How Many People on OzBargain Still Have Accounts with The Big 4 Banks?

I have seen some comments where people say that they have their home loan or whatever with one of the Big 4 Banks. I am just wondering how frequent this is. I am just looking at the headline rates of products advertised on websites (plus I have inside knowledge that staff only really have maximum 0.2 - 0.3% in potential variation from stated rate (on both loans and deposits)).

It's interesting how the banks have been called out as ripping people off for charging fees for no service. or for selling insurance people couldn't claim on. However, in my opinion, the biggest rip offs of banks have been in plain sight the whole time, and have never been called out. You look at most at call savings accounts for big 4 banks, the rate is 0.5%, with possible an extra 2% add on for the first 3 or 4 months. However, you can go to other various banks and get 2.8 - 3% ongoing, with really quite easy conditions to satisfy (the same conditions required to avoid the monthly fee at a Big 4 Bank).

Big 4 Banks offer 0.5% savings rates, well below inflation. It doesn't matter how good your apps are, and how good your spending alerts are, that's a rip off. Even worse than a rip off, it's a silent rip off (because most people don't understand economics and the concept of real returns).

Yes, Big 4 Banks do have Term Deposit rates that are closer to competitors, but even then, its still quite a difference.

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Comments

  • +5

    I have a NAB account since they have no fees. Nuked my CBA account a while back, too annoying to keep pay going in there then transferring to offset later on.

    Don't really see a downside to having a big 4 account as long as it's fee free.

    Right tool for the right job really, I have UBank (No FX/High Rate), Citibank Plus (No FX), HSBC (Diff currencies), NAB (fee Free/more ATMs) and Suncorp (Rewards discount GC).

    • You may withdraw money at any NAB operated ATMs using your UBank debit card and there are no fees.

      • But the NAB card can be used at any big 4 atm as well.

  • +6

    I only use the big 4 for credit card points churn if they have $0 fee first year promotions

  • I have a CBA transaction account simply so I can deposit money at their ATMs and then transfer it out using PayID. I don't keep any money in my CBA accounts because their interest rates are not competitive. They are not making any money out of me.

  • I've closed down my accounts with the big four.

    • +1

      Why? I admit I cant stand any of them but feel more secure with them.

      • +1

        Well that "feeling" is because of the government guarantee on deposits for the banks.

      • +2

        Because of their behaviour shown by the banking commission.
        There's a 250k government guarantee on deposits if the worst should happen to a bank.

        • Yes some of their behaviour was abhorrent but expecting a bank not to be greedy…..
          Basically respect for each other seems to be slipping with each new generation and I guess the banks are part of this as well.

      • UBank is part of NAB if you want a good savings rate while still feeling secure.

      • The deposit guarantee is available for all banks though so that's truly based in "feeling" as you say

  • +1

    Looking at moving away from the Big 4 but also considering new credit cards to take advantage of points offers etc.

    Looks like Ubank have the best interest offer for minimum criteria. Anyone bank with them or have any thoughts on smart ways to take lump sums from the big 4 to smaller banks?

    • We were with Westpac credit cards for a decade for the points but they just kept diluting the amount of points you could claim in a month.
      We went with Coles combined with flybuys seemed pretty good a couple of years ago. They have been brought out and the interest free period seems to have reduced.
      Canstar would be a good place to start.
      2nd part of your comment, this post has me looking at taking a large sum out of NAB and putting into RAMS.

    • I've been with Ubank since around 2012. Their savings account is definitely the best (for my situation) in terms of what criteria have to be fulfilled to get the monthly bonus interest. They also tend to consistently have an interest rate that's in the top 3 in terms of online savings accounts in the time I've been with them.

  • +1

    I have CC with CBA, purely because i can pay while my phone is locked

    • What do you do if your phone gets stolen?

      • +1

        Probably the same thing you do if your credit card is stolen.

  • We have reasonable sum in Westpac e-saver getting 2.51% including introductory and we reset every 5 months. There are no conditions. no min amount or min deposit per month. For all intent purposes it is our main account. we just transfer in and out of the choice account for wages/bills/invest.
    Also a sum in NAB reward saver at 2.4% ongoing but have to make a deposit every month.
    We have no mortgage so no offset account required.

    • +2

      Hey, how do you reset the intro offer? Open a new e-saver?

      • Correct.
        We (my wife, as she only works part time so lower tax rate) rings up and opens a new account and the old one is just left. We transfer the last of the interest at the end of that month and then it eventually just disappears.
        Normally have one empty discarded account in our list hanging around

        • +1

          But on their website, they say the introductory bonus is only for first time e-saver?

