Guide to Bank Accounts

Maybe your parents opened one for you when you were little, or maybe you opened one for yourself just before you received your first paycheck. Regardless of how your first bank account came to be, it is highly unlikely that you thought too long and hard about how the financial institution you were joining was structured.

“This year, I’m going to spend less and save more.”

Consider taking your relationship to the next level? Financial compatibility plays a big part in relationships, so when it comes to opening a bank account with your partner it’s important you're on the same page.

Open banking is in the process of revolutionising traditional banking systems across the world and has certainly been making waves down under. This new notion of consumer-centric banking has the potential to seriously change how you handle your personal finances so what better time than now to get a grasp of what it actually is, when it’s likely to be implemented and what open banking means for your future money management.

After much speculation and fanfare, the New Payments Platform (NPP) has officially launched in Australia, ushering in what could be a number of momentous changes to the way Australian consumers and businesses do their banking.

If you’ve ever felt that transferring money to someone’s bank account was way more difficult than it should be, you’re not alone. If you’ve felt frustrated waiting 2-3 business days, just to receive a simple payment, you’re not alone. 

Long gone are the days when you had to repay money with cash or by whipping out your cheque book. The invention and uptake of online bank accounts has made everything from transferring money to friends and family to paying rent and bills a breeze.

Wouldn’t life be so much easier if you could just transfer money from one bank account to another in real-time, rather than the whole process taking a couple of business days for the recipient to receive your funds? Flirt with the concept for a moment and you’ll soon realise that the convenience of making fast payments 24/7 (like to your landlord or energy provider for instance) would indeed be a good thing to have.

A fee-free bank account can actually mean multiple things. For instance, it could refer to an everyday transaction account that comes with $0 monthly fee, or an account that waives its recurring charges as long as you deposit a certain amount each month, or one that does not charge extra money for ATM and over-the-counter transactions.

There’s nothing worse than receiving your bank account statement and realising you’ve accumulated all these additional bank charges you never knew about.    

With all Australians increasing relying on the internet for work, entertainment and general communications, it’s hardly surprising online banks and online bank accounts are now extremely popular.   

Looking for a better way to manage your money but don’t know where to begin? From everyday transaction accounts and linked savings accounts to credit cards and personal loans, a little attention to your personal banking services can actually save you a bundle.    

One of the most important things to consider before setting up a bank account is if it can help your money grow. And to answer that question, it’s essential to understand how much interest you can earn with a bank account, where can you get the highest rate of interest and whether you’ll need to pay any additional fees for high bank interest.

A checking account is just like any everyday transaction account that lets you make bank deposits as well as withdrawals. The added feature with a checking account is that apart from managing your funds at the branch, at an ATM or online, you also have a cheque book, which enables you to make payments to businesses or people from your account.

Found the perfect bank account to store your money? Then now’s a good time to understand all the tips and tricks to efficiently manage the moolah coming in and going out of your account.  

Opening a bank account in Australia is a very simple process that doesn’t require you to spend hours filling out complicated paperwork. It actually just takes a few minutes and can be done online or at a local branch of a bank, credit union or building society, depending on whatever works best for you.

Gone are the days when you needed to go over specially to your local branch to deposit cash, transfer money, check your account balance and pay off your credit card. Online banking makes your financial life simpler by letting you perform all of these actions with just one tap on your smartphone, computer or tablet.     

If you're new to Australia, one of the first things you'll need to do (after visiting some of our must-see beaches and sights) is set up an everyday bank account. This is the Aussie version of a current account and is the bank account that you’d generally deposit your salary into and use to manage transactions like your household bills, grocery shopping and credit card payments.  

With so many banks around, and so many more features, offers and conditions, it's easy enough to feel like a kid in an accountancy store. Here's Mozo's checklist of sweets (and sours!) on offer...

With so many banks around, and so many more features, offers and conditions, it's easy to end up with the wrong transaction account - and pay for the privilege. Here are some of the key features you should consider before opening a bank account:

Bank account fees and charges vary between banks and between bank account products. Here are the most common fees and charges that you will likely see attached to a bank account:

These days banks have taken on the idea of personalised banking and developed a range of bank accounts to suit the particular banking needs of their customers (or so they would have us believe!) 

The first step to avoid any sneaky bank charges is to be aware of the common fees that can eat away from your monthly bank balance. Here's a list of the charges that you need to watch out for:

Wondering if it's worth the trouble to switch your bank account? Trust us, changing bank accounts is no big deal and you'll feel much happier with all the extra savings you'll make. Banks make billions of dollars out of customer laziness - so keep your mind on the prize and soldier through these 5 Steps to Bank Account Paradise.

Do you know how banks make the majority of their profits? They used to come from home loans but according to a recent report from UBS Investment, there has been a major shift and now banks make most of their money from everyday transaction accounts. And what’s really shocking is that most of that money comes from low income accounts, so it’s the people who can least afford it that are propping up the banks big profits!

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to financially test households across the country, recent research has shown there might be one generation that’s finding it harder than others. According to new research by J.D Power, millennials are more likely to be financially stressed compared to older Aussies. Almost half (41%) of millennials reported to have high or moderate levels of stress. One in five also said they were dissatisfied with their current financial situation and struggle with managing their finances.“Millennial finances have been hardest hit by the pandemic and it will take time for their personal financial condition to recover,” said Bronwyn Gill, head of banking and payments intelligence at J.D. Power Australia.  But despite these feelings of uncertainty, 16% of millennials have taken the initiative to switch banks within the last twelve months. Lack of competitive interest rates and too many fees were two of the top reasons for switching at 15% and 13%, respectively. A bank’s reputation was also of high importance to 6% of younger Aussies, as they would be willing to switch based on how often banks were negatively represented in the media. 

When it comes to saving and spending habits, 2020 has been a rollercoaster year of change for many. Australians have had to rethink budgets to manage income loss caused by the pandemic, turn to online shopping during lockdowns and even abandon cash to help stop the spread of COVID-19. In light of this, you might be looking for new ways to make your banking more efficient and help you save for rainy days to come. As more Aussies head online for their banking needs, we’ve laid out some of the innovative banking features to help you make more out of your cash in 2020.

Cards and digital payments are in, cash is out. That’s the major takeaway from newly released research from MyState Bank which found that two in three Australians (68%) have been using less cash since the COVID-19 outbreak began.

Do you regularly resort to sneaky Google searches to translate financial terms in the news? Then let this alphabetised glossary of July’s money jargon guide you through the financial section of any morning bulletin or weekend trivia night.