News Archive for May 2016

Since the RBA’s landmark decision to slash the cash rate to a record low 1.75% this month, Aussie savers have been feeling the hit as savings account interest rates have dropped sharply.

A lower cap on interchange fees charged between banks to a credit card maximum of 0.8% is expected to shake up the rewards landscape for cardholders in Australia.

RateSetter has announced it will now be offering a new range of peer-to-peer business loans aimed at helping small Aussie businesses thrive.

In the lead up to this year’s Federal election, the ALP has coined “Putting people first” as its official campaign slogan - but Heritage Bank is none too happy about the similarity of the phrase to its own much-loved motto, “People first”.

There’s been a lot of talk in the media of late about students getting themselves into trouble over money matters.

Amongst all the Australian states, South Australia has made the most impressive shift to sustainable power while New South Wales is stuck with the lowest share of renewable energy, reveals a recent report by The Climate Council.

Road rules and laws regarding car insurance must adapt to the advancements of driverless technology, said a government agency in a report released earlier this month.

Do you spend all your time comparing deals on flights, hotels, and travel insurance, but scramble to organise your travel money last minute? You’re not alone!

Millennials are the next group in Suncorp’s sights, as it launches a world-first, on-demand insurance platform, where users can ‘swipe right’ to insure their valuables.

UPDATE 27/05/16: The RBA announced yesterday that business merchants will soon no longer be able to surcharge excessively for card payments. The new rules are to come into effect on September 1 when the ACCC will begin enforcing the ban.

One of the most recent entrants into the energy sector, Mojo has changed the way people look at electricity prices in NSW, and is now set to shake up the Queensland energy market.

With the announcement of a proposed merger between two of North Queensland's biggest credit unions, Queensland Country Credit Union and ECU Australia, locally owned mutuals are reaching new strengths in the banking world.

Recent research by Southern Cross Travel Insurance has revealed nearly a quarter of Aussies have fallen ill overseas. Of those that got sick, over half had to swap the beach for a medical centre to get treatment for their illness. So what should you do if you suffer a health mishap overseas? Well, according to Craig Morrison, CEO of SCTI a little bit of planning can go a long way. Here’s his top tips for staying healthy and happy on holiday:

Starting from next month, NSW residents can expect their electricity bills to increase by up to $35 each year. The news comes after the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) gave its nod to a 1.5% increase in network charges from July 1.

In a market characterised by plummeting interest rates, there’s one group of Aussie borrowers who aren’t necessarily seeing the benefits - credit cardholders.

Online shoppers are set to put a dent in their credit cards from 7pm tonight over Click Frenzy Mayhem, an annual mega sale event featuring nearly 2,000 cyberspace deals.

It’s everybody's favourite time of year again - the season for scrambling through poorly filed receipts, placing confused calls to your accountant and debating with yourself whether or not that lobster dinner was really a business expense.

While most travellers refill the coffers by tightening their belts after a blowout holiday, others have turned to bending the truth on their travel insurance claims, Southern Cross Travel Insurance has reported.

Google dropped a bombshell on the payday lending industry yesterday and announced that all banner ads on such “harmful” loans will face a blanket ban.

It’s the stuff that renewable energy dreams are made of. When a country actually produced so much green electricity that it had to pay people to use power. That’s exactly what happened in Germany last Sunday, when a particularly windy and sunny day led the country’s solar, wind, hydro and biomass plants to generate about 87% of the total power being consumed for several hours.

Tigerair is having a gigantic sale with popular flights being cut by up to 60% within Australia and to Bali.

With interest rates at an all time low after the Reserve Bank’s May announcement, there is no better time for borrowers to pick up a great home loan deal.

UPDATE 5/09/16 Free rides on Opal cards end today for public transport commuters in Sydney, who will receive a 50% discount once they reach eight trips a week instead. For some, the changes will hit hard.

Putting in the groundwork for an overseas trip is labour-intensive. You have to plan every detail from multiple flights with time differences in mind down to the very last T-shirt in your suitcase.

Jetsetters facing the weak Australian currency, that dropped 3.13% in the last week to 74 cents against the US dollar, can choose alternative destinations to Europe for better value, a Market Analyst has advised.

In a move to provide a major boost to the renewable energy sector in Australia, the Greens have proposed a new plan to make installing solar storage systems more affordable.

This month, the Reserve Bank slashed interest rates to a record low 1.75%, and major bank NAB are already predicting further action in the coming months, reported the Australian Broker.

The car industry is delighted, amid threats to job losses, that April saw a 2.6% spike in SUV and light commercial vehicle sales to 87,571 in Australia.

To help people manage their household budget better and prevent the likelihood of quarterly bill shock, Origin Energy has announced it is switching eligible electricity accounts from quarterly to monthly billing cycles in Victoria.

<> The RBA has slashed rates even further to 1.50%, at its August board meeting. See which home loan lenders have passed on rates here.

Speculation about a potential rate drop in the lead up to this month’s RBA announcement has proved correct, as Reserve Bank interest rates were slashed to 1.75%.

Treasurer Scott Morrison said the 2016 budget will include superannuation tax breaks or “top ups” for lower-income earners and women, the Australian Financial Review has reported.

There's been much speculation in the lead up to tomorrow’s official cash rate announcement from the Reserve Bank of Australia. Find out what the experts think will happen.

South Australian real estate hopefuls are one step closer to entering the competitive housing market after Credit Union SA announced a new market-leading first home buyers grant.