Bank in Australia

[eva-usa]

Hi Freinds,

I am in USA & before leaving US for Australia I would like to open bank account in Australia. Becuase without that I cant setup wire transfer between US bank & Ausi Bank. US bank needs me physically present in country to do so.

Is there any option to open Bank account in Australia online? Which banks support this kind of request?

Thank you all !

[royen]

Originally Posted by eva-usa

Hi Freinds,

I am in USA & before leaving US for Australia I would like to open bank account in Australia. Becuase without that I cant setup wire transfer between US bank & Ausi Bank. US bank needs me physically present in country to do so.

Is there any option to open Bank account in Australia online? Which banks support this kind of request?

Thank you all !

I know of ANZ bank doing it. Check them out. I think you need to fax/courier in the filled in form to them and you have to activate it once you are in AU.

[Dolly]

We opened up a Westpac account for when we moved over

Open a Bank Account in Australia - Westpac

Dolly

[amaslam]

I use HSBC and could open it by having the documentation sent through a local HSBC branch. You can get the forms online, but you still need to do paper to setup the initial account.

Originally Posted by eva-usa

Hi Freinds,

I am in USA & before leaving US for Australia I would like to open bank account in Australia. Becuase without that I cant setup wire transfer between US bank & Ausi Bank. US bank needs me physically present in country to do so.

Is there any option to open Bank account in Australia online? Which banks support this kind of request?

Thank you all !

[eva-usa]

Thank you freinds. Looks like Westpac is more convinient as everything is online.

[californiabeachboy]

Originally Posted by eva-usa

Hi Freinds,

I am in USA & before leaving US for Australia I would like to open bank account in Australia. Becuase without that I cant setup wire transfer between US bank & Ausi Bank. US bank needs me physically present in country to do so.

Is there any option to open Bank account in Australia online? Which banks support this kind of request?

Thank you all !

You may also want to check out Citibank. They have branches in both the US and Australia, and you can transfer money between the two

[reddy.n]

Originally Posted by californiabeachboy

You may also want to check out Citibank. They have branches in both the US and Australia, and you can transfer money between the two

Please take a look at CommBank also, commbank.com.au. They have very nice plans. They have overseas branch offices in many countries and there overseas-teams help new users open-accounts and transfer money before they arrive in Australia. They are the largest in Australia (Volume, Numbers, ATMs etc). Haven't heard anything negative about it. There are no annual maintanance charges and no account minimums.

I liked there CommSec (CommSec.com.au) very much. There are no annual maintanance charges. CommSec trades done using CommBank Cash Management Account recieve special discount of $10 every trade. For CommBank users they charge $19 per trade vs $29 to others, while almost any other bank charges are in upward of $30/trade.

I would say CommBank is a One Stop Solution for every Banker, Saver and Investor in Australia. The last time when I made detailed comparision, I settled for CommBank and CommSec. Best part of them was no account minimums and no annual maintanance charges and there's no fee about inactivity fee.

[mpgrewal]

Originally Posted by reddy.n

Please take a look at CommBank also, commbank.com.au. They have very nice plans. They have overseas branch offices in many countries and there overseas-teams help new users open-accounts and transfer money before they arrive in Australia. They are the largest in Australia (Volume, Numbers, ATMs etc). Haven't heard anything negative about it. There are no annual maintanance charges and no account minimums.

I liked there CommSec (CommSec.com.au) very much. There are no annual maintanance charges. CommSec trades done using CommBank Cash Management Account recieve special discount of $10 every trade. For CommBank users they charge $19 per trade vs $29 to others, while almost any other bank charges are in upward of $30/trade.

I would say CommBank is a One Stop Solution for every Banker, Saver and Investor in Australia. The last time when I made detailed comparision, I settled for CommBank and CommSec. Best part of them was no account minimums and no annual maintanance charges and there's no fee about inactivity fee.

Thanks Reddy for detailed info. Guessing by your name, do they have a branch in Hyderabad I'm at Hyd and will need to make similar transfer in future (to any Aus bank), what are my options (involving minimum transfer charges)

[reddy.n]

Originally Posted by mpgrewal

Thanks Reddy for detailed info. Guessing by your name, do they have a branch in Hyderabad I'm at Hyd and will need to make similar transfer in future (to any Aus bank), what are my options (involving minimum transfer charges)

Last time I had contacted them thro' contact form at there website, and was adviced to contact Chennai Address (I had not metioned my city!). Later I checked it online and they only have a Representative Office at Bangalore (and, they don't service account-opening from this office) and the website did not mention any Chennai Address. I suggest you to contact them through the online contact-form to get the contact address. I am from Bengaluru, grandparents too used to live here

Here is a little notes from CommBank website:
Why choose CommSec Cash Management?
- No monthly account keeping fees
- Earn 4.00%pa* on every dollar in your Investment Account
- Access your cash with your CommSec Debit MasterCard®
- No transaction fees on domestic purchases
- Fee free access to Australia's largest bank ATM network


If you need Internet Access to you Account (which will be required for almost everyone unless they have a CommBank next to home or office!), you must note that you will need to sign up for at-least a NetSaver Account for which you pay AUD4/Month. This is the minimum charges from any other bank for having net-banking account.

As for inter-bank transfer charges are considered, CommBank are in a particular interbank-network(the largest where more than 60% of banks are connected) in Australia. Any outgoing transfers within there network are free (It is like NEFT). If you are looking to transfer INR to AUD, I don't think we have any choice. Almost any bank gives 2.5 Rupees less per AUD (almost 5% less) to the days closing price. And for AUD to INR, remit2india, oanda globalfxtransfer, paypal, and many others are available. I am personally planning to use Oanda FXGlobalTransfer (Money Transfer | Send Money Online | OANDA FXGlobalTransfer) for AUD to INR.

[mpgrewal]

Originally Posted by reddy.n

As for inter-bank transfer charges are considered, CommBank are in a particular interbank-network(the largest where more than 60% of banks are connected) in Australia. Any outgoing transfers within there network are free (It is like NEFT). If you are looking to transfer INR to AUD, I don't think we have any choice. Almost any bank gives 2.5 Rupees less per AUD (almost 5% less) to the days closing price. And for AUD to INR, remit2india, oanda globalfxtransfer, paypal, and many others are available. I am personally planning to use Oanda FXGlobalTransfer (Money Transfer | Send Money Online | OANDA FXGlobalTransfer) for AUD to INR.

Great insight . This info is very difficult to find on net. I am holding my plans for INR > AUD conversion as AUD is all time high.. will wait for it to come back at 35