Last month, ANZ increased the account keeping fee for their Access Select banking account from nil to $2 a month. A few days later, Westpac has also increased their fee to $7.50 a month for their “Classic” transaction account. Vivian changed from Westpac to ANZ (which I have been a customer for years) last year for the fact that she has to start paying fees as she was no longer working for Westpac, and now she isn’t really happy that she is again facing monthly account keeping fees. I tried to explain to her that $2 a month wasn’t that much, but then the fee does add up after several years.
So the problem to be solved today is — is there an everyday bank account that does not have monthly account keeping fee attached? Here are some of the requirements:
- Convenient — that means branches available “locally”, you don’t have to travel 2 hours to have free withdrawal from ATM’s, Plus or Masestro for cash withdrawal overseas, etc. I think it would rule out most Credit Unions and building societies.
- Good Internet Banking — Vivian does most of her banking on Safari Mac OS X. Last time we tried Westpac did not work.
- No special condition — we are not pensions, disabled, nor students. We are just too cheap to pay that $2 monthly fee.
- Reasonable minimum account balance — I’ll say $1,000 is reasonable (Vivian might beg to differ). Anything more you’ll rather put into an Internet saving account for that extra interest rate.
So far I have only managed to locate St. George’s Freedom account that matches all the criteria, except maybe Internet Banking, where their Java-based web application really annoys me. “Freedom” account charges no account keeping fee if the balance is above $1,000 ($6/month otherwise), and provides 10 free St. George ATM transactions a month. They have one branch near 9 Ways round about which is kind of convenient. Not to mention that Chenny also works with them :)
Now I just need to see whether Vivian is happy to move again for that $2 a month saving. Any other options?
HSBC. They don’t have that many branches but there is one in Maroubra and a few in the CBD. Their free withdrawals covers all ATMs, not just theirs. Their internet banking works well with Safari. No account keeping fee and no minimum account balance.
I’m with HSBC as well. Its called the Online Savings Account. The website says:
http://www.hsbc.com.au/personal/accounts/osa.html
Here is what you get:
* A high 4.75% p.a.1 interest rate
* 5.50% p.a. on deposits greater than $500,0001
* Fee-free banking options within Australia
* Unlimited HSBC ATM transactions
* Five free ATM transactions per month, at any bank ATM2
* Free BPAY®, EFTPOS and GiroPost®
* Free automated Telephone Banking access
* Cheque book option3
* Instant access to withdrawals
* Interest calculated daily and paid monthly
* No minimum balance after opening
* Link to your online broking or margin lending account
There is a minimum of A$2,000 deposit required to open an Online Savings Account, but this does not need to be maintained after account opening. Please note applicants who are under the age of 16 or not Australian residents are not eligible to open an Online Savings Account.
Is that the Online Saving Account? No wonder I missed it as I automatically assume anything “on-line” to be Internet saving account with no ATM or branch access.
$1.00 for a cheque is a bit expensive but I guess personal cheque is not often used these days. Looks like a good option — only if Vivian can overcome her HSBC-phobia :)
heii!! :p i think STG internet banking is the most user friendly one, compared with other banks’. all icons, very easy to use.
have you check STG incentive saver account? $1 monthly fee for balance less than $500. only 1 free ATM/counter withdrawal though. but unlimited eftpos (if using multiaccess card (VISA debit). unlimited ph/ibank as well. http://www.stgeorge.com.au/accounts/savings/incentsaver.asp?orc=personal
i can get fees & charges booklet for all STG accounts if you want to have a look.
Chenny,
I guess one reason I dislike about STG’s internet banking is that it has *too many* icons! Very busy. In your face kind of presentation. Besides Java on my browser kept on crashing.
And Incentive Saver Account looks interesting. 1 free withdrawal per month looks a bit limiting though. We’ll prefer a combination of transaction account and Internet saving account, and Vivian is very good at keeping the amount of cash in transaction account at “bare-minimum”.
It is good to save, thanks Scott who have reviewed all my special strategies, but what about saving my face??
