NAB acquires Citibank Australia

[Flashback]

Letter from NAB yesterday to say my USD account will be closed because NAB doesn't offer a similar product.

Would Revolut or Wise be better then?

 

[Vic]

Would Revolut or Wise be better then?

I don't know, but now I've going to have to check those out. Thanks

I was thinking of just getting a HSBC USD account.

 

[RooFlyer]

Just got an email and the timetable for the replacement of a Citi debit card to a NAB one is announced. They’ll set up a NAB account for me (gee thanks) and eventually for any funds in the Citi account will be transferred to the NAB account and Citi extinguished.

Fortunately, I’ve just received my Wise card so I think I’ll be extinguishing my Citi account before NAB does.

 

[mandja]

so are there no advantages in the NAB replacements?
I have free Citi Premier (the old citiSig) used for free wine at "selected restaurants" plus a CitiMC Debit for ATMs overseas

 

[MELso]

so are there no advantages in the NAB replacements?
I have free Citi Premier (the old citiSig) used for free wine at "selected restaurants" plus a CitiMC Debit for ATMs overseas

We don't know what the NAB replacement products will look like, but I will say now that if they kill off fee-free ATM withdrawals and/or implement fees for foreign transactions in their replacement transaction account, I'll revive my mostly dormant MacBank account.

As for the fee-free Citi Premier card, there are no changes at this stage, and many on this forum are waiting with bated breath to see what they do. If they kill it off, I'll get a zero fee card and make a much more concerted effort to engage in churning than I have in the past.

 

[oz_mark]

We don't know what the NAB replacement products will look like, but I will say now that if they kill off fee-free ATM withdrawals and/or implement fees for foreign transactions in their replacement transaction account, I'll revive my mostly dormant MacBank account.

They have said

While there will be some changes to your Citibank Plus Transaction Account, the essential features, including interest rates and product fees and charges, will remain the same.

 

[mandja]

They have said

im not sure that i trust that.
Maybe fee free, but features might go

 

[exceladdict]

Just got an email and the timetable for the replacement of a Citi debit card to a NAB one is announced. They’ll set up a NAB account for me (gee thanks) and eventually for any funds in the Citi account will be transferred to the NAB account and Citi extinguished.

Fortunately, I’ve just received my Wise card so I think I’ll be extinguishing my Citi account before NAB does.

Also thinking of opting out. The only reason I was holding onto this card was for possibly using citi ATMs in a handful of countries. If I'll have to pay fees, might as well be earning a bit of interest with a Macquarie (or similar) account.

 

[oz_mark]

im not sure that i trust that.
Maybe fee free, but features might go

Not sure what features there are. Realistically, it's just a low fee basic transaction account.

 

[Chicken]

im not sure that i trust that.
Maybe fee free, but features might go

Why? What features?

Let's repeat this again:
uBank is a division of NAB

Citi has no monthly fee. ubank has no monthly fee.
Citi has no withdrawal fee. ubank has no withdrawal fee.
Citi Plus operates in AUD only, no other currency. ubank operates on AUD only, no other currency.
Citi Plus does not do currency conversion. ubank does not do currency conversation.
Citi has no forex fee. ubank has no forex fee.

NAB already said they will just convert our accounts over with same features.

NAB can just dump our accounts out, then load them straight into ubank platform. Relatively easy ETL job for IT.

Job done. Move on to the next project.

Why would NAB make it harder for themselves? Anger the customers, needing legal to approve changing the fee structures, need legal to approve comms, then making the job harder for IT, pricing team having to create a new product in the portfolio to manage, another pricing model they have to build for the sake of doing another powerpoint, and then creating a new product with new pricing rules in the computer. Who is going to pay for these tasks? From which cost centre? Where to get headcounts from? OK, let's have all the department leads to fight it out.

Sorry to say this, but I think some people here are starting to go down the conspiracy route. Everyone just calm down. Really.

 

[ric_melb]

From memory the Citibank Dining Program, with the free bottle of wine practically ceased in early 2020 when McWilliams, the wine partner went into voluntary administration. Subsequently Calabria Wines bought the McWilliams business in May 2021 and it appears the various partners decided to discontinue the Program. So the actual end date of the program could be anywhere between 2020 and 2022. One thing is certain. The Program has ceased.

 

[oz_mark]

NAB can just dump our accounts out, then load them straight into ubank platform. Relatively easy ETL job for IT.

Except the Ubank platform is actually the old 86400 platform, and I am not sure moving Ubank onto that platform was the smoothest migration I have ever seen!

 

[Chicken]

Except the Ubank platform is actually the old 86400 platform, and I am not sure moving Ubank onto that platform was the smoothest migration I have ever seen!

This is off topic, but you can see why would they move to 86400: 86400 was built from the ground up, built according to 21st century methodologies, whereas ubank maybe less so.
Having said that, the point is, the current ubank on 86400 platform has the correct product which pretty much is exactly the same as Citi plus, there is no reason for any stakeholder inside the company of NAB to touch it, but to just dump customers out from Citi platform, then change the product code to match the current product in ubank, then load into ubank 86400 and get it over and done with. To suggest otherwise would have to be a pretty brave person who is basically ready to start a crusade against all other BUs in NAB (read: nutter)

 

[SYD]

I only applied for Citi just before the cutoff this year and expect to use it in anger shortly (6 wks in USA). It only had a token test drive in Europe recently.

Anyway, no contact from NAB/Citi so far but I’ll wait and see what happens.

I already have NAB (Primary Bank) and UBank as a secondary bank…

 

[Flashback]

I only applied for Citi just before the cutoff this year and expect to use it in anger shortly (6 wks in USA). It only had a token test drive in Europe recently.

Anyway, no contact from NAB/Citi so far but I’ll wait and see what happens.

I already have NAB (Primary Bank) and UBank as secondary bank…

Fortunately in the UK Chase has now arrived here, so I now have an alternative for cash free withdrawals in the US!

 

[OZDUCK]

I got my e-mail this morning. Until proved otherwise I will take Chicken's line.

 

[SYD]

Received the email today and based on my reading, I can’t see the ubank option being in play. The language is quite specific on a “NAB branded account” and “NAB debit card”. Current ubank cards, website and app are all branded “ubank”. In small writing you’ll find “uBank is part of National Australia Bank Limited”.

As above, I’ll take a wait and see approach to see what the new account looks like.

 

[asterix]

Received the email today and based on my reading, I can’t see the ubank option being in play. The language is quite specific on a “NAB branded account” and “NAB debit card”. Current ubank cards, website and app are all branded “ubank”. In small writing you’ll find “uBank is part of National Australia Bank Limited”.

As above, I’ll take a wait and see approach to see what the new account looks like.

I just got an email telling me that my linked Citi Diners card will be decommissioned from October 16th 2023.

 

[SYD]

I just got an email telling me that my linked Citi Diners card will be decommissioned from October 16th 2023.

Without replacement?

 

[MELso]

Without replacement?

Nope.