NAB acquires Citibank Australia

[big_RED]

I need a US bank account to pay off US credit cards and the FX process needs to be straight forward for other family members to do. So Citibank was that solution as we could transfer any $$$ amount without any fees. It was one platform so very easy for any family member to use.

HSBC looks good, but from what I've been able to read so far, do charge some fees for transactions. Will have to call them to understand when the fee applies.

 

[skully]

Dear customers

I am writing to let you know that Citi has reached an agreement with NAB for the acquisition of our Australian consumer business.

This is an exciting announcement for us. We opened our first consumer banking office in Australia in 1985, and after a long and rich history, it is with both nostalgia and confidence that I share with you this next evolution of our business.

NAB is one of Australia’s leading financial institutions, and it is a testament to the strength of Citi’s Australian business that they have purchased our consumer operations. I am confident this will be positive for you, our customers, as our business will benefit from the scale, technical expertise, and breadth of offering NAB can provide.

You will understandably have questions about how this impacts the products and services you currently receive from Citi.

There will be no immediate impact to your accounts, deposits, investments, mortgages, credit cards or any other products you may hold with us. Subject to the timing of regulatory approvals, completion is expected to occur by March 2022.

Until this time, our banking operations, including our call centres, Citibank online and mobile banking services will continue as usual.

As we progress through the transaction, I want to reassure you that we will keep you informed to ensure a seamless banking experience for you throughout this process.

We remain committed to delivering a high quality of service and I look forward to sharing further updates with you in the near future.

Regards

Alan Machet

CEO Consumer Banking, Citi Australia




Link: Letter to our customers

The Citibank card had many advantages over the other bank credit cards. I appreciated the ability to earn points that could then be spent via Citi's travel agent rather as airline frequent flyer points. This meant I had more choice of airlines and earned frequent flyer points when I booked them. With airline rewards, there is no credit for the flight in your status or points. I will miss the Citi dining program and Good Food sponsorship

 

[albyd]

I need a US bank account to pay off US credit cards and the FX process needs to be straight forward for other family members to do. So Citibank was that solution as we could transfer any $$$ amount without any fees. It was one platform so very easy for any family member to use.

HSBC looks good, but from what I've been able to read so far, do charge some fees for transactions. Will have to call them to understand when the fee applies.

I use HSBC too. I’ve previously transferred funds to Revolut then onto Citi US. The Revolut Exchange rate is the same as on my trading screen so I’m pretty happy with that solution. Probably just as many steps as transferring to Citi first.

 

[big_RED]

I use HSBC too. I’ve previously transferred funds to Revolut then onto Citi US. The Revolut Exchange rate is the same as on my trading screen so I’m pretty happy with that solution. Probably just as many steps as transferring to Citi first.

Ok good to know re HSBC. Will chat to one of their team members to confirm all the rules of this global currency account.

 

[albyd]

The only other thing to keep in mind is the HSBC are withdrawing from the US market and paring down to a compact client base. At some point, there will be no more US accounts with HSBC unless they meet some stricter financial requirements than they have historically as they’ve sold most of their customers to another US bank so if your primary motivation is the ‘fee free’ global transfers, your US account may end up at another bank eventually.

I think Revolut is the better solution at this time.

Just my 2 cents worth. YMMV.

 

[Viridis]

I think Revolut is the better solution at this time.

Just curious but why Revolut?

In which country is your account primarily based?

I opened one in Australia and whilst the rates were good the speed of the process was incredibly slow and transparency of your funds was lost for days on end.

There were also no account details for overseas currencies; not even the UK where it originated.

I gave up after about 18mths. Wise seems to cover all bases for the major destinations (UK, EU, USA, SE Asia) with account details and good exchange rates

What am I missing?

 

[levelnine]

What am I missing?

Revolut has similar FX rates to Wise, but has no transaction fee like Wise (for amounts up to $AUD9,000 per month).

With that said, the small fee Wise charges is probably worth it for peace of mind. Google reveals lots of unhappy Revolut customers that have funds go missing for months on end.

 

[Flashback]

Revolut has similar FX rates to Wise, but has no transaction fee like Wise (for amounts up to $AUD9,000 per month).

With that said, the small fee Wise charges is probably worth it for peace of mind. Google reveals lots of unhappy Revolut customers that have funds go missing for months on end.

In the UK Revolut is clamping down on the fee-free amounts, so AU may not be far behind.

 

[big_RED]

The only other thing to keep in mind is the HSBC are withdrawing from the US

Thanks so much for this. Good to know. I might now go with Wise then as someone in a previous post mentioned you could setup direct transfers from Amex from Wise which is another requirement for me.

The banking world doesn't make FX easy!

 

[theblank]

I need a US bank account to pay off US credit cards and the FX process needs to be straight forward for other family members to do. So Citibank was that solution as we could transfer any $$$ amount without any fees. It was one platform so very easy for any family member to use.

Wise should be able to do this at better rates than Citi or HSBC

 

[Chicken]

Wise should be able to do this at better rates than Citi or HSBC

I think we are going off topic, but I remember that CurrencyFair could be cheaper than Wise (better exchange rate) for some of the fund transfers I needed to do, so I would suggest checking out both.

 

[Viridis]

I think we are going off topic, but I remember that CurrencyFair could be cheaper than Wise (better exchange rate) for some of the fund transfers I needed to do, so I would suggest checking out both.

