Mozo shares its picks of the best bank accounts in Australia when it comes to fees, ATM access, the best ones to use overseas and those with the biggest freebies. Does your bank make the cut?
Currency picture from Shutterstock
Best Fee-Free Accounts
Thankfully, most banks have removed monthly account keeping fees after consumers kicked up a bit of fuss about just what they’re paying for. Here are the top accounts which don’t charge a monthly fee, regardless of the amount deposited each month.
- NAB Classic Banking Account
- Bank of Queensland Day2Day Plus Account
- Citibank Plus Transaction Account
- AMP Access Account
- Gateway Credit Union Edge Account
- RAMS Action Account
- Suncorp Everyday Basics
These accounts also don’t charge for EFTPOS transactions, ATM withdrawals at their own ATMs, internet transfers, withdrawals in-branch or to have a debit card. Make sure you’re not being charged for any of these prehistoric fees!
Best Free ATM Access
More and more banks and credit unions have cottoned on to just how much we hate paying ATM fees and have either partnered with large ATM networks to ensure you’re not paying a fee, or reimbursed any fees you are charged.
Mozo’s experts suggest these accounts which offer the biggest ATM networks and no monthly fee:
- ING DIRECT Orange Everyday: If you deposit $1000 into this account each month, you’ll have your ATM fees reimbursed immediately. That means you can use any ATM in Australia for nothing. That’s over 30,000 ATMs.
- Bankwest Zero Transaction Account: If you deposit $2000 each month you’ll skip the $6 fee and have access to 10,000 ATMs across the NAB, Westpac, Commonwealth and ANZ ATM networks.
- NAB Classic Account, BoQ Day2Day Plus Account and UBank USaver Ultra Account: Unlimited access to your money through the NAB and rediATM network so that’s 3400 ATMs.
Best Accounts For Travellers
Debit cards are the cheapest way to access your money overseas by offering competitive fees on ATM withdrawals and foreign exchange, and most don’t charge for point of sale transactions.
Mozo found these three debit cards were the best plastic to pack in your wallet and none charge a monthly service fee.
- Citibank Plus Transaction Account
- RAMS Action Account
- Community Mutual Access Savings Account
Best Accounts For Cash Back
Cash back seems to be the popular choice when it comes to freebies, so these are the three accounts throwing in a little bonus when you make a contactless purchase.
- ING DIRECT: ING DIRECT offers 2% cash back on all PayWave purchases when you deposit $1,000 each month. Although it’s not as much as Citibank and ME Bank, the offer is ongoing and has a smaller deposit requirement so we’re giving it the top spot.
- ME Bank: ME Bank is offering 5% cash back when you Tap & Go with your MasterCard, but new customers must open the account by 28 February to take advantage of the offer, which is for the first 6 months of having the account.
- Citibank: Citibank is giving new customers 5% cash back on PayWave purchases (up to $500 per month) until 31 May, if you deposit $2,000 into the account each month. Apply by 28 February 2015 if you want to reap the rewards.
Kirsty Lamont is a director of Mozo.com.au which helps Australians compare savings accounts, credit cards, insurance and other financial products. Kirsty was one of the launch team for Virgin Money when it started in Australia in 2003, and also held a senior role at BankWest before joining Mozo in 2007.
Comments
11 responses to “The Best Bank Accounts In Australia Right Now”
ING Direct also has no account keeping fees. Also, maybe I haven’t noticed any changes in policy, but their ATM reimbursement is when you withdraw $200 or more at a time. Don’t recall anything about needing to deposit $1000 per month either.
That is how it used to be. Now, so long as you deposit $1000/month, there is no minimum withdrawal amount.
Note that the 2% rebate has finished…
If there is a minimum deposit, then it doesn’t have to be into your Everyday Account.
I certainly don’t put $1000 into that account each month, but certainly do put $1000 into the linked ING Mortgage Account.
just put your pay into this account then transfer it out
They changed the $200 min withdrawal a while ago to the $1000 min deposit requirement. Also, if you have an Orange Advantage home loan with them then you get the same benefits without the $1000 min deposit requirement.
Great overview of the various options Kirsty.
The only thing is I think the way it is presented might cause some confusion.
The ING Direct product has no fees whatsoever when used domestically and should definitely be included in the list of “Best Fee-Free accounts”.
I would actually go as far as saying that unless you can’t meet the regular deposit requirement (in order to secure fee-free ATM withdrawals) or have a mortgage offset account with another provider, there really is no need for you to look beyond Orange Everyday.
It is the BEST there is currently in Australia.
For those going overseas, there really is only one option if they want to completely avoid all fees for withdrawing cash or using their debit card for purchases: Citibank Plus
For those needing a business account or a bank account for their investment trust, there really is only one option to choose from if you don’t wanna pay a bank for the privilege of them holding YOUR OWN money:
http://spendinghacker.com.au/best-business-transaction-account-in-australia/
Hi @ginmi, the only reason the Orange Everyday wasn’t mentioned in that category is down to their condition to receive free ATM access (monthly $1k deposit), and we only considered those accounts that were completely free of conditions.
It’d be good to also see highest interest savings accounts
Never mind banks – what’s the best medium to long-term [money creating] savings strategy?
Savings accounts? Term deposits? Shares? Bonds [corporate or government]? Hybrids? Convertible notes?
A quick comparison of how much you can expect to earn over [for example] five years might be of interest for those saving for a house – or even retirement.
The ING 2% cash back is only for purchases under $100:
“Help your salary go further with an Orange Everyday bank account. Starting 1 July 2014, you can use every ATM in Australia for free and get 2% cash back on Visa payWave purchases under $100 in Australia when you deposit $1,000 or more per month from an external account into your Orange Everyday.”