          • @reactor-au: Yep my wife got a lecture last time about it. But they still did it, either they do or you take it elsewhere.

  • +4

    I keep the nab accounts in case I need a fee free bank cheque fast. They do not charge monthly fee anyway.

    A bank cheque for $1000+ is free from nab if you deposit the amount to your NAB Reward Saver Account and withdraw it. More convenient than ING that posts it to you.

    https://www.nab.com.au/personal/help-and-guidance/personal-b…

    I believe there are very limited ways of waiving the bank cheque fee($10-12) with other banks.

    • Did not know that and I use NAB. Good to know if I ever need a bank cheque thank

    • Do you happen to know the specific requirements for this? That is, must you:

      (a) withdraw from reward saver, to pay for the amount of bank cheque? And will it work for bank cheque less than $1000? Or:

      (b) as long as you demonstrate you have withdrawn $1000+ on the day (say via online banking), you can go into a branch, and get a bank cheque for free?

      Thanks in advance.

      • +1

        Please read the terms in the T & Cs via link above. Some staff may not know it till you point it out. Eligible for a bank cheque amount over $1k withdrawn from NAB Reward Saver Account. After this, the bonus interest rate for this account is forfeited for the month but it doe not matter for most people.

        • Could not find T&C covering the questions I asked (hence the questions) - I doubt they go into this level of specificity. I will try to find out next time at the branch, but as you say, not surprised if some staff may not be aware of this either.

  • +1

    I have seen some comments where people say that they have their home loan or whatever with one of the Big 4 Banks. I am just wondering how frequent this is.

    Given the Big 4 banks have over 80% share of the mortgage market, I would say a fairly high proportion…

    • probably not on on OzB, more like the rest of the sheeple.

      Here people love cheap rates and having no debt, which can actually bite them on the ass (sometime quite severely).

  • Youthsaver gives me a pretty good interest rate for saving, as long as I don't take money out or something.
    Also, alot of my friends uses commonwealth, making it easier for me to send/recieve money.

  • I have my mortgage with NAB. It offered me the best rate when I purchased my house. I have no loyalty to them though, I’ll happily change when I can get a better offer.
    My everyday account is with ING.

  • +1

    I have an account with ANZ but their mobile app is absolute dog poop.

    • +1

      I've got ANZ for CC and NAB for offset & home loans. ANZ is years ahead of NAB they are terrible.

  • Ditched NAB for ING transaction and savings + St George credit = fantastic support and never looked back

  • Main banking with CBA, bankwest( which is also CBA) for fee-free CC Internation transx (came handy for netflix Turkey), Amex for all the offers and Citibank account again for international withdrawals. Other than that all I do is churn credit cards as far as other FI's are concerned.

  • We have two credit union accounts, never had issues of others in this thread. Even cheques have been free in the past, they waive most fee's. Example one account didn't have money going in for about 6months and we used paywave often, still no monthly fee.

    Even beat mortgage broker quotes late last year.

  • +1

    Now the main account is with ING.

    I broke up with CBA a few years ago, with no regrets.

    Bankwest (owned by CBA) for their fee free international credit card (platinum zero).

    Highly recommend switching to the best value option that suits your needs.

    • I broke up with CBA a few years ago, with no regrets.

      Yeah? how did cba feel tho.? just heartless…

      • They were fine…

        I asked them to budge on a homeloan rate (to match Bankwest, which they own, and they weren't interested).

        So I've moved on.

  • ANZ Online Saver. I get about 2.5% at call. This includes a 3 month bonus rate component, but I’ve been renewing the bonus rate every 3 months for the past 3 years without issue. I also have a max’ed out UBank. ANZ has no max balance restriction, which suits me. Those little FI (ING, RAMS, ME, etc) mostly have max balance restrictions and require pesky transactions. I used to spread it around in ING, etc, but those little FI kept changing the rules and gave me the sh*ts.

    • ANZ won't let you renew anymore

  • Only reason I went with ANZ is because they seem to always be ahead when it comes to things like Android Pay and Samsung Pay, they had it way before any of the other banks here in Oz.

    I personally have a high interest in these sorts of things and like to be one of the first on board to start using it, especially if it means not having to worry about a phone or wallet when I go to the beach etc. (can pay with my watch)

    Plus BankSA's app is a glorified browser shortcut…

    • Would you move banks for Apple/Samsung pay? I used android pay, it's neat…but it's more like a novelty to me.