Upps, I sense upcoming domestic conflict here :-)
saving face? that’s a compliment vivian! :) able to manage money well is a skill that not many ppl have :p ;)
I’m curious as to why you need a local branch. My Credit Union only has one branch, in Sydney and I live in Adelaide. I use any ATM I like and they offset the fees against a fee free allowance every month which means I never pay fees. If I need to deposit a cheque I can do it at any NAB branch with a deposit book they send me. Their internet banking is fine and they pay significantly better interest than the banks on deposits and have lower interest loans.
Have a look at credit unions again, unless you have a lot more need to visit a branch than the average person I think that you might be surprised.
Why does Vivian have an HSBC phobia?? ;)
Dont touch HSBC with a barge pole, they are the pits, they charge for absolutely everything and then when you need to speak to someone about a problem they divert your call to someone who can’t string a sentence together in English!! Chose a bank like Home Building society, free banking, free cheques etc etc. I used to bank with First Direct in the UK, never a problem with them, and a great on line bank to be with, shame their counterpart here in Australia, HSBC can’t get their act together.
Elsie,
Everything Ali has said :)
I have never been a customer of HSBC so I have no first hand experience — all told by Vivian. Apparently she has difficulty accessing her account opened in Chatswood from the Maroubra branch, as she was told that some of the “it wasn’t possible”. Hello?! Ain’t we in the 21st century? And there are other bad experience with the customer services when you visit a branch. Just ask Vivian when you see her on Sundays.
And maybe credit union/building society might be a good idea as well. I’ll check out.
Funny, to me HSBC comes across as wanting to reach the Cantonese/Mandarin speaking market. Most of the workers I’ve met are young Hongkie girls, not unlike Vivian…
Not that I’m affiliated with them in any way but check out http://www.intechcu.com.au
Tom,
You are right, they are trying to reach out Chinese customer, who has couple of hundred thousands dollar sitting in their saving accounts, or rich “tai tai” who go to the branch for social and relationship building rather than getting real banking done. Unfortunately, I just don’t seem to fit into that category.
Elsie,
On top of all the things that has been said, there are few other things I dislike about HSBC (1) I was never able to receive the end of year tax statement from them. Everytime I ask them for one (for tax purposes) they will charge me $7 for a reprint, that is a reap off. (2) I have never been able to use their online banking due to incorrect password or login?! (3) Their branch and telephone banking staff may be friendly, but are never able to answer your request directly. I just fell that they may have some issue with their internal operation. I just very hard to get (what I think is) a simple task done in a time efficient manner, and you may not get what you want in the first instance. Lastly, HSBC has provided inconsistent information to the customer and the ATO. There was once ATO challenge me about the amount of tax I stated on my tax return. Since I never receive any tax statement from the bank, I need to pay $14 to reproduce the required documents to be send to ATO, only later to find out that HSBC has provided a different figure to the tax office.
With the choices I have at hand, I will give extra thoughts on using HSBC again.
About St George Bank, its now $3000 minimum to be kept in the Freedom Account so that the $6 a month will not come into effect.
Try the Bendigo Bank.
No monthly fee.
Just $300 to open a Bendigo Blue Visa Debit or a normal cashcard account.
Not too many branches around, but NO MONTHLY FEE. If you don’t want a reward point accruing system, otherwise, with a rewards points accuring system, its just $2 a month.
I was wondering if somebody can tell me what credit union I can open an account with so that I can deposit a cheque through the NAB branch? My company still pays wages by
cheques, which I know he is behind the times. I have a NAB branch directly opposite my building, so it is convenient to deposit the cheques into an account.
Also, I just need an account where I can withdraw cash maybe 1 to 2 times a month, and to transfer money to another account via internet banking.
I am living in Melbourne. Also, if the credit union is interstate, is it possible for me to open an account with them?
hi guys,
i did the same search at the begining of the year. I ended up with citibank.
the have an account (citibank plus)- no monthly fee if you deposit your salary ( or any amount greater than 300 every month). they give visa debit card as the atm card, no fees for withdrawals from any bank atm, unlimited withdrawals, a linked saving acount that pays 6% + interest, .
I have used it for the last 6 months and been very happy with it.
Unlike HSBC they dont send you an annoying key fob ( which contains a random number generator), so internet banking is quite easy.
