Bank account news and advice

This year’s tax returns are likely to be a little late in coming, as the Australian Tax Office (ATO) is too busy handing out Kevin Rudd’s $900 cash bonuses.

Bank charges deemed unfair, such as late fees, may soon be a thing of the past under the new Australian Consumer Law, it has been reported.

Aussie consumers are finding that the quickest way for them to bag a bargain is to log on to the internet, it has been claimed.

A cut in the interest rate is widely predicted to be made by the Reserve Bank later today.

One Aussie who is struggling with debt has been advised to use her bank account to pay off all her bills and put her credit cards out of sight.

With St George now taken under Westpac’s wing, one expert has said that the bank will have to tread carefully to avoid losing customers.

Sales-mad Aussies are set to spend over $5.5 billion between Boxing Day and the end of December in a bid to bag the best bargains, it has been revealed.

Despite tired stereotypes of women splashing huge amounts on new shoes and other hot fashion trends, it turns out guys are actually more indiscriminate when it comes to spending splurges.

Shady cocaine-smuggling grandparents have been opening up child bank accounts in a bid to clean their proceeds, it has emerged.

A record number of Australians have fallen victim to phishing scams this year, figures cited by the Courier Mail show.

While many topics of conversation may be fair game for Australia’s women, it seems money talk is still taboo.

St George has urged Queensland customers using its bank accounts and home loans services to get in touch as soon as possible if they have been hit by the recent storms.

Both Wespac and St George have welcomed the approval of their merger after a federal court ruled in their favour at the start of the week.

Amid all the doom and gloom of the current economic situation, the Treasury’s top money man has claimed that a smile will go a long way to getting the nation back on track.

Australians lost more than $500 million to credit card fraudsters during the course of 2007, new stats have shown.

A new government-backed switching service offered by all banks, credit unions and building societies means that consumers looking to refinance are in for an easy ride.

Online fraudsters have sent out a slew of emails that try to trick people into providing bank account login details and other personal info, NAB has warned.

Young people and senior citizens are falling behind in the financial literacy stakes, a new poll by ANZ has claimed.

In an effort to put a bit of fun back into sorting out bank accounts and credit cards, BankWest is opening up a store in Willetton, Western Australia, which isCredit designed to take the stress out of money management.

It seems many first-home buyers have been spooked by the recent crisis in global financial markets.

While solid definitions of what it means to be wealthy are difficult to come by, it seems many millionaires still take a "mum and dad" approach to investing their cash.

The credit crunch has claimed more than US$503 billion ($590 billion) from US businesses since it first bit into the economy more than a year ago.