Australian Banking
 

Aussie banks are really starting to get on my nerves. 20 working day clearing times (about a month wait in total), $5 per cheque with Suncorp-Metway ... time to look for an alternative.

Oh yeah before you say "get it Wired" my cheques are only in the hundreds, not thousands, so its not worth it.

Any bank / Building society suggestions ? I've looked around, and they all seem pretty bad. :(

I get wires every week to my St. George account.

Try any European online Bank and change your Bank. Every day of hold-up is additional money because the Bank use your funds

Mark

Europe is a long way from Australia.

What ^ he said. :)

I suggest you pressure your sponsors into doing payouts through epassporte, then you could have your money immediately.

Australian banks, just like most other banks, need history with transactions to prove you have established banking credibility. National bank of Australia credits my account on any cheque I deposit instantly, no matter how big the cheque.

At the start, I had to wait the 2-6 weeks for internationally drawn cheques too. Just speak to whoever you're with, tell them you want to get your cheques cleared sooner, if you have some history with them.

hehe....but be warned that they will probably enquire about who these cheques are coming from.

With many active sponsors thats a lot of persuading :) Anyhow, I am happy with cheques, if I could just get them clearing a little quicker and not have to pay to bank each one. made a trip to the bank the other day with 18 cheques from various sponsors for a few weeks. Ended up paying $90 in bank fees which is fucked.

I have heard of a few Aussie banks which only charge one fee regardless of how many cheques you are banking in one go.

I have noticed that they tend not to give a shit. It's all money to them and they don't give a shit where it comes from. thats my experience anyhow.

Don't use Commonwealth... They are pretty bad also, and just raised their fee. There are times when I have walked in with 40+ cheques... It's damn funny watching trainee customer service people fumble their way through the 1st cheuqe and then offer for me to come back in a few hours when they have finished.

You'd think there would be an easier way nowadays!
:(

I pay my taxes, so I have nothing to hide. And the girls at my local branch, know what I do to an extent. It DOES depend on who you're dealing with though, if you get the wrong person, you'll never get anything in life...

Don't be afraid to just say "I've been depositing cheques for about 6 months (however long) now from my internet revenue program, and need my cheques fast tracked please"

If they ask what you do, you answer "Internet Developer", it's vague enough to get you by. No one has the right to ask what you do. When the cheques are only a few hundred, they'll do it right away.

I cleared a 2000 USD cheque yesterday, took 5 minutes to clear.

Internationally drawn cheques, that are in a foreign currency, will always require time to write up and deposit.

With the National, I pay $10 to deposit, but I can bring in as many cheques as I want.

Like I said, they clear them instantly if you only ask... you just need to prove yourself at first.

Now thats what I am looking for. Might go and give them a try.

Well contrary to someone else's experience - we use the Commonwealth - in there just about every day and we get our cheques cleared immediately but be warned, they do charge 10 bucks per cheque.

We have our account at a smaller branch, we got to know the customer service staff over a period of time, we talk to them as real people, we make no demands and try to be as polite, helpful and friendly as we can.

The end result - we get treated well in return and they were quite happy to move us up to immediate clearance once we had established a 'history' with them.

We have even got to the stage with them where if there is a queue at the customer service counter and a personal banker is free they will take us out of the queue and get the PB to do it for us.

We were in there this morning with 6 cheques - it took one of the regular customer service officers 10 minutes to process them - she even does the deposit for us.

Whatever bank you decide to use choose a smaller branch, keep using the same branch and get to know the staff.

I use Bank of Melbourne, $10 for up to 4 cheques. I do have a history with them, so I get them negotiated (converted and credited on the spot) rather than collected ($35, 4-6 weeks to verify, conversion on day of verification). Most of the tellers there know me now, so I don't have to tell them that the manager has given me permission to have the cheques negotiated. :)

Going to another branch was a rude shock though, they flat out refused to negotiate them even though I had a folder with 8 months (!) worth of international cheque deposit slips. Don't know what's going to happen when I move, perhaps I'll ask the manager nicely if he can write me a reference.

BTW, for those outside of Vic, Westpac own BoM. I don't know if their fees and policies differ.

Sausage, are the payments regular enough that you can afford to bump up the minimum payout level? Less cheques, less fees, less time spent in the bank...

