How to open a bank account with Bank of Melbourne. The requirements, account types and fees.

A subsidiary of Westpac, the Bank of Melbourne is an Australian bank that’s based in Victoria. You may be considering opening an account with them because you’re moving to Australia, have recently arrived, or are just looking for a new financial partner.

To help, we’re going to run through what you need to do to open a Bank of Melbourne bank account, including the requirements, fees and different types of accounts available. We’ll also introduce you to Wise as a viable alternative.

💸 Looking for a stress-free international account, with your very own local AUD account details?

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Wise Multi-Currency account

Types of accounts — Current/everyday and savings accounts

The Bank of Melbourne offers a few different accounts for everyday banking and savings.

Bank of Melbourne transaction accounts

The Complete Freedom Everyday Account is the Bank of Melbourne’s main transaction account.¹ It has no account fees, is connected to a Visa debit card and can be managed through Internet and Mobile banking.

There are also tailored versions of the Complete Freedom account available to certain people.²

• High school students
• Young adults and students
• Concession card holders
• Retirees

Bank of Melbourne saving accounts

The Bank of Melbourne offers three different savings accounts to personal customers.³

• Incentive Saver - A base rate of 0.15% p.a. with a maximum variable bonus rate of 0.85% p.a.
• Maxi Saver - 0.05% p.a. with a 3 month bonus of 0.95% p.a. for new Maxi Saver customers.
• Term Deposits- Up to 1.10% p.a fixed returns on your deposit.

How do you open these account types?

Let’s take a look at what you need to do to open an everyday account and savings account online with the Bank of Melbourne.

How to open an everyday account with Bank of Melbourne?

Here’s what you’ll need to do to open a Complete Freedom Everyday account.⁴

1. Head to the Bank of Melbourne website and go to the page of the account you want to open.
2. Press “Open Now”
3. Select whether it’s a single or joint account, and if you’ve used Internet or Mobile Banking with Bank of Melbourne in the past
4. Provide your personal details
5. Verify your ID online
6. Confirm your tax residency

According to the Bank of Melbourne, the application process should take you less than 3 minutes.⁴

How to open a savings account with Bank of Melbourne?

The process for opening a Bank of Melbourne savings account online is the same as opening a transaction account - simply go to the page of the account you want to open and follow the prompts.

Keep in mind that some savings accounts, including the Maxi Saver, require you to have an eligible Bank of Melbourne transaction account first.⁵

How to open a joint account with Bank of Melbourne?

To open a joint account with the Bank of Melbourne you need to select “joint” instead of “single” when completing the application form.⁴

Cost, running fees that come with the Everyday account

Here’s some of the main fees associated with the Bank of Melbourne Complete Freedom account. For context, we’ve compared them to the Wise Multi-currency account.

Fees	Bank of Melbourne - Complete Freedom account⁵	Wise Multi-currency account
Account monthly fees	No fee	Free to hold up to $23,000 AUD per month. 0.00437% daily holding fee for any amount over $23,000 AUD
International transfer fee (for a sample amount of $1,000 AUD to GBP)	$10	Small payout fee + 0.45% variable conversion fee (e.g. for a transfer of $1,000 AUD to GBP, the total fee charged is $5.14 AUD) You can make a fee calculation here.
ATM withdrawals	No fee from Bank of Melbourne, St. George, BankSA and Westpac ATMs in Australia⁵ $5.00 fee for overseas withdrawals. No fee from Global ATM Alliance and Westpac Group partner ATMs⁵	You can take out money for free twice a month — as long as the total amount is under $350 AUD. After that, there is a $1.50 AUD per transaction fixed fee. If you take out over $350 AUD in one month, there is a 1.75% on the amount exceeding that. See card fees here.

If you know you’ll be making foreign currency transfers you’ll also want to keep in mind that the Bank of Melbourne’s exchange rate may not be the most favourable.

Here’s a comparison of what the recipient gets when sending $1000 AUD to a GBP account.⁶

Provider	Exchange Rate	Fees	Recipient Sent
Wise	0.572331	$5.14 AUD	£569.39 GBP
Bank of Melbourne	0.5508	$10 AUD	£545.29 GBP

*Reference rate only - actual rate may vary. Information last checked on 17 July 2022.

What do I need to open an account? Requirements, documents and what to know.

To open a Bank of Melbourne account you need to meet these requirements.⁴

• 14+ years old
• Have an Australian residential address
• Be in Australia
• Provide required documentation

Which documents do I need to open an account?

Here’s the documents and information you’ll need to provide to open an account.⁴

• Full name
• Address
• Email address
• Phone number
• Two valid forms of identification
• Tax residency details

Do I need to deposit money to open a Bank of Melbourne account?

There’s no mention of needing a minimum deposit to open an everyday account or savings account.

The minimum deposit for a term deposit is $1000.³

Do I need to go to a bank branch, can I do this online or from abroad?

As we mentioned, you can open a Bank of Melbourne account online using their website.

They do specify that applicants need to have an Australian residential address and be in Australia at the time of application.⁴

You can find out more by contacting Bank of Melbourne.

• Call 13 22 55 within Australia (interpreters available)⁷
• Call +61 3 8536 7870 from overseas
• Chat with their virtual assistant through the app or internet banking
• Visit a branch in person

Alternatives to Bank of Melbourne

If you’re looking for an Australian bank account you could also check out the Big Four - Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, ANZ or National Australia Bank (NAB).

Alternatively, Wise is a secure financial services provider that specialises in international banking.

Wrapping up

Opening a Bank of Melbourne account is relatively straightforward, but may not be the most suitable option if you want to transact in multiple currencies or need to open an AUD account outside of Australia.

With a Wise Multi-currency account you can convert and hold over 40 currencies in a single account. Your money is exchanged using the real exchange rate with no hidden fees. You’ll get local AUD account details to use and can also order a Wise debit card.

Sending and managing money with Wise works out to 8x cheaper on average than the banks. This makes it quite a cost effective way to send money in and out of Australia if you have business or family overseas.

Opening an account is free, so why not check it out for yourself and see what Wise can do for you.

Open your Wise account in minutes

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Sources:

1. Bank of Melbourne - Everyday Account + Visa Debit Card
2. Bank of Melbourne - Everyday Bank Accounts
3. Bank of Melbourne - Savings Accounts
4. Bank of Melbourne - Complete Freedom
5. Bank of Melbourne - Transaction, savings and investment accounts
6. Bank of Melbourne - Currency converter
7. Bank of Melbourne - Contact Us

Sources checked on: 18 July 2022