Bank account news and advice

Picture this: you’ve finally decided to do an overdue wallet cleanout - there’s a few maccas receipts, business cards from places you don’t recognise, scatterings of 5 cent pieces, which would be better off in your bank account, and an expired gift card to your favourite store. 

Westpac customers, rejoice! The big four bank has announced plans to scrap the transaction limits on your personal bank account, slash your account keeping fees and have hinted at a potential partnership with digital payments platform, Apple Pay.

The nervous wait between transferring your money to a mate and them actually getting it will soon be a thing of the past for Aussie banking consumers thanks to the imminent arrival of instant funds transfers early next year.

NAB customers with a nerdy streak will relish the news that you can now make general enquiries across a range of banking products via its recently launched ‘Talk to NAB’ app.

The big banks (and some smaller ones) may have recently made ATM fees a thing of the past for Aussie spenders, but don't be too quick to celebrate. We're still shelling out hundreds in bank fees every year - in fact, the average Aussie household paid $477 in bank fees last year according to the RBA.

A weekend blitz from the big four banks may have just opened up the way Australians bank, with the Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, Westpac and NAB all announcing that they will cease charging $2 ATM fees for withdrawals from customers of rival banks.

A recent Mozo lifestyle habits survey has found that beauty does come at a price - $32.9 billion a year to be exact. And it is one of our fastest growing areas of spending, up 49% on last year. 

The sometimes laborious process of going to your financial ombudsman when you’ve been shortchanged by your financial provider is set to be replaced by a one-stop complaints shop for Aussie banking consumers.

ANZ customers are being warned to pay more attention to their inboxes due to a recent and incredibly realistic phishing scam. 

In an event set to make any online shopper swoon and your bank balance cry, Afterpay is hosting a 24-hour shopping spree, called ‘Afterpay Day’, with up to 40% off its top 100 retailers including Country Road, General Pants and Mon Purse.