At http://www.HardProfits.com/ we can wire you Australian dollars, and you can get it the same day we pay you

The reason: We are an Australian Company

Aussie, Aussie Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi

Yeah could do that, but with all the billing problems at the moment I am just kinda keen to get the cheque in my hand and into the bank ASAP. When I get a cheque from WSB (kinda rare), I shoot down to the bank instantly :)

I have been with Suncorp metway for 5 years now, have been banking international cheques for 2 years, and they refuse to clear them any faster. Always bank at the same branch and know all the tellers well. Still they flat our refuse to change. The nab sounds good. I wont deal with ANZ after they some of the shit they have pulled on my folks (called in a housing loan to try and get the property).

Also apparently some credit unions have little or no fees on int cheques and clear them instantly.

Thanks for the info guys :thumbsup

And if ur in Brisbane, I could drive over and pick up the cheque. haha. :Graucho

BrizVegas

The Capital of On-LIne Adult Porn

Muahahaha

So for sure, I would be more than happy to give you a "Cheque" in Brissie

Plus I will chuck in a cup of Java, which my sexy secretary will make for ya :Graucho

With the ANZ, as long as all the cheques are made out to the same person/company, you only have to pay one $10 fee for as many cheques as you like. The other alternative would be for your sponsor to pay you via Paypal, which is still ok since you are not purchasing adult products or services...

Good point PornBroker

We also pay via PayPal, and verified with PayPal already that we can continue to do so

I use the CBA and I get mine cashed on the spot the same teller usally dose them for me you just have to get to know them only problem with CBA is they charge 10 per check. :BangBang: :mad:

St George takes 30 days to clear a cheque...

I use National... it takes only 2 days!! (10 bucks fee)

Quote:

At the start, I had to wait the 2-6 weeks for internationally drawn cheques too. Just speak to whoever you're with, tell them you want to get your cheques cleared sooner, if you have some history with them.

I agree.. from my experiences banks only give you some respect after you been banking with them for years .. if this is you, it's worthwhile talking to senior management at your bank and trying to negotiate cheaper fees and less holiding days on international cheques

Why make someone signup for another "credit card" just to get paid?

I use WestPac in NZ and they clear checks str8 away, and dont charge a fee.....

I think you have WestPac in Oz too...... maybe worth a try

Just went into NAB and they just gave me the run-around. The lady also told me that NAB probably isn't for me. Also told me it was $10 per cheque, would take at least 4 weeks to clear .. and up to 6.

Fucking joke. Wonder if I would have gotten the same runaround if I had bothered to have a shave, worn a suit, and mentioned I was going to have a $500k opening balance. Fuck em.

Wonder what the Bendigo and westpac are like.

Im with St. George and they are charging me 1.5% on all creditcard trasactions I do in USD. If anyone is getting a better deal than this, Id love to hear about it :)

Mate they just gave you the wrong info.

NAB is as follows (i have been doing it 4 yrs)

5 cheques / OBP (whatever that stands for) = $10

Under $AU2k if you have a decent history they should clear it within 3 days. Over $2k requires Authorisation from overseas department and they will probably put it on term deposit 30-60 days.

Cheques take 4 weeks to clear so not much you can do about it.. but ive found NAB to be far and away the best

Nurgle

100% correct of how NAB works!

I have deposited checks for over 3 yrs with my branch and what some have said about developing a good relationship is the key. Get on with your business bank manager and the tellers and keep a very good sized account balance!

I held many large checks at the end of last tax year and deposited AU$30,000+ on July 1st & had it all cleared instantly (tellers just had to check with my business banker as they do with anything over $2K), develop good relationships especially with your business bank manager.

I even buy the tellers a small christmas present each year.

I had the personal bank manager (not business) try to charge me $10 per check after 2 yrs of doing it the normal way, but one of the tellers I get along with well rang the International dept and clarified the rules and proved the personal manager wrong!

Gotta love a teller who sticks up for you like that without you even asking!

As with everything it all depends on who you get, it took time to develop the realtionship (they probably won't love ya bringing in all the US checks at first) but ask them to ring International dept to clarify rules with OBP (used to proces checks) if they quote different fees.

Only thing that is annoying anymore is new tellers :BangBang:

Good luck!

After making a bit of noise with Westpac I now get to deposit up to 10 cheques at a time for instant clearance at $10 fee.

This only works if you get to know your local branch manager though AND he/she happens to know what they're doing with the system for foreign transactions.

I had to show them that the cheques were drawn on well known USA banks like Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, BOA etc etc but it works out a whole lot easier than opening a USD account with them. (Did that for a while but it was more trouble than it was woth in my case anyway)

Good Luck

I bank with Westpac, and even after first opening the account, they started depositing them straight away for me for $10 unlimited provided they are all the same currency.

