What You Need To Know About Banking In Australia

Banking in Australia: Your Choices

Among the important things you need to do when moving to Australia is to open a bank account where you can deposit funds, make payments and access your account from different parts of the world. It is even highly recommended that you already have an Australian bank account before you leave or migrate to Australia. This way, you can already transfer funds prior to your arrival.

Opening a bank account in Australia

Choose which type of bank account you will open. Australia offers three types of bank accounts – transaction account, savings account and term deposits.

Transaction account

A transaction account can be likened to a wallet that contains all the money needed to pay funds, manage day-to-day expenses or deposit funds. Nearly everything you need to spend is in your transaction account. In choosing one, make sure to compare fees and charges, minimum balance requirement, ways to access funds and other extras, such as overdraft facilities and debit cards.

Savings account

Whatever money is kept in your savings account will earn interest, helping you grow your funds. You can also use the same fund source to pay for your daily activities. But not all savings accounts are created equal with some having restrictions on fund access to ensure you don’t deplete your account.

In choosing the right savings account, you must consider the interest rates, fees and charges related to any or all bank transactions, ways to access your funds, and whether or not you can link your savings account to other accounts.

Term deposit

Term deposit it suitable for a sizeable amount of extra cash that you are willing to lock away. It will earn an interest at a fixed rate within the time frame that your money is in ‘storage’ of 1 month or up to 5 years. This is considered the safest form of investment that you can enjoy partially or fully when your term expires. That is, you can choose to roll over the initial amount deposited plus the interest as another set of term deposit, withdraw the interest as cash bonus or empty your account.

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