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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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Learn more about the
Wise Multi-Currency account
The Bank of Melbourne offers a few different accounts for everyday banking and savings.
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
The Bank of Melbourne offers three different savings accounts to personal customers.³
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.
Here’s what you’ll need to do to open a Complete Freedom Everyday account.⁴
According to the Bank of Melbourne, the application process should take you less than 3 minutes.⁴
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
To open a joint account with the Bank of Melbourne you need to select “joint” instead of “single” when completing the application form.⁴
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.
To open a Bank of Melbourne account you need to meet these requirements.⁴
Here’s the documents and information you’ll need to provide to open an account.⁴
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
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
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.
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 50 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
Sources:
Sources checked on: 18 July 2022
This publication is provided for general information purposes only and is not intended to cover every aspect of the topics with which it deals. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content in this publication. The information in this publication does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from TransferWise Limited or its affiliates. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. We make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether express or implied, that the content in the publication is accurate, complete or up to date.
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