[skidadle]

hi there. my partner and i will be travelling in oz for a year and want to open bank accounts.. do you need to have an address over there? i was hoping to have an online account without the need of a mailing box or anything.. will our passports be sufficient id? can't seem to find out on the bank websites

thanx xxx

[Tim Uden]

Your passports should be sufficient if you apply for your account as soon as you arrive in the country. But if you leave it for a few months you may be asked to provide more information. You will need a local address, but this can just be the address of the hostel you are staying at.

You will need to apply in person at a branch after you arrive in Australia. I doubt that you will be able to apply online without already having a credit history in Australia.

[gladtosing]

Originally Posted by Tim Uden

Your passports should be sufficient if you apply for your account as soon as you arrive in the country. But if you leave it for a few months you may be asked to provide more information. You will need a local address, but this can just be the address of the hostel you are staying at.

You will need to apply in person at a branch after you arrive in Australia. I doubt that you will be able to apply online without already having a credit history in Australia.

for most countries your existing bank will have some association with banks in the country you need an account in ;so check this out before leaving as this is a much easier way to do things

[katerees]

In addition, if you require a bank account, use woolworths - they are free of charge, where all other banks charge in Aus. Hope this helps, kate

www.travellers-content.co.uk

[lihugelem]

Swiss bank account opening can be very easy,
If you want to open an account for yourself online
without any hassle, just follow this link:

http://open-bank-account.com

[RomyKhaiba]

I am hoping to open a bank account using the address of the hostel like you said Tim, but which bank is the biggest in Australia, i.e Has cashpoints/ATM machines everywhere? Do you get charged for taking cash from an ATM of another bank like you used to in the uk??

[Tim Uden]

The biggest bank in Australia is the Commonwealth Bank, and NAB, Westpac and ANZ aren't far behind. If you open an account with one of these four banks you can find ATMs almost anywhere.

You are usually charged for taking cash from another bank's ATM, so the ATM network is important. However you can also withdraw cash when you pay for groceries with your ATM card and some banks don't charge for this.

[gregausti]

Tim has mentioned the banks referred to as the big 4, another smaller bank St.George now having merged with Westpac and so they will now be a little bigger but could also close what they consider to be any duplicated branches, ie. ones of the former St.G and W close to oneanother.

Bendigo Bank has also amalgamated with the Bank of Adelaide and they will be tapping on the door to be part of the big 5 - they also have what are called community banks in a lot of smaller commu nities where big4 banks had decided to leave or never had a service.

A couple of the banks do have provision for opening accounts online and so you can deposit money before you leave home and then just walk in with your passport, get your account ID and account activated - very similar to just getting an account opened on arrival bit not the advantage of having the money already there.
ANZ has about the easiest to read website about it - Moving to Australia
Westpac might be the other and Commonwealth and National I think do not have the facility, and you could check www.bendigobank.com.au