      What do you think of ANZs internet banking? (I think they're behind the likes of ING and CBA)

      • +2

        I signed up to ANZ specifically because they supported Apple Pay early on and I use that 9 times out of 10 when paying absolutely everywhere with either iPhone or Apple Watch. Their app is pretty good too and has all the tools I need. What are they behind ING and CBA in?

        • I just never saw the added value in tapping my device over tapping my card.

          I was only an anz customer over 2 years ago, not sure if still the same, but the internet banking website looked like something from the 90s. And their app was equally clunky, which was weird because they had a money transfer app called GoMoney and that was decent. The main thing I remember about their app was that everytime you switched to a different app you'd have to login and start all over again when you returned. E.g. when you have to copy and paste an account number. I'd take an easy to use personal banking experience any day over apple pay.

          Barring apply pay, CBA is generally ahead of the big 4 in terms of tech. I'm not just talking about stuff in the app. NAB and ANZ would not let me extend the interest only term of my loan, I would pretty much have to sign up to a new loan. Their system is not designed for that. With CBA they literally just click a button at the branch.

          And ING lead the way in mobile banking apps. They had the first really slick app that everyone wanted to copy.

          • @rlay3: ANZ have upgraded their Android App, it isn't called GoMoney anymore just ANZ and has a much better UI than what GoMoney did.

            I just checked the screenshots of ING and I'd say they are on-par with design, but ING has a few more features like pin-changing etc

      • Honestly, it doesn't have specific things like changing your card pin from the browser but I never really need to do that anyway.

        It has scheduled transfers and BPay and all the stuff I need and a much nicer, modern looking UI than BankSA.

        I haven't seen ING/CBA's apps or IB website to compare.

  • +2

    Was an ANZ and CBA employee in a past life, and had accounts with whichever I worked for. Lived overseas, and switched to French bank - they had debit cards decades before OZ. Came back to ANZ, as it was easier to set up accounts again, but switched to ING & MeBank about two years ago. Saving money on fees, and finding banking easy with them. The only hassles I've found with ING in OZ are that they don't have a forex trading license, so any overseas credits need to be in AUD, and paying in a cheque requires a visit to Post Office to pay in or mail.

  • I'm with CBA. FYI I'm more interested in the home loan products as opposed to the savings/term deposits.

    I did try a smaller online lender and it was horrible. Rates were fantastic, but after a few years they started hiking the rate. The exit fees were high which is the risk I took to get low rates. After around 3 years my rate was higher than some of the big 4 and I could not get out unless I took a big hit.

    After 5 years when the exit fees no longer applied I immediately refinanced. I still remember what the bank asked me when I phoned them up to move my money out of the offset - "oh you're leaving? May I ask why?"

    So for me with CBA I get peace of mind and flexibility.

    • after a few years they started hiking the rate

      I think this was probably bad timing for you. I took my home-loan with the CBA and within 2 years it was up 2%. None of the smaller lenders had moved up that fast.

      All the banks have been slowly ratcheting up their discounts for new / refinancing customers over many years, while slowly hiking their 'standard' rates for anyone already with them.

  • My pay goes into my CBA account.

    Last 3 years my mortgage was with Bankwest (owned by CBA) because they had a 3.9% special

    Last month changed to a ubank (owned by NAB) 3 yr fixed mortgage @ 3.74%

    So technically I'm with the big 4?

    My goal this year is to start a stock portfolio/investment with ~15k. Im thinking of signing up with Nab for that.

  • i have a CBA just because of PayID

    yes i use it often enough. been with them since i was a kid (child account)

    the second find a smaller bank with better rates and payID im out.

    just had issues where they "accidentally" froze my account.

    was not amused.

    • NAB also has PayID, use them as a fee free transaction account.. CBA and ANZ both started charging me, when I stopped being a student >:(

      Not sure about better rates I have my savings with RAMS.

      • They all have PayID. That was the point of the NPP…

        • CUA didn't get it until very recently, I joined them with that recent offer on here and was shocked to discover they didn't have it given I'd been using it for 6 months with CBA / ING. Assume there's at least one out there that doesn't have it yet.

          • @[Deactivated]: CUA's NPP is quite advanced, compared to even the big banks. You do not need to register a PayID to send fast payments, if you don't wish to. And can use normal BSB/Account number for fast transfer, if destination bank supports NPP.

            And even without a PayID, you can still receive funds instantly, if the sender institution has fast payment. E.g. if you send 1K from ING to CUA, you will get it instantly. Also, the limit for fast payments is quite high, 5K, compared to some others.