However, if they were over a certain figure (around $500USD), they would be sent away on collections (around 4 weeks). But after 3-4 months of regular dealings with the same branch, they now do them straight away no matter what the size.

You just have to get a name with them. Now they don't worry at all with the checks I deposit even though some have bounced (not my fault).

1. it shouldn't take more then 3-5 working days
2. fast clearing is possible if you pay an extra fee
(not worth it for small amounts)

& 5 minutes is BS :winkwink:

i pay $15 for as many cheques as i like at the anz in adelaide. been doing it for years. clears either overnight or at the most a few days

funny thing is that i put in a local cheque and some u.s. cheques last week and the u.s. cheques cleared first

Yes, but won't there be a GST component in that then? Since you are an Australian company paying an Australian for services??

True.
Ouch.

Less than 5 Minutes, Kevin. The National bank in Williamstown, Victoria. It's takes longer for the teller to write her shit out than it does for the transaction to take place electronically.

All depends on who you're dealing with. My cheques are instantly put into my account. I would agree that they will only do this, if you can more than cover the amount being deposited.

I've been with the CBA for OVER 15 years (I had a dollarmite account as a kid haha). They STILL make me pay $10 per cheque and I have to wait 20 working days to get each one.
I banked cheques in JAN and they weren't cleared til mid MARCH!! I went to the branch and the teller said "Just tell me your account and I will clear it all for you within 5 mins". I checked my account when I got home and it had cleared!!! You DON'T NEED OVERNIGHT!! THEY CAN DO IT IN 5 MINS!!!!

Bunch of wankers just want the interest!! :BangBang:

I checked out my local banks. The best was Bank of Qld for $7 each check and after about 4 transactions (including cash deposits) done at the one branch...they clear cheques immediately!! It's $2 more than Suncorp but... $2 is worth it for 3-4 weeks LESS time spent waiting for the money!!

LESSON: Having history with banks doesn't always get you what you want! ... sometimes it does haha

I use Bank Of Melbourne for most checks and get the money straight away but when they don't want to deposit the money on the spot and I have to wait 4 weeks I just take the checks to Commonwealth bank and deposit them and get them cleared in 3 days just like an australian check. Here is the secret to get your checks cleared in 3 days with commonwealth bank. I use passbook account with them and deposit the checks in there, the system can only stop the funds from being withdrawn for 3 days just like an australian check but the teller writes with a pen 28 days before I can withdraw the money but I use the telephone banking after 3 days and transfer the money into my statement account and just use my ATp card to withdraw the money. I have been doing this for 5 years now and never had a problem.

But the most important thing you have to do if you would liekto get your money on the spot is to get to know the staff in a branch of your choice and stick with them and always have some money in the account. I even got a home loan based on my check deposits thru Bank of Melbourne, they calcualted my check deposits ivided it by 52 weeks and gave me a home loan based on that but my cheques never bounced and I'm friends with the people in the branch. If oyu need some help with how to get your money in 3 days with commonwealth here is my ICq so please feel free to contact me. 347256653

what do you mean? what do they charge you for exactly?

You can setup a new a/c at Yambo and be able to send/receive wire transfers, paypal, webmoney, accept credit cards online for 8%.

Hit me on the icq. If our services are not what you need - I'd be happy to just consult you. Thank you.

Don't let Aussie banks to rape you. Finnish & swedish banks tried it for me... Finnish fuckers wanted 0.25% or at least ? 11 per check... I swicthed about all of my banking to better countires. Not to say that 0.25 % is much, but why give money away if you could get everything nearby 0% ???

Funny... I had recently a small issue with a one finnish bank about checks, they refused to take them. I get mad and faxed to 7 big US banks a small letter telling that their checks are crap in Finland... Next day finnish bank manager called and offered to clear checks for 0%. Finnish are crazy - just like I am.

We use St.G for our wire transfers and have no problems although we have noticed they seem to 'add' %%% for the conversion, their fees are ok nothing to write home about. Yes we still have to wait 30 days for any cheques to clear but if need be we have a great realtionship with our bank manager and he clears them ... I have heard ANZ is quicker if you have been with them a while.

ON a completely differnt subject, what has anyone found as an alternative for PAYPAL, for non-US ??? been looking around and am finding jackshit !!

When you finally get your bank to clear your cheques faster, tell that person to put an authority note on your account, so you can clear cheques the same way no matter which teller or which branch you use.