set up correctly at the bank then hitting savings may not necessarily debit your savings account.

 

If you have more than one account linked to the card, double check with your bank which option to hit at the terminal to debit which account.

 

hope this clears things up a little

Mandy

[jo_marnes]

People are paying for eftpos?? What banks are you with??

 

We have a debit mastercard and we don't get charged any transaction fees. Never used the cheque option but savings and credit work fine. The only difference is that savings comes out straight away and credit takes 3-5 days to come out of the account.

[catherine.c]

we dont pay any charges with westpac

catherine

[Guest Jim Scott]

Here is an explanation from the consumer website, choice.com.au

 

As hinted by another member earlier, the benefit of this system is that you can often use 1 card to access different accounts, depending which option you choose. In fact, many banks allow you more options, accessing "Other" accounts, all from the same card. Bank branches can normally set this up for you on the spot..

 

Many Banks will waive ATM fees if you have a mortgage with them (arranged via a broker or direct - doesn't matter) or if you have significants funds on deposit with them.

 

Comments from choice:

 

Cheque savings or credit

 

An increasing number of financial institutions now offer debit cards that can be used for transactions through both the Scheme (MasterCard or Visa) and EFTPOS systems.

If you have one of these cards, your decision about which button to press at the retailer's payment terminal determines which system your transaction goes through and what costs are paid behind the scenes.

 

When your debit card is swiped, you generally have three options:

 

• cheque
  
• savings
  
• credit
  

If you press Cheque or Savings, your transaction will be processed through the EFTPOS system after you enter your PIN. This means your bank will pay a flat fee — for example 5 cents — to the retailer’s bank.

 

However, if you press Credit, the transaction goes through the MasterCard or Visa scheme system. A MasterCard or Visa fee is paid by the retailer’s bank. “Chargeback” protection may also apply — handy when a retailer or manufacturer goes out of business but still owes you a product or money.

 

According to the Australian Merchants Payments Forum (AMPF), retailers prefer customers to press cheque or savings, as the costs for the retailer are lower (two or three of the largest retailers even receive a fee for EFTPOS transactions). “Banks, on the other hand, make more money when the Credit button is pressed,” says Russell Zimmerman, AMPF Chair.

 

David Bell, Chief Executive of the Australian Bankers' Association, points out that scheme debit card fees are regulated by the Reserve Bank. EFTPOS interchange fees are also regulated.

[Guest Nick11]

we bank at westpac and have always used our debit card as 'savings" to pay for everything. The cards have now expired and they have told us to use our mastercard as " cheque" to get the money out of our account.

 

Us too -very bizarre.

[Guest mOZzy]

we are with commonwealth and have a mastercard debit card!

2 accounts linked to it but have been told to always use 'credit' - that alone will protect us if any payments go wrong (like with visa)!

[Guest Peachie]

We have a westpac mastercard and were told use credit for eveything except atm and cash back as you spending is monitored with falcon Security program and any unual trends in your spending will be monitored to avoid fraud on your card we have a westpac chioce account (current account) and an e saver (deposit account) for interest and have not paid any fees and have a cheque book used once since nov (no charge)

the credit is not realy credit as comes of your account same day (no bills) same as uk debit card

 

hope that helps Deb

[Guest cherryn]

We have just been here 5 weeks and i find the banking confusing as well our account is with Westpac and they told us to use 'credit ' with our debit card unless we want money as cashback then we use'cheque' and if we use our mastercard its credit also ...

We have a savings account too but thankfully i dont have a card for that ... im sure i will get it eventually .

[jim and adel]

There you go, if these two pages of answers haven't cleared it up, I don't know what will!

 

Jim

[Sallyh]

If you choose the cheque or savings option you are slugged MUCH higher fees for the privelege. Get a DEBIT Visa option linked to your account and ALWAYS choose the credit option. The fees will then be minimal. The Visa option is processed the same day through your account, so if there is a debit balance it usually will be declined at point of sale. Worth noting that the usual saftey guards associated with paying by credit are only there if you SIGN a slip, if you choose to use a PIN and anything goes amiss with the transaction then the onus is on you to cough up.

