A successful home loan application generally requires a steady job. However, there are a range of additional factors that can seriously hamper your borrowing power with banks, even if your salary is higher than average. This superhero-themed infographic outlines the various occupational pitfalls that can trip up applicants.
Westpac bank has announced they are increasing the interest rates on variable rate home loans from September 19. Here's how it affects you.
Credit unions may not be as popular as big banks, but they're still a good place to put your money. Of course, there are pros and cons to both institutions, and this infographic lays out the major differences.
APRA (Australian Prudential Regulation Authority) has just released the report of its inquiry into the Commonwealth, finding that a failure of culture is behind a series of scandals which have eroded trust in Australia's biggest bank. The regulator calls the bank’s culture “insular” and an environment where learning from experiences and mistakes was ignored.
Though I have been called a filthy millenial, I'm not the biggest avocado on toast fan, so I can't blame fruit on my terrible savings plan. I need all the help I can get when it comes to putting money away - and now, Ubank has an app that can do just that.
Westpac has some bad news for Australian workers hoping for a decent pay rise. While wage growth may start to pick up in the quarters ahead, Westpac says there is very little for workers to get excited about.
Australians will finally enjoy the ability to send each other money in “real time”, with the launch of the New Payments Platform this week. The platform is a mixture of new processes for settling transactions between banks, guided by the Reserve Bank of Australia.
But while this may make payments faster, it could also make them less safe.
Some of the world's largest banks announced on Friday that customers are now prohibited from buying cryptocurrencies with credit cards, citing market volatility.
Last week, we were given a sneak peak at Halo: a new contactless payment system from Bankwest that puts your banking details into a ring. Boasting batteryless, app-free operation and waterproofing up to 50 metres, it's the first "IoT wearable" concept that I'm actually exited about.
It's also one of the cheapest wearables on the market, with an introductory price of $29. Here's what you need to know!
Dear Lifehacker, I'm getting on in life and at this point it seems unlikely that my credit card debts will ever be paid off in full. (I can barely afford the monthly interest repayments, let alone the outstanding debt.) I also don't own much in the way of assets. So my question is: What happens to my credit debt when I die? Do I need to worry about my adult son getting saddled with my debt?
The major Australian banks are following familiar public relations tactics in requesting a parliamentary commission of inquiry into banking and financial services. When the public mood is against an industry, it will try to win the public over, while getting the politicians to ignore the public mood. If that fails, the industry gradually concedes ground until attention goes elsewhere.
Ripping the faces off ATMs and injecting them with malware is great fun, sure, but not so much when you get caught by a security guard and tossed in jail. For these reasons and more, many cyber criminals are turning to a less than hands-on approach and attacking ATMs remotely instead.
Australia's 'Big Four' banks have decided to remove the cash withdrawal fee for using their ATMs. This means you will no longer be charged $2 for using a CBA, Westpac, ANZ or NAB ATM with your card, regardless of who you bank with. Or to put it another way, the banks are rorting us slightly less than before.
Commonwealth Bank has removed fees for all bank customers that use its automated teller machines (ATMs). This means that members of ANZ, NAB, Westpac-St.George and other banks will no longer be slugged with a $2 cash-withdrawal fee for using CommBank ATMs. Hurrah!
On September 20, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will release a redesigned $10 banknote with new security features to prevent counterfeiting ranging from bird wings that flap to micro-printed poetry. This video explains everything you need to know about how these features work.
The application and approval process for a home loan typically takes a glacial 22 days. A new Aussie fintech startup reckons it can cut this down to just 22 minutes. Here are the details.
Studies of European countries show that bank taxes similar to the 0.06 per cent bank levy introduced by the government in the 2017 federal budget will be largely borne by customers, not shareholders. The levy could also make the banking system more, rather than less risky.
Last week's announcement by the ACCC to block a number of banks from acting as a block in negotiating with Apple over access to Apple Pay was hardly a surprise, given previous comments by the business regulator. But it says a lot about some of the wealthiest and most powerful businesses in the country that they felt the need to get help from the regulator.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has decided against allowing the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac Banking Corporation, National Australia Bank, and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank to collectively bargain with Apple - and to collectively boycott Apple Pay.