They support bpay etc ofcourse, and the visa debit card is useful if some people dont have or want credit cards.
Thats my 2 cents
Hi,
I opened an account with Citibank in June. However, I have found out that this was a waste of time and effort. When I opened the account, I had to deposit wages of $500 to avoid the fee, which was fine to start off with. However, the account requirements have now changed for the citibank plus account.
As of the the 1/1/08, to avoid the $5 fee, will have to deposit wages of $3000. So now it looks like citibank is also getting money hungry, and is only now catering for people that have a lot of money to deposit each month.
So now I have just opened up an account with MECU which I receive up to $3 to use for transaction fees if it is under $5,000, which is suitable for my needs.
For more details, check out their website at http://www.mecu.com.au/.
They do have a linked savings account which has 6.15%, but you need to have $5,000 to get the interest rate.
So later this month, I will be closing down my citibank account, which is a pity, because since of all the effort I went to, to shop around and to get the account opened.
the bank of queensland ( BOQ) which is rapidly growing with branches popping up almost everywhere, has a fee free account, as long as the balance is AUD $ 2000
Theye even credit you AUD $ 2 per month if the balance does not fall below that limit.
Fee free, cheque book , = BRILLIANT customer service.
Tell the “BIG BANKS” ( with huge fees and no customer service) where to shove it ! ;o)
Hi Lindsay,
Compared to MECU, I’m currently using Bank of Queensland (http://www.boq.com.au/), which has a regular saving account that charges $4.00 per month for savings under $2000.
The internet savings account, however, offers 6.20%pa interest rate for savings over $2000, and they pay the interest every month. So it’s really giving you benefit that you can see monthly. It can be linked to the regular savings, and there’s no limit as for the money withdrawals.
One of the VISA card itself offer no annual fee but still gave Q-rewards for points.
The only downside, is that there are not as many BOQ ATM around. But as time goes, you will get used to the locations of the ATMs or simply by cashing out from supermarket.
I hope this would give you more insight to Banks around Australia.
Hi Harrribo and John,
Thanks for the info.
I have looked into the Bank of Queensland, for my usage and needs, I still prefer MECU. I would rather put the $2000 into a high interest account and earn better interest and pay no fees, than having the $2000 into an account, just so to receive a credit of $2.
I have done some calculations. I can receive approximately $10 interest at 6% with the $2000.
As well, I can withdraw money from any ATM without being penalised.
So for my needs, I am still going to stick with MECU because I don’t do many transactions.
The Bend-U-over Blue card from Bendigo won’t be an option soon either. My inside info tells me that they too are now set to start charging a monthly fee rumored to be around $3 a month per card plus other fee’s. So $36 a year just for the card. :(
This will be the second time in my life that I have / will be leaving them and taking my money to a better bank.
They really have no idea!
.-.-.
Do NOT bank with HSBC – I opened their fee-free account – what a joke! I have suffered nearly $100 of charges in the first month.
A few days ago I deposited a cheque for a small amount of money in my HSBC account. Three days later that amount appeared in my balance. There was no indication of a “pending” transaction or any indication that I could not withdraw the money so I transferred the money to my mortgage. The next day I found I had been charged almost $100 in dishonour fees – it seems that the cheque had not cleared despite the fact that there was no indication on the website that I couldn’t use the money the way I did.
I’m furious. It’s not the money so much as the complete rip-off. My complaints have just been fobbed off – very rudely.
Anyway – my advice is don’t bank with HSBC.
I was just wondering if there’s any bank I can bank my money that won’t charge monthly fees. I do only deposits and withdraws.
Have you checked out Bank West?
They have a Mastercard debit card, which might be suitable.
Have a look at http://www.bankwest.com.au/Personal/Transaction_Accounts/MasterCard_Debit_Card/index.aspx
What is wrong with a credit union?
I am with MECU which is a credit union. I can have up $3 is ATM fees. I can only use the redicash ATMs only. If I use other banks, I will be charged a fee.
I am also with IMB, which is a bank. Since there is only 1 in Melbourne, and if use redicash ATMs, and stay under $5 in transactions, then I won’t be charged any fees.