            • @bluesky: 6 weeks ago it wasn't instant. I vaguely recall it being faster than expected, but the money left my CBA account a day before it arrived in my CUA account, according to their statements.

              I note they added PayID in the meantime. Annoyingly PayID gets harder to use after the first 2 accounts anyway (email + mobile) so for now I'm keeping them with the CBA (credit card and mortgage) and ING (savings / fee free international transactions).

              • @[Deactivated]: Curiosity got the better of me, I just went and tested fast transfer between CUA and CBA. And you are right:

                CUA -> CBA is instant,
                CBA -> CUA is not.

                I am not using PayID, only BSB/Acct.

                This is why I feel that the big banks are less advanced; ING -> CUA and vice-versa is instant. But CBA -> CUA is not.

                • @bluesky: I'm sure it's more a case of 'we can hold onto this money longer, so we will' rather than being 'advanced'. There's no incentive for them to improve this, but the app / general experience of CBA is top notch.

                  ING's web login is horrifically frustrating, I use the app to avoid it.

                  • @[Deactivated]:

                    I'm sure it's more a case of 'we can hold onto this money longer, so we will' …

                    Might well be :-)

  • I get credit cards from the big four banks for long enough to collect a bonus, then stop using them.

    I have a NABTrade account (free, haven't got around to cancelling) and a Commsec account (free, useful for data) and no other accounts with the big four, but a scattering of accounts across many others (including big internationals, Citibank (should cancel now that ING has fee free international) and ING).

    I might refinance to a big 4 bank, but only if it comes out ahead for me (better rate, unlikely, sign up bonus and swap again maybe).

  • With all the bad things they do.

    You would really have to wonder what kind of weird people would voluntarily want to work for these banks.

    Their morality and humanity would come with a big question mark ……

    • My experience, it’s ‘the business’ part of the bank that makes commercial decisions and their sole aim is to maximise returns for their shareholders & have generous bonuses to incentivise this.

      These are businesses, they exist to make the biggest profits they can.

      The failing here is in regulation, not in the banks & of the staff banks employ the people making these decisions are the 1%, not the majority

  • Only reason I stayed with CBA for so long was due to the damn dollarmites account…. how the government allows this scheme to continue is beyond me..

  • I have a ME Bank Online Savings Account which earns 1.3% variable rate plus 1.55% bonus totaling 2.85% for using tap and go at least once a week every month to qualify. You get an everyday debit card account which is separate that links to online saver to qualify for tap and go. I can withdraw my savings anytime without any penalties. I still require a Westpac account as ME bank do not have branches and I have my pay , credit card and other branch related stuff processed by WestPac and transfer my cash to ME Bank.

  • -1

    dollarmite account - kept open for sentimental reasons. Otherwise banking with ANZ

  • As long as the Big4 bank isn't charging for a transaction account, there's nothing wrong with them.
    Some of B4's occasionally offer reasonable incentives to own credit cards as well (bonus points)
    Also, some of the B4 offer reasonable broking fees for buying shares.
    But I must admit, I cannot think of any other good reason to use them.

  • Thanks to you guy i just openeg ING acc, lovely. However if I want to withdraw, it's there any fee, which atm should I use?

    • You can use any ATM. If there is a fee, it will be refunded.

      • one more thing, i just open mebank too, pretty much same deal with ING, but which one is better? the 5 transaction vs 1 paywave pe week? plus customers services and such though i rarely call them anyway

        • Do you travel overseas quite a bit? Then MEBank is not convenient (paypass not common in some countries). Every week you have to paypass. So before going overseas, you will have to move money elsewhere (unless you have someone to paypass for you). They gave me goodwill exemptions for 2 times, after that, they said no more exemptions.

          In my opinion, ING is definitely easier. ING's 5 transactions can be done anytime during the month and much more flexible (can include online purchases etc), whereas MEBank is strict paypass on the card, once every week.

          • @bluesky: yeah i just talk to them, my imcome is more than 1g per month already. btw, 5 transactions has to be on card or can be googlepay and such?

            • @hunterhalo: From their website:

              Card purchases includes in store credit or EFTPOS purchases, online purchases, regular card payments, payWave, Apple Pay and Google Pay transactions made with an Orange Everyday Visa card, Orange One or Orange One Platinum Visa card or Nil Interest Visa card provided with an eligible ING home loan.

