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Banking as an expat (aussie.zone)

submitted 2 months ago by Chef_Boyargee@aussie.zone to c/brisbane@aussie.zone

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We’re working on setting up the ability to spend money easily in Australia. We’re looking at Wise for transfers and starting to live in Aus. As we roll into collecting pay, are there any banks or credit unions (if that’s even a thing outside of the US) that are recommended or actively discouraged from using?

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[–] zero_gravitas@aussie.zone 2 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Some banks also limit how much money they’ll guarantee; so if your accounts might go over $249k you should make sure your chosen bank is good with that.

My understanding is that the deposit guarantee is $250k across the board, because it's a federal government measure.

Simply:

Under the FCS, deposits are protected up to $250,000 for each account holder at each licenced bank, building society or credit union incorporated in Australia.

Source: https://www.apra.gov.au/deposit-checker-are-your-deposits-protected

So if you have much more than $250k in cash, you ought to spread it over multiple banks. But pretty much all banks (you can check this list) are guaranteed for 'normal' cash accounts (transaction, savings, term deposit), and they're all to the same $250k limit.

[–] Chef_Boyargee@aussie.zone 2 points 2 months ago

Seems to be very similar to the US system. Not quite sure why I was expecting any drastic differences. Thanks!

[–] mycatsays@aussie.zone 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Thanks for the correction. I have only ever seen the point flagged by the smaller banks I've looked at, so I assumed it was a small bank thing. Maybe I've not looked in the right places on larger banks' websites.

The linked page says several times "for each account holder". But that doesn't mean a joint account gets double the guarantee, does it?

[–] zero_gravitas@aussie.zone 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

The linked page says several times “for each account holder”. But that doesn’t mean a joint account gets double the guarantee, does it?

That is what it means, yes. Or, stated differently, an equal split of a joint account's balance is counted towards each of the joint holders' deposit guarantee limit.

See here: https://www.apra.gov.au/frequently-asked-questions-about-banking-and-financial-claims-scheme

Case study

Alex and Peter have a number of accounts with their credit union:

$300,000 in a joint account

$50,000 in a separate account in only Alex’s name.

The FCS protects a total amount of deposits up to $250,000 for each account holder for each bank, building society and credit union. Therefore, Peter is covered under the FCS for $150,000 (half the joint account) while Alex is covered for $200,000 (being the sum of $150,000 from the joint account in addition to the $50,000 from his individual account).