 

Cheque accounts attract very high fees, and there really is no need to have a cheque book in Oz. I doubt if I have used more then 4 or 5 cheques in 18 years here, in the UK I used a whole cheque book a week! If you do ever need a cheque drawn on your account you can get a bank one drawn in the bank for you.

 

Hi Guys

 

I work for Bank SA and this is how it works with them.

 

Whether you press credit, savings or cheque it still comes out of your day to day transaction account.

 

Hitting credit takes longer for the shop to get their money and creates a difference between your current and available balance.

 

Hitting savings or cheque means the shop gets their money immediately and your account balance is affected immediately, hence no difference between current and available.

 

Hitting the credit button as opposed to the cheque doesnt cost any more, eftpos transactions are eftpos transaction whichever options you choose. You will only incur a fee if your account charges fees for eftpos transactions.

 

Hope this is a little clearer. This only applies if you only have the one account linked to the card. If you have two accounts linked to the card, then you press cheque or credit for your day to day account and savings if you want to debit your savings account, but the bank will tell you which account is which on the eftpos terminal. Be careful with this one because if not set up correctly at the bank then hitting savings may not necessarily debit your savings account.

 

If you have more than one account linked to the card, double check with your bank which option to hit at the terminal to debit which account.

 

hope this clears things up a little

Mandy

 

Here is an explanation from the consumer website, choice.com.au

 

As hinted by another member earlier, the benefit of this system is that you can often use 1 card to access different accounts, depending which option you choose. In fact, many banks allow you more options, accessing "Other" accounts, all from the same card. Bank branches can normally set this up for you on the spot..

 

Many Banks will waive ATM fees if you have a mortgage with them (arranged via a broker or direct - doesn't matter) or if you have significants funds on deposit with them.

 

Comments from choice:

 

Cheque savings or credit

 

An increasing number of financial institutions now offer debit cards that can be used for transactions through both the Scheme (MasterCard or Visa) and EFTPOS systems.

If you have one of these cards, your decision about which button to press at the retailer's payment terminal determines which system your transaction goes through and what costs are paid behind the scenes.

 

When your debit card is swiped, you generally have three options:

 

• cheque
  
• savings
  
• credit
  

If you press Cheque or Savings, your transaction will be processed through the EFTPOS system after you enter your PIN. This means your bank will pay a flat fee — for example 5 cents — to the retailer’s bank.

 

However, if you press Credit, the transaction goes through the MasterCard or Visa scheme system. A MasterCard or Visa fee is paid by the retailer’s bank. “Chargeback” protection may also apply — handy when a retailer or manufacturer goes out of business but still owes you a product or money.

 

According to the Australian Merchants Payments Forum (AMPF), retailers prefer customers to press cheque or savings, as the costs for the retailer are lower (two or three of the largest retailers even receive a fee for EFTPOS transactions). “Banks, on the other hand, make more money when the Credit button is pressed,” says Russell Zimmerman, AMPF Chair.

 

David Bell, Chief Executive of the Australian Bankers' Association, points out that scheme debit card fees are regulated by the Reserve Bank. EFTPOS interchange fees are also regulated.

 

All of the above very helpful... but I am still confused as it doesn't appear to matter on our account at all which we press... comes out of the same place but I have been choosing credit all the time on the basis I think it is safer? DH on the other hand who grew up in this bizarre banking system always uses savings. BUt in those days he didnt have a visa debit account...

[Guest katsmajic]

You've confused me now...

 

I'm with Adelaide Bank or Bendigo as its been taken over - i have a visa debit account, pay $5 pm charges, but i have to press credit even though its a debit card, the money leaves my account immediately - shows up online immediately too - i've tried pressing the other buttons - just to see if they worked and they dont...

[jo_marnes]

I prefer to use savings over credit because while the money comes straight out either way, if I choose credit the transaction takes forever to show up on my online bank which I use regularly. If I choose savings, the transaction is listed within 24 hrs (except for weekends). I like to keep track of my money so like to see where it's going! If you are happy with monthly statements etc, then using credit wouldn't be a problem