BOQ foreign currency account. The options available

When you own a business, your business expenses can begin to add up quickly, so finding ways to save some cash here and there can make a big difference. If your business deals in foreign currencies, making and receiving international transfers can come with some hefty fees if left unchecked. Knowing what's out there can help pick a foreign currency account right for your needs.

We’ll introduce you to the options available at the Bank of Queensland or BOQ for short, while going through who can open a foreign currency account and how.

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Bank of Queensland Australia

The Bank of Queensland (BOQ) is a large regional bank in Australia that claims to be one of the last remaining independent banks outside the big four banking institutions. It has a network of 160 branches across the country, and is managed by local Owner-Managers. BOQ offers customers a range of financial products and services for personal and business customers.¹

Does BOQ offer multi currency accounts to consumer customers?

At this time, BOQ does not offer multi-currency or foreign currency accounts to their consumer banking customers. The BOQ foreign currency account is only available to business customers that usually make transactions in foreign currencies.²

There are two types of products available including the foreign currency accounts and Foreign currency deposits. We’ll go through the differences below.

1. BOQ Foreign Currency Accounts³

These are accounts available in one or a few denominated foreign currencies to be accessed at any time, given the funds deposited have been cleared. BOQ offers accounts in the following currencies:

• USD
• EUR
• GBP
• CHF
• CAD
• JPY
• NZD
• SGD
• HKD
• THB
• ZAR

There is no minimum balance required to open an account. Another benefit of having this account in any denominated currency is that it can reduce costs associated with converting funds from AUD frequently and may accrue interest on your balance.

2. BOQ Foreign Currency Deposits³

A BOQ foreign currency deposit is a fixed term account that requires a minimum balance of the equivalent of $100,000 AUD in any of the available currencies. This account accrues interest on the deposited foreign currency and is paid out at the end of the term.

As foreign deposit accounts require a high minimum balance and keeps funds locked, the next sections will focus on the business foreign currency accounts.

BOQ business foreign currency account: Fees and exchange rates

When it comes to opening and maintaining an foreign currency account, there are no opening or ongoing account keeping fees. To credit or deposit a currency into an account, you will have to pay a telegraphic transfer processing fee as your funds are processed by a correspondent bank.

The fee varies by currency. We’ll list these in the table below.³

As seen on 2 July 2023

On top of this fee, you may end up paying a correspondent bank fee when making a transfer from your foreign currency account abroad. The estimated fees are as follows.³

As seen on 2 July 2023

Exchange rates used by BOQ

When you make a telegraphic transfer into or out of your foreign currency account, you’ll use the exchange rate based on the interbank rate at the time of the conversion, plus a margin determined by the BOQ.³ We will do an example converting AUD into USD with the current rate used by BOQ as of the 30th June 2023.

If you want to deposit $1000 USD into your USD foreign currency account from AUD, you will need to buy $1000 USD using the BOQ buy rate of 0.7096.⁴ Not including the above fees in the transaction, you will need $1409.24 AUD to deposit $1000 USD.

How to open a business foreign currency account with BOQ

If you want to open a business foreign currency account, you will need to get in contact with a BOQ banking specialist by²:

1. Enquiring online
2. Calling BOQ on 1800 34 3939
3. Visiting a local branch

Before you contact BOQ, you should check that you meet their eligibility requirements and provide the necessary supporting documents.

Documents needed to open a business multi currency account at BOQ

To be able to open an account, you will need to be⁵:

• Be an individual, an Australian corporation or association
• Be a trustee of an eligible trust
• Hold an existing BOQ account in AUD in the same name

If you meet this criteria, you can contact the BOQ and discuss their requirement for documents to set up and open your new BOQ business foreign currency account.

Contacting Bank of Queensland

For general enquiries, you are able to contact BOQ by:

• Calling 1300 55 72 72 from within Australia
• Calling +61 7 3336 2420 from overseas

Phone lines are open between 8 am to 8 pm Monday to Friday Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) and Saturday between 9 am t0 5 pm AEST.

Wise Account — A smart alternative

If you are looking for a smart, non-bank alternative, where being a business customer is not a prerequisite to open a multi-currency account, then check out Wise.

The Wise Account from Wise — while not a bank account — enables you to store 40 international currencies and get local account details for a number of different countries, including AUD, GBP, NZD, EUR and USD. You can use these to easily transfer your money to Wise or get paid by others.

You’ll also avoid high international transaction fees and get access to the mid-market rate on all conversions. The best part - you can open and manage your Wise account completely online.

Join over 13 million customers currently using Wise.

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