Banking

This past weekend Suncorp removed a bunch of fees from its transaction accounts.

Used cars come with character, there’s no doubt about that. And the truth is, if you’re opting to buy through a private seller, it’s often the cheaper (and sometimes more convenient) option. However, whether you go through carsales.com, Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace there is an element of risk in buying a preloved vehicle privately. Unlike with a used car dealership, the car you buy will have no Guarantee or Warranty attached to it. Similarly, any faults with the vehicle aren’t covered under Fair Trading and you’ll have to do all the paperwork in relation to the transaction yourself. That’s not to say that buying a used car privately isn’t a viable option, because it is. It’s just about being equipped with the knowledge you need to avoid driving home in a car that’s not up to scratch. So its with this in mind that we answer five of the top asked questions about buying a used car from a private seller: 

If you’ve been looking for a sign to downgrade your high interest credit card, this is it. According to the latest Mozo research, if Aussies switched their high rate plastic to the market leading low rate card, we’d collectively have an annual saving of $2.1 billion!We found that the highest credit card interest rate in the Mozo database clocks in at a whopping 24.99%, 17.50% higher than the lowest credit card rate on the market. Mozo Director Kirsty Lamont believes now has never been a better time to make the switch, as many high rates come with rewards and perks that are out of the question until further notice. “At a time when travel linked rewards on high interest rate credit cards largely grounded due to the pandemic, getting value through this premium card category has become more challenging,” she said. 

Commonwealth Bank customers can get a digital copy of their receipts sent straight to their smartphones under a new partnership between the major bank and Sydney-based fintech Slyp. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has turned the economy on its head and forced many of us to rethink our financial goals, but new research from ING has found Aussies’ interest in the property market has hardly waned.In a survey of 2,075 Australians, nearly half (44%) viewed property as the current strongest investment option and over a quarter (26%) believed now is the best time to get a foot on the property ladder.“The research suggests COVID-19 has left many Aussies cautiously thinking about how they can invest to take greater control of their financial future,” said ING’s head of home loans, Julie-Anne Bosich.“While, understandably, not everyone is in a position to use their finances to invest, our research has found that for those who are, the preferred investment choice is property, especially in the current climate where interest rates are at a record low.”Among this property-hungry cohort, young Australians are well-represented. 25% of millennials surveyed said they are currently saving to purchase a home and 50% felt positive about their chances, with low interest rates and dipping prices the main drivers of confidence.RELATED: Why a 1% difference in your home loan rate mattersHaving fewer opportunities to spend has also worked out in Aussies’ favour, with 37% of respondents saving more than usual since the pandemic struck and 56% stating they are currently in a better position to achieve their financial goals.As for where Australians are looking to buy, 28% of respondents are currently eyeing Melbourne, followed closely by Sydney (24%), Brisbane (17%), and the rest of New South Wales (16%).It’s perhaps no surprise that Melbourne currently tops the list of most sought-after locations. According to property research firm CoreLogic, Melbourne property values have fallen a staggering 5.5% since March.Since restrictions were eased and property agents given permission to resume onsite inspections, new listings in the city have jumped up by 330%.“The result is likely due to months of pent-up decisions to sell from vendors, and reflects how the real estate transaction process has remained tied to physical inspections,” said CoreLogic head of research Australia, Eliza Owen.If you’re looking to purchase an investment property of your own, be sure to check out our investment home loan comparison page, or browse the selection below.

Digital payments platform Azimo has become the latest international money transfer fintech to set up shop in Australia, joining the IMT scene today with a promise to deliver competitive exchange rates and fast speeds to customers. The UK-based service has operated in Europe since 2012, and now eight years on, it's set its sights on Australia as its next large sending market. “We’ve always been more interested in the Asia Pacific than the US,” Azimo’s chief operating officer, Dora Ziambra says. “Australia is also an English speaking country where there’s less localisation needed [than other Asian Pacific countries], and it’s a place where 30% of the population is foreign born and has connections to another country. So it lends itself as a next step of international expansion.”And with AU$28 billion remittances sent abroad from Australia every year, Ziambra says “there’s still room for Azimo to offer a competitive product.”She says Azimo stands out from other digital players in terms of the breadth of its network and its wide range of payout methods. “We cover a lot more countries … and [in addition to bank-to-bank transfers] we offer cash payout, mobile wallet, mobile top-up, sending credit to phone, home delivery in some cases, and bank deposits.” Customers are able to send money to more than 200 countries and territories, including China, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand. And while large IMTs with many other providers can take between one to five working days to process, Azimo says most of its transfers arrive in less than 24 hours. Instant transfers are also available for over 50 countries, depending on which payout method you choose. For example, while sending funds to a Thailand bank account would be instant (i.e. complete in a few minutes), for transfers to the Philippines to occur immediately, you may need to opt for a cash pickup instead.Azimo is also expected to appeal to Australia’s Chinese expat community, with instant transfers available thanks to Azimo’s integration with Alipay, a major online payments platform in China. All the customer will need is their recipient’s AliPay ID to send money instantly in yuan. “Delivery speed is something we keep investing in,” Ziambra says. “A lot of our customers - as many as 75% - send money for family support, so getting the money there as quickly as possible at the best price possible is what we aim to offer.”

The downward spiral in savings account rates continues to show no signs of letting up with customers of neobanks 86 400 and Xinja set to be the latest rate cut recipients.

2020 has been an odd one to say the least. Whether your travel plans have been cancelled, you’ve rearranged your wedding or home renovation, or your finances simply aren’t what they used to be, a personal loan might help you get back on track. It’s true, in some cases it’s more convenient to reach for your credit card to make purchases. But if you have a big expense coming up or find yourself needing to cover a large bill, a personal loan may actually be the better option. According to the Mozo database, the average interest rate on a secured personal loan sits at 8.01% and the average unsecured personal loan rate sits at 10.24%. Meanwhile the average credit card interest rate is 16.35%. So, if you think that your situation might be a good one to consider a personal loan, check out some of these examples below. 

There are currently more mobile phone connections (close to 33 million) than there are people in Australia, according to the consumer data researchers at Statista. Unless you can text simultaneously in each hand, this means there are heaps of powered-down phones just taking up space.Rather than let your old smartphone sit in the odds-and-ends drawer and become less relevant by the day, you could think about selling it.EBay estimates there is $7.8 billion in unused smartphones languishing in Australian households. The digital marketplace juggernaut says potential sellers could make up to $386 more by selling well-preserved devices via its platform instead of trading in after an upgrade.   And it looks like plenty of Aussies are jumping on board, with 76,626 secondhand smartphone sales recorded on eBay since the beginning of 2020 – that’s around 11 handsets changing hands every hour.Gumtree’s Second Hand Economy Report also shows there are big bucks to be made through more sustainable selling. It calculates the pre-loved economy is worth $42 billion in 2020, which is a $3 billion increase on the nine previous years analysed by Gumtree. 

Interest rates haven’t been all that rosey for savers in 2020. Whether you store your cash in a term deposit or savings account, economic uncertainty has led to consistent cuts across the board. The traditional approach to this kind of instability would be to bet on a term deposit. This option provides a fixed rate for as long as you set the term, helping you avoid rate reductions (and increases, on the negative flipside).The catch is you’ve got to get while the gettin's good. Right now, what you’ll get for an average one-year term deposit is 0.79% interest rate, according to Mozo’s database. Compared to 2014’s one-year term average of 3.41%, that interest rate doesn’t feel quite so good.Unfortunately, things really don’t pick up if you’re willing to stick it out for a longer term. As you can see in the graph below, savers were once upon a time incentivised with a higher rate to keep their cash locked up for longer periods.