Commonwealth Bank
Advantages
Disadvantages
2 users would recommend it
1 users wouldn’t recommend it
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia, known as CBA or CommBank, is one of the leading Australian banks. They offer retail, business and institutional banking, funds management, superannuation, insurance, investment, and broking services. The company has been on the market for almost a hundred years. They offer a NetBank feature, an online platform, which allows customers to transfer funds, manage accounts, access assets, and liabilities and also manage savings and saving goals. You can access it even through a mobile app and order international payments wherever you are.
Through a unique platform called NetBank, CommBank allows you to send money to over 200 countries in 30 different currencies. While you can order a regular payment in the bank’s branch, it’s much cheaper to use their online tools. Register an account with the bank, and you can easily order domestic and international payments. Fill out the recipient’s information or even use only his number to send him money quickly, and the bank will take care of the whole process. It usually takes 1-3 days to process the payment, depending on the chosen method.
It costs only $6 to send less than $1,000 through NetBank or CommBank mobile app. Larger transfers cost $12 in processing fees. Visiting a local branch an ordering money transfer there costs $30 in operational charges.
Sending money without exchanging it in the local AUD currency has different costs, and you need to prepare for even $22 in fees. To cancel your transaction, you need to pay $25.
The markup on the exchange rate is set at around 5%-6% compared to average market prices.
It’s important to know that by default, the limit for international transfers is set at $0, and you need to adjust it yourself in the settings of your account.
The exchange rate of CommBank is significantly worse than the offer from other mainstream banks or independent online platform. The transfer fees are attractive. However, because of the high markup on the currency exchange, the service becomes quite expensive. In terms of the security and safety measures, it looks rather solid.
After you register with the platform and change your transaction limit from $0 to whatever amount suits you, you can start sending international money transfers. To issue an international payment, you need to provide the full name and street address of your recipient, their IBAN or account number, SWIFT or BIC code, and the name of the bank.
It’s best to contact the bank representative or visit their local branch to set up the account and talk about the details and latest offer. You can then register with the NetBank or download the mobile app to handle your finances there.
The bank complies with all of the financial laws and regulations. To increase the security of your account, the bank uses a fraud prevention technology and 24/7 activity monitoring. Thanks to these practices, in case there is an unauthorized access or unusual activity or transfer that you haven’t ordered, the bank will immediately notify you. Moreover, the sole connection between your computer and their platform is protected with a secure encryption
The company has been involved in numerous scandals, including data loss of 20 million of their customers' accounts. There were also some allegations and investigations about money laundering and tax evasion practices.
Unfortunately, there aren’t many positive reviews available online. Therefore, it’s hard to evaluate the advantages and quality of the service. The majority of negative reviews focus on a variety of hidden fees and some unfair and suspicious bank practices.
“I've been with CBA since arriving in Australia 18 years ago. I'm fed up with them taking sneaky bank charges from me. I know it's only $5 here and there. But if they are doing this to everyone, how much are they raking in? Latest one related to being charged $2.50 when I took cash out from cashier in bank. I thought I was only allowed to draw out $800 per day via ATM. Apparently they changed that to $2000 per day but failed to inform me.” ~ Anne on ProductReview
“They charge me multiple debit interest charges a month which are completely fabricated as my account is never overdrawn. I have raised this with them and they just palm it off.” ~ mattyh on ProductReview
“Very disappointed with this. Declining all the transactions. I have all my payments pending from the customers . I won’t recommend this to anyone. Paying so much monthly for bad service” ~ Albert on ProductReview
You can visit bank’s local branch to talk to their representatives or reach the customer support via a phone call or through online chat or email.
There is also a well-developed FAQ and help sections on the website, which may solve your initial problems and beginner questions.
The overall design of the platform and the transfer fees are very good, but because of the high markup on the exchange rates and some objectionable bank practices and hidden charges, the CommBank may not be the best option for Australian customers, as there are other major banks with cheaper transactions there. Most of the comments and reviews found online mention some kind of a problem with the bank. However, the NetBank and Mobile App seem to be working quite well.
Good!!!
~ Denis
Good service!
~ John
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