Positive Banking Experiences - What Works/Has Worked for You?

Llong time listener on 23/10/2023 - 05:37

…first time caller. This topic has probably been covered to death but I just wanted to share something that worked well for me.

  • Recently returned from an overseas holiday and had looked into the WISE/Revolut vs. Mastercard/VISA setups. Ended up going with a 2UP debit card from Up Bank that my wife and I used exclusively. Easy to set up, zero fees and from my research the Mastercard (and VISA) exchange rate was on par with WISE.

  • I really enjoyed the app and the way the purchases are tracked - ie. you can confirm merchant and location and have very clear visibility over purchases. You can elect to update merchant details if they might be new to UpBank, which almost felt like contributing to a community like OzB.

  • Obviously banking is very much a personal choice but I’d be keen to hear what institutions or setups have worked well for other people. I will probably elect to keep UpBank as a non-funded account that I use for online purchases or holidaying etc. and keep my everyday transaction and HISA with a separate institution (currently in the process of selecting a new one).

Financial

Comments

  • foxmulder on 23/10/2023 - 11:23
    +3

    Ubank can now do bpay with funds from saving account. Thus you do not need to transfer from saving to transaction account anymore. Generally with a lot of banks overseas transactions now cost very close to spot rate, no more 3% bank fees. If you do not know yet about 2% instant cashbacks from HSBC global saver account, it's a must use for everyday tap payments.

    • kerfuffle on 23/10/2023 - 11:41
      +2

      UBank can also PayID straight from savings accounts

      • long time listener on 23/10/2023 - 13:26

        Being a neobank, do you consider the inability to do physical banking or bank@post a hinderance? I’m surprised Ubank doesn’t do bank@post where other neo banks do. Unless you can do banking at NAB (being a subsidiary)?
        It’s a pretty uncommon occurrence, but there have been occasions where I’ve needed to withdraw or deposit larger amounts of cash and have used bank@post.

        • Seraphin7 on 23/10/2023 - 14:30
          +2

          Over the last many number of years, I have only ever had to "go into a branch" when there is some service failure that for some reason can't be attended to online or over the phone. I have not "willingly" attended a branch in probably more than 10 years now.

          I will occasionally need to visit a bank ATM to withdraw relatively large amounts of cash that I'm finding are being increasingly restricted via third party ATMs and supermarket cashouts. I used to be larger user of coin deposit ATMs, but since I'm using far less cash now than previously, even that has dried to a trickle.

          I would suggest to anyone bank according to day-to-day needs first. It is often prudent to keep another "big bank" account on the go (if that's not your first choice) to cater for the fringe cases that pop up from time to time.

        • kerfuffle on 23/10/2023 - 16:00
          +1

          No, because I don't keep all my funds tied to one bank.

          • long time listener on 23/10/2023 - 16:13

            @kerfuffle: Yeah I suppose what I meant to infer or ask is whether that is a consideration for what other banks you choose in your setup.

    • long time listener on 23/10/2023 - 13:21

      Yeah I was thinking of using Ubank as my daily driver.

      I have not heard about the HSBC instant cashbacks, will definitely look into it.

      Thanks :)

  • donga100 on 23/10/2023 - 15:42
    +2

    Came here to tell you I find Up Bank very good. Guess you already knew that! 😂

  • heytherehoney on 25/10/2023 - 19:21
    +1

    My partner and I used UBank on a trip to Europe recently. It was fine.

    Pros:
    - Uses the VISA rate, no ATM or exchange fees.
    - Customer service is quick to answer phone, Australia based.

    Peeves:
    - Even though we called in advance to advise of our travels, they blocked us both at different points in time.
    - Doesn't show the foreign currency amount attached to each transaction.
    - Doesn't show a running tally of balance after each transaction.
    - No desktop based access (not really a big deal for us though).

    Have most of my savings with UBank - good rate (currently 5%) up to $250K and fuss free.

    • long time listener on 28/10/2023 - 21:21

      Completely agree with the fuss free comment and (relatively) competitive savings rate for an everyday bank.

      I think they’ve added an update recently to allow you to notify travel plans in the app?
      However for a few of your points I think Up Bank might have the travelling advantage over ubank (running tally and foreign currency amount).

      • heytherehoney on 30/10/2023 - 11:27

        Yeah, a bank app showing a running tally and fx amount is really basic and should be a minimum expectation.

        I think my partner has actually recommended UpBank before! Will look into it for next trip.

    • leigh8904 on 29/10/2023 - 22:01
      • No desktop based access (not really a big deal for us though).

      UBank actually does have web login access from computer.

      • heytherehoney on 30/10/2023 - 11:19

        You're right! Thanks, it wasn't in operation when they switched from the old to new branding/accounts. Time to figure out my login…

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