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Personal banking

Avoid the fees and find the best bank account for everyday transactions.

It's hard to scrape the money together for life's luxuries (let alone life's necessities) when the bank keeps skimming the cream off the top of your accounts. There are much better options out there than that Dollarmite account you've had since you were eight years old, but who has the time to look? That's what we're here for. We'll show you how to find a fee-free account that won't eat away at your hard-earned cash.

Meet the personal banking team

Buying guides

How to choose the best bank account Don't let your bank charge you for accessing your hard-earned dough.

Articles

CHOICE calls on schools and parents to ditch Dollarmites ASIC finds little evidence school banking works.

6 most urgent banking royal commission recommendations Banking royal commission releases final report

Would you bank with Google, Amazon, Facebook or Apple? 'GAFA' and other neo-banks are shaking up Australia's financial industry. But is neo-banking good for consumers?

3 things we learned from the banking royal commission interim report Greedy bankers, profit-driven corporates and a poorly resourced corporate regulator: Australia's scandal-ridden financial system.

Open banking is coming, and it could save you money How gaining control of your data might help you get a better deal from the banks.

Bank fees still worth billions Despite a focus on unfair fees in recent years, some banks continue to gouge customers.

How effective are bank 'customer advocates'? Toothless tigers or champions for fairness – we investigate.

How to lodge a bank dispute Should you be seeking compensation for misconduct?

Banks take five years to refund fraud victims Taking advantage of customers is big business for the banks.

Shockers from the banking royal commission The lengths banks will go to in the pursuit of loot.

ANZ halts sales of car loans ahead of royal commission hearings Explicit details on loan fraud are expected to be revealed during the hearings.

New authority to handle financial disputes Three out-of-date regulators will be replaced by a new dispute handling body launching in November.

Bad home loans first on royal commission agenda Most public complaints deal with misconduct.

Banks are exploiting loyal customers, report reveals A federal government report describes the banking sector as institutionally anti-competitive.

Bank's 'significant failures' revealed in royal commission filing Australia's big four banks have each catalogued 10 years of misconduct.

Loan fraud lands ANZ in trouble The bank will pay approximately $10 million for fraudulent car loans.

Victims will get a say in banking royal commission $75m royal commission will take submissions from individuals.

VW's financing arm slapped with a $200k fine for 20 infringement notices ASIC has penalised the company over shady advertisements.

Royal commission will probe Australia's big four banks $75m investigation announced as the banks publicly volunteer for an inquiry.

Businesses should be stripped of ill-gotten profits, task force says ASIC's penalties described as 'too low' and 'inadequate', ahead of calls for change.

Big banks abolish ATM withdrawal fees Starting today for some banks.

Real-time payments In an age of instant noodles, instant scratchies and instant coffee, why do payments sometimes take days to reach their destination?

Real-time transfers launching in October with BPay's Osko The first service to support the New Payments Platform has been revealed.

Aussies losing $11m in fat-fingered net transfers An estimated 7000 households are affected each year.

Fees, poor service are top pain points for bank customers CHOICE calls for industry reform before Senate inquiry.

How to check if you have a stake in $1.1b in unclaimed money Some unclaimed accounts are holding more than a million dollars.

Why banks don't offer online credit card cancellations You can sign up in minutes, but banks withhold the tools needed to easily cancel.

Bankwest overcharges customers almost $5 million 2 February 2017 | Affected customers have been notified and refunded, says industry regulator.

Aussie battlers could benefit from changes to banking 30 January 2017 | ABA announces plans to make paying off debts easier.

Credit unions and customer-owned banks Do credit unions, building societies and mutuals love you more?

What's the best online payment method? Poli, Bpay, Eftpos, credit cards or PayPal – find the payment method that works for you.

ACCC considers inquiry into Australian banks' bitcoin behaviour 23 September 2015 | Accounts linked with bitcoin companies have been closed by a range of banks.

Push to recognise bitcoins as currency 6 August 2015 | Bitcoins and other digital currencies could soon be treated as mainstream currency for GST.

Court overturns decision to reimburse ANZ fees 10 Apr 2015 | ANZ bank has won its appeal over late fees on credit card payments.

ATM and EFTPOS card skimming 17 June 2015 | It's up to the banks to pay you back, but it's best not to get skimmed in the first place.

New credit check system will hurt the poor, consumer groups warn The government's plan to document every late repayment has been met with criticism from banks and consumer groups alike

How to avoid bank penalties Don't get stung by unfair fees for late payments, overdrawn accounts and bounced cheques.

Banking code exposed Our shadow shop found most Australian banks have trouble following their own code of practice on direct debit cancellations.

Finance comparison sites They'll give you a lot of information quickly, but be wary.

Unclaimed money Hundreds of millions of dollars are waiting to be claimed. Is some of it yours?

ATM use in decline 18 May 2015 | Consumers are shunning ATMs as they embrace contactless payment technology.

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The personal banking team

Reading product disclosure statements can be a drag, and to read them from a dozen different organisations can be time-consuming - and downright boring. But our banking experts love a cosy night in with a warm cup of tea and a nice thick PDS, so thanks to their unusual taste in reading material and their decades of experience deciphering bank-speak, you can go straight to the options that work for you and not the other way around.