Australian Banks for working holidayers - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

MIKEHONCHO · 11-22-2007, 09:53 PM

I was wondering if anybody knew of any banks in Australia that were the best when they were doing a working holiday and how easy or hard it is to open an account. I would be looking for one that would have a monthly fee for unlimited or high amount of atm and or debit uses.
thanks

**aliz** · 11-22-2007, 11:57 PM

I don't know which ones are particularly good for working holidays, but I'm with St George. Commonwealth, Westpac and St George would be good ones just because they have branches and ATMs everywhere

**mermaidnz** · 11-23-2007, 02:42 AM

do you mean, good to work in? or good to sign up with as a customer?

if you go to each banks website it should have a rundown of its products and banking facilities. i know more banks have some form of savings account with unlimited atm withdraws for about $5-$10 a month in fees.

www.anz.com.au
www.westpac.com.au
www.suncorp.com.au
www.nab.com.au
www.stgeorge.com.au

should be your main aussie banks, hope that helps

MIKEHONCHO · 11-23-2007, 06:27 PM

Is it very hard to open a bank account in Australia if you are not a resident or from Australia?

**mermaidnz** · 11-23-2007, 07:04 PM

hmmm, honestly, i dont know. try flicking an email to one of the banks and they can tell you what you will need.

im sure,so long as you have some id you should be fine, but i dunno. sorry

MIKEHONCHO · 11-23-2007, 07:45 PM

Thanks

**raoulduke** · 11-23-2007, 07:51 PM

I'm with the Commonwealth Bank.

Check out this link http://www.commbank.com.au/movingtoaustralia/

**Diorama** · 11-23-2007, 11:30 PM

when i did my working holiday two years ago it was easy. But you have to have a mailing address because they send you the atm card via the mail. So maybe you can get it sent to the hostel. i was with anz bank.

MIKEHONCHO · 11-24-2007, 01:03 AM

I guess in Australia they have a place like mail box etc. where you can rent a po box

cattlikewoah · 11-24-2007, 03:06 PM

yup. just get one from the post office (australia post).

go to http://www.infochoice.com.au/banking...gs/default.asp
this *might* help you because it will compare most banks.
ignore the credit unions, too hard to find an atm.
stick with the ones people have mentioned here (anz, westpac, commonwealth, st george, nab/national australia bank)

i'm with westpac which is part of some global atm alliance (it has ties with Bank of America and Scotiabank etc etc).

commonwealth bank is probably the one where the atms are just EVERYWHERE... but if you learn where the atms for your bank are, you'll save the other-bank-atm withdrawal fee.

depends where you're working in australia. i've been with almost every bank i've listed (except for nab) and commonwealth was the easiest to find atms (although i left them a few years ago because they didnt offer unlimited transactions anymore). anz were idiots constantly (they kept forgetting to process my paperwork on several occasions and kept charging me fees then having to reimburse me because they were idiots) and st george was good but i ultimately ended up with westpac.

MIKEHONCHO · 11-24-2007, 08:51 PM

Has anybody used citibank or more specifically the citibank Plus Transaction Account, it says that it has unlimited atm withdrawls from their and other bank's atm's.

cattlikewoah · 11-24-2007, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MIKEHONCHO

Has anybody used citibank or more specifically the citibank Plus Transaction Account, it says that it has unlimited atm withdrawls from their and other bank's atm's.

looks good!
i dont see many citibank atms, so thats prob why non-citibank atms dont charge...

let me know how it goes... might be worth my while to switch.

when you planning on being in australia and where?

MIKEHONCHO · 11-25-2007, 01:52 AM

Well my working holiday visa said that I have to be there by October 29th of 2008 but I just accepted a 13 month contract job so it looks like january or feburary 2009. Is jan or feb a good time to visit Australia or Sydney?

cazbob · 11-25-2007, 03:28 AM

hey i arrived in oz about 6 weeks ago and on the recommendation of a friend joined ANZ. They were really nice, really helpful and i'm only charged AUS$5 a month for unlimited transactions (u do have to use their atms, but they are all over the place so it's usually not an issue, and ur atm card has a debit card feature which u can use at the point of sale so u don't necessarily need cash all the time!!)!

if u join a bank within 6 weeks of arriving in Oz u only need to provide your passport showing your date of entry and relevant visa! if u leave it longer than 6 weeks u will have to provide other forms of ID so best to do it as soon as u get a chance!

hope this helps

cattlikewoah · 11-25-2007, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MIKEHONCHO

Well my working holiday visa said that I have to be there by October 29th of 2008 but I just accepted a 13 month contract job so it looks like january or feburary 2009. Is jan or feb a good time to visit Australia or Sydney?

Its the hottest time of the year (of course, its our summer) so as long as you're well prepared for an Aussie summer (they're getting hotter and hotter... it's only November and it's already heating up!)...

Just remember to put on sunscreen when you're here! Dont spend your first few weeks in OZ sunburnt!

If you come in Jan, you'll get to celebrate Australia Day which is an excuse to drink and have a BBQ. Summer festivals etc are on. January is a bit of a lazy month I think - everyone takes their holidays around that time.

**TheWills** · 11-25-2007, 01:25 PM

hey dude
Ok well I can help you on this one.
When I was there I went with Commonwealth they are really good and it was really easy to set up an account like some people have mensiond you WILL need a mailing adress. This is really easy just ask the hostel you are staying at for there details and they will give it to you no prob. Since you are working then your probably gonna be settled down somewhere and most likely its gonna be a hostel and you should have no issues gettin them details.

Also you may need a phone number, if you have a cell phone then sweet your golden, if you dont have one then really invest in picking one up cause I found finding work without a contact number is total misery in Oz, you can get a cheap one for pfffttt like 60 dollars or something and just pay as you go.

ANZ is another good bank, they like was said are really cheap with the 5 bucks a month unlimited withdrawls this is a great feature, and on the plus side if you go to New Zealand for whatever reason they are everywhere there as well
Westpac like was said is good.....but I wouldent go with them, I would only reccomend them to people who are traveling there and not working becuase they are partners with Scotiabank and Bank of America, there is one more I cant remeber right now, but this feature is great because if you have a partner bank WITHDRAWLS ARE WITHOUT SERVICE CHARGE!!!!! Which is like 5 dollars or something like that every time you take out money. However they are a pain in the ass to get set up with and they charge heaps for withdrawls, you really have to do your reserch with them if your thinking about it.
Every other bank I would skip or not worry about.
So my suggestion is Commonwealth, Cheap, Everywhere in OZ and easy to get started with, again unless your going to NZ during your trip these are the boys you wanna run with.
wills

jess116 · 01-03-2008, 07:21 PM

I know its probably too late to add anything to this but I saw citibank mentioned above... Citibank is terrible! They are horrible and I would never recommend anybody use them. Their deals may seem good, but their service to my family has been apalling, they try to talk you into things and they make a lot of mistakes and ...yeah. no good... but that is just my own personal opinion of them. i recommend St. George