Haven’t looked for a while but they had a very coughbersome funds transfer — just like OFX and most of the others

Wise uses PayID or even a debit card attached to your bank account so you can find your transfer instantly

Most of my transfer to the UK were instantaneous. The US will obviously be slower outside of the Citi process but you can save 24hrs by not having to do a bank transfer here

As an aside it amazes me that the other companies remain competitive whilst they don’t innovate

 

[Chicken]

Haven’t looked for a while but they had a very coughbersome funds transfer — just like OFX and most of the others

Wise uses PayID or even a debit card attached to your bank account so you can find your transfer instantly

Why do you need PayID or debit card? And doesn't it cost Wise merchant service fee to charge your Visa / MasterCard debit card via these 2 schemes?

With Citi, yes, internal transfer within Citi is the easiest; anything outside of Citi is just the same amont of pain, having to use external transfer to another bank? Which would be Osko in Australia?

I moved my home loans from Citi to Australian Mutual Bank, while still having my free for life Citi card, so it's already a PITA.

 

[Viridis]

Why do you need PayID or debit card? And doesn't it cost Wise merchant service fee to charge your Visa / MasterCard debit card via these 2 schemes?

Why?

Because I’ve always found it mildly frustrating that Australian banking computers finish work at 6.00pm and don’t work weekends or public holidays

It’s all a bit last century in my view

So, if I kick off a transfer to CurrencyFair or any of the others on Friday evening before a public holiday, nothing gets done until Tuesday and CF will probably acknowledge receipt on Wednesday. That’s utterly hopeless in my view and a good deal of wasted time when your money is in transit

With PayID if I choose to pay an overseas bill at 3.00am on a Sunday morning (which, as a shift worker, I occasionally do) Wise will credit my funds into my Wise account instantly. I then fire off the money to pay the bill or into my UK account

My US Amex direct debits from US Wise account. Pretty sure CF or OFX don’t allow that

Yes, there is a small extra fee if you choose to use a debit card (and occasionally I do; I can PayID from Macquarie but not from HSBC) but it’s by no means prohibitive. It does, however, offer flexibility and I value that

 

[Chicken]

Because I’ve always found it mildly frustrating that Australian banking computers finish work at 6.00pm and don’t work weekends or public holidays

It’s all a bit last century in my view

So, if I kick off a transfer to CurrencyFair or any of the others on Friday evening before a public holiday, nothing gets done until Tuesday and CF will probably acknowledge receipt on Wednesday. That’s utterly hopeless in my view and a good deal of wasted time when your money is in transit

With PayID if I choose to pay an overseas bill at 3.00am on a Sunday morning (which, as a shift worker, I occasionally do) Wise will credit my funds into my Wise account instantly. I then fire off the money to pay the bill or into my UK account

My US Amex direct debits from US Wise account. Pretty sure CF or OFX don’t allow that

OK, I think there is some misunderstanding there.

Your requirement seems to be the need to pay a payment into Wise, and have the payment cleared immediately. This function is one of the features of the New Payment Platform (NPP). Specifically, this is part of Osko.

However, PayID is NOT a compulsory requirement for a payment to be routed via Osko. An Osko live payment can be submitted using BSB and account number. For example, if you submit a payment using BSB and account number with Citi (and also Suncorp, and also most credit unions using Cuscal backend, and also the big 4 banks), the payment will clear into the receiving bank immediately (well, 10 seconds). There is NO need to use PayID.

For what it is worth, I send payments using Citi and Suncorp and Australian Mutual Bank using BSB account number, and they are always cleared immediately (including when I meet strangers when I buy second hand stuffs via Gumtree Facebook).

All big 4 banks place a temporary hold when you send payment to someone you have never sent money before; but that's their own business decision, nothing to do with live payment or not.

Yes, there is a small extra fee if you choose to use a debit card (and occasionally I do; I can PayID from Macquarie but not from HSBC) but it’s by no means prohibitive. It does, however, offer flexibility and I value that

Macquarie Bank : Pay Anyone Payment from your Macquarie account to an account held with another Australian bank for payments processed via NPP = Immediately, as long as the account you’re paying is NPP enabled

HSBC :
We are excited to announce that you can now receive payments in real-time into eligible HSBC accounts via the New Payments Platform (NPP). We are working to make outbound Fast Payments and PayID available. We will keep you up-to-date with our progress.

So, Macquarie seems to be able to send live payment using BSB account number / don't need PayID. HSBC is simply like 3 years behind everyone else.

 

[mandja]

I have a CitiBank Debit card last used for ATMs overseas. Im struggling to follow the new online terms om the citibank website.
Going to India soonish and proposing to use there - does it still work the same way?
I also have a CitiSig Premier - fee free - worth keeping?

 

[DeKa]

I have a CitiBank Debit card last used for ATMs overseas. Im struggling to follow the new online terms om the citibank website.
Going to India soonish and proposing to use there - does it still work the same way?
I also have a CitiSig Premier - fee free - worth keeping?

The ATM card - make sure you try to take some cash out here before you travel. Yes still works the same way. I don’t believe I had to accept any terms.

FFFL Credit Card - I don’t think we’ll ever see offers like it again so I wouldn’t cancel it unless you need to (eg for a loan application).

 

[mandja]

The ATM card - make sure you try to take some cash out here before you travel. Yes still works the same way. I don’t believe I had to accept any terms.

FFFL Credit Card - I don’t think we’ll ever see offers like it again so I wouldn’t cancel it unless you need to (eg for a loan application).

Thanks DeKa - so no fees charged by CitiBank , and FX at good rates, right? That is how it was - any clue how i find on their website? Ive looked in vain

 

[Chicken]

Thanks DeKa - so no fees charged by CitiBank , and FX at good rates, right? That is how it was - any clue how i find on their website? Ive looked in vain

Go to Citibank web site > Deposits > Everyday Accounts > Everyday Account (again) > Schedule of Fees & Charges

 

[Vic]

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