              • +1

                @bluesky: thank you so much, sound like ing basnk then, i'll contact my employee tmr to change bank account then

  • I have a 1% discount off the variable rocket homeloan at Westpac, so not many options that can beat that deal. I currently pay 3.58% Interest

  • 250k mortgage with bankSA at 4.15% has been at 220 but remortaged twice in 7 years at a better rate and for a bit more cash availability.

    • +2

      You're getting ripped off with that rate. Go see a broker.

      • Yeah seems so, forgot to mention it's variable but yeah even has a .15 or.2% discount

  • I still have accounts with St.George (owned by Westpac) which are a legacy of 21 years' employment there. When I left five years ago I switched most of my banking - ING has my transaction account and one savings, while RAMS has my main savings, and my main credit card is AMEX with a St.George card as backup for those places that still don't take AMEX. I've kept my loan with St.George, though, because it's a line of credit and I retained my staff benefits when I left, so to move that loan anywhere would cost a lot more than it's costing me on an ongoing basis. I keep paying it off, then drawing it back when needed - had about $8000 worth of plumbing bills last year and it was so convenient to just draw it off the LOC. Like a giant credit card, only with much lower interest rates.
    Also have a couple of savings accounts with NAB, and two with Qudos. Each one is for a different purpose, I like to keep things separate.

    I kept my Direct Shares account with St.George; opened a NabTrade account (cheaper trading fees)but haven't got around to moving my existing shares across to the new platform. One thing I do plan on doing this year is researching super, as I'd dearly like to move it away from SGB. I just struggle to do a direct comparison as my current super is still charging fees at staff rate.

  • What the Royal Commission is calling out is just the tip of the iceberg. Banks don't purely make money on interest. It is interest coupled with currency reserve banking that make their fortune. It is a system that will make the super rich even richer and the poor poorer. Have a read at The Earth Plus 5

  • UBank for high interests and auto sweep functionality.
    ING for free bank cheques and global atm fee rebate.
    Citibank Plus for free international money transfers with no foreign transaction fees (exchange rates are pretty good or at least better than the big 4 banks).

    The only benefit I get from the big 4 banks is coin deposits at their selected machines or I just donate coins to charity.

  • not with any of the big 4

  • I have a smart access account with Commonwealth which is free because I'm a student as well as a online saver which I call up every 3 months to get a interest increase on.

    ANZ access advantage is my main account (free for student)

    Macquarie for intl transactions and ATM

  • Waiting to Refinance ASAP to GTFO of CBA

  • Home loan : HSBC
    still keeping account w ANZ

  • Ubank for savings and everyday, great rate.
    Use citibank for travelling overseas, No atm fees and some of the best exchange rates.

  • -2

    I bank with CBA and ANZ and I'm still alive and well. Besides, do you know what a pain in the ass it is to change back accounts? The effort is not worth the reward.

    • -1

      Ummm, 5 mins to do an online application? Oh, and no, you may have to redirect some billers. Wow, so hard.

      It's lazy people like you that allow the banks to generate supernormal profits (or 'economic rents') and to misbehave without consequence.

      • Wow, last time I looked I was free to bank with who I choose. I didn't realise my decision caused you so much angst. I do apologise.

  • Anz bank of Melbourne I can withdraw large amount.

  • +1

    My main account is with CBA and I had a high interest savings account with them. It was only recently I opened up another account.

    You'd think loyalty counts but not at all. I've been with CBA since I was a kid (dollarmites) and they weren't able to match Bankwest (a bank owned by them) for a high interest savings account.

    Ended up opening a high interest savings with Bank west. May end up switching to ING.

    I wish I had done it sooner. I also wish banks rewarded loyalty.

    • +1

      They make you work to get a good deal.

      Its strange that some of the places that have high interest accounts are owned by major banks ( UBank owned by NAB, Rams owned by Westpac ). So they are willing to give you a good rate, but only if you do the work and look around.

      'Wish banks reward loyalty' - I think that will never happen. It may start to happen slightly as new Fintechs emerge and start offering risk based pricing based on Open Data and Comprehensive Credit Reporting, but even then, the majors have such a large initial market share. It will take 5 - 10 years to wear it down (and again, it relies on customers actually getting off their ass and doing the 5 minutes of work to switch).

      • Its strange that some of the places that have high interest accounts are owned by major banks ( UBank owned by NAB, Rams owned by Westpac ). So they are willing to give you a good rate, but only if you do the work and look around.

        Well those banks are mainly online or have very few brick and mortar branches so they save costs which they then pass on with higher interest rates.

        I'm not surprised that they "make customers do the work" to look for the good rate, they're a big bank.

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