Australian Banking



A bank is a location set up for the safe storage of money. In the modern world this involves recording the customer's account balance 

on computer systems, rather than storing large amounts of coins or cash.



An account is a record of the amount of money that the customer has at the bank. It is identified by an account number and the person's name.

More than one account can be opened if the customer needs to separate business expenses from personal expenses etc. In this case each

account has a different account number.


Deposits are generally by cash or cheque at a branch, or by direct transfer received from another bank account.


Withdrawals may be made from ATM machines using an ATM card, in cash at a branch, by requesting a bank cheque at a branch or by using

a credit card or EFTPOS card.




Cash

coins and notes



Credit card 

Issued by the VISA and Mastercard organisations mainly.

A credit card can be used to purchase goods in shops, and to pay for hotels, airline tickets and restaurant/cafe meals.

The total amount spent arrives as a bank statement each month, at which time the total must be repaid, or partly repaid and

the remaining amount carried over to the next month.

The credit limit specifies the maximium amount that can be owing at any time.



Debit Visa/Mastercard cards

These cards operate in the same way as a standard credit card, however the funds are directly withdrawn from a bank account

balance, there is no credit (lending) involved.



Loans

Bank loans are available for purchasing assets, houses, and business financing purposes.

Personal loans are up to 20,000 and 5 year terms and are ususally used for purchasing motor vehicles.

Housing loans are available up to 90% of the value of the property (the remainder supplied by the customer directly), with

loan terms of 15 to 20 years.




Basic Banking

Go into a branch and say that you would like to open an account. The account type should be a general everyday transaction account.

You will need at least 3 forms of identification, from the following list

	passport
	driver's licence
	medicare card
	social security card
	other ATM or credit card
	birth certificate


Opening the account is free. Try to ensure that there is always some money in the account or the bank might close it.

Fees are generally around $5 per month.

The bank will send you an ATM card which can be used in ATM machines, a week later.

Deposits can be made by taking cash into a branch, and giving the teller your ATM card and the sum of money.




	
