Best Online Banks in Australia

We found a list of the best online banks in Australia by looking into dozens of online banks from Australia and around the world. First, we’ll talk about the best banks in each category. Then, we’ll talk about the best online banks in Australia as a whole.

With so much competition in the banking market, the customer is finally king. We can choose what works best for us.

When choosing an online bank, you should always check sites like TrustPilot, Product Review, and Top Mobile Banks to see what other users are saying and where these banking apps fall short.

Online banking is growing in Australia, just like it is in the UK and the US. New banks called “challenger banks” are trying to improve on the way we usually bank and make the most of the digital technology that has become so important to our lives.

Let’s see what are the Best online Banks in Australia

These banks, which are often called online/ digital banks, challenger banks, and neobanks, do everything online and do not have physical branches. But because they offer a full range of services, like 24/7 customer service in the app, automated financial advice, and instant security features, they don’t need physical branches for this kind of service.

Online banks, unlike traditional banks, don’t have large infrastructures that are decades old and would take years to update to new technology. This means that digital banks are always improving their service and adding new features to help their customers.

You can also read a separate review of each of the following online banks on our website.

Best Online Banks in Australia

Up

Best online Banks in Australia overall

Up is different from the other online banking services Down Under. They offer a modern banking package that focuses on spending and savings accounts. It’s fine that there are no loans or mortgages here. There are institutions that do just that.

But Up has put together a well-rounded financial package that doesn’t cost anything. The package is made for younger people who want their banking app to have emojis, cool icons, and a laid-back feel. There’s no room here for “squares.”

You can get your paycheck and pay your bills with your Up account. Set up automatic savings and get 0.70% p.a. up to $1 million. Keep track of your budget and set spending limits, or just look at what you’re spending money on each month.

You can quickly move money from your Up account to your Wise account, and then from your Wise account to 48 different currencies. Up will take care of you.

86 400

Best online Bank in Australia for savings accounts

Even though 86 400’s interest rates have been cut a lot (which was expected), they still offer a 1.20% p.a. If you deposit $200+ per month. The total interest rate is 0.10% p.a. plus 1.10% p.a. for the bonus rate. The bonus rate is used on amounts up to $50,000.

Since competitors have also cut their rates, there’s no guarantee that they won’t do it again. Still, it’s a lot better than at most big banks, if not all of them.

86 400 fills a gap in the market that had been there for a long time. It is a banking solution that is a big step forward for people who choose to use it.

Airwallex

Best online bank in Australia for business accounts

Business owners are always looking for a better bank account or one that costs less. In the past few years, there have been more and more digital banks for them to choose from. One of these new startups is Australian Airwallex.

People who want a simple business account with a free multi-currency account and competitive FX rates don’t have to look any further than Airwallex.

Bonuses include free Visa cards that can be used anywhere in the world and a set of APIs that can be used to accept online payments, manage treasury, and launch financial products around the world.

Hay

Best online bank in Australia for cashback rewards

We didn’t have much competition here, so we gave it to Hay. They give you 1% cash back just for buying things with your card. At the time I wrote this, Hay was also running a promotion that gave 5% cashback to all users in August.

Revolut

Best online bank in Australia for metal cards

Down Under, there isn’t much competition in this field, so it was easy to find a winner. The Metal Account costs A$24.99/m, and there is no charge for express delivery.

You can get your stylish Revolut Metal Card in 5 different colors that look great, but aren’t too loud. They are contactless, of course, and the Metal account as a whole has a lot of features.

You get access to 5 Junior accounts, cashback on payments made with metal cards, purchase protection of up to £10,000 per year, ticket protection, return protection, an unlimited number of disposable virtual cards, and a daily interest rate of up to 0.65% AER on savings.

Other benefits of Revolut Metal include the ability to spend in over 150 currencies at the interbank exchange rate, exchange in 28 or more fiat currencies with no monthly limit, make fee-free ATM withdrawals of up to A$1400 per month, get overseas medical insurance and delayed baggage and flight insurance, and get free lounge passes for you and up to 3 friends if your flight is delayed for an hour or more.

Without a doubt, Revolut is one of the best online banks in Australia.

Wise

Best online bank in Australia for international money transfers

Since its start in London in 2011, Wise has worked to make international money transfers cheaper and more clear.

Wise just finds the best exchange rate and adds a small fee on top of that. This is different from big banks and other money transfer services like PayPal, which mark up their “free” transfers by a huge amount.

Smart people use technology to link their bank accounts in different countries. In practice, this means that you don’t send money directly to the person you want to help. Instead, you send money to a Wise account, which then sends money in the local currency to the person you want to help.

The person sending the money saves money on fees, and the person getting it gets it for free in their own currency.

Without a doubt, Wise is one of the best online banks in Australia especially for internacional money transfers.

Up

Best online bank in Australia for travelling

Up is a great choice for people who are traveling. They don’t charge extra fees for making international purchases in person or online, getting money out of an ATM, or converting or marking up the currency.
You can also see the price of your purchases right away in both Australian dollars and other currencies, and you can freeze your card if you lose it.

Revolut

Best online bank in Australia for investing

Revolut is also a great way for people who are just starting out to learn about BTC and other, less well-known cryptocurrencies.

Revolut adds a flat fee of either 1.5% or 2.5% (depending on your account) to the price of buying and selling cryptocurrencies to cover the risk of trading. So, it’s easy to invest in cryptocurrency through Revolut, but it could cost you a lot of money.

On the platform, you can use the following cryptocurrencies:

Bitcoin (BTC),
Ripple (XRP),
Stellar (XLM),
Ethereum (ETH),
Litecoin (LTC),
EOS (EOS),
Bitcoin Cash (BCH),
OMG Network (OMG),
Ox (ZRX), and
Tezos (XTZ).

You can also buy goods in the same way that you buy cryptocurrencies. From early spring 2020, you will be able to trade commodities with Revolut. Not only do they offer gold, but they also offer silver. Soon, you’ll be able to trade other precious metals, so check the commodities trading section of the Revolut app.

Once it’s available in Australia, Revolut will let you invest as little as $1 in fractional shares. There are now more than 850 stocks to choose from. Apple, Tesla, and the very popular Zoom are all blue chips.

Wise

Best online bank in Australia for freelancers

You need to add Wise to your set of tools for freelancing. A simple Wise application is just a few clicks away if you don’t like leaving your hard-earned money on the table for the big banks to take. Their fees are easy to understand and won’t leave you guessing.

Wise is best known for exchanging currencies and transferring money. They help you avoid sneaky fees and fees that aren’t fair when you do business abroad.

Wise lets you keep almost all of the money you get paid for hard work like writing, coding, video editing, etc. There’s no reason to give money to banks. They already have enough money.

If that wasn’t enough, you can spend this money online or in stores with a debit card in the currency of the country you’re buying from to avoid conversion fees.

Without a doubt, Wise is one of the best online banks in Australia especially for freelancers.

Best online banks in Australia

86 400

About:

Started in 2017
Anthony Thomson was the founder
CEO: Robert Bell
Partner institution: Cuscal
Personal accounts

Features:

Interest rate of up to 1.20% per year
You can get to your savings right away
Link to 100 plus financial accounts
Home loans
No account fees every month
Bill sharing
Almost no fees

A lot of the financial world seems to be very centralized, with a lot of focus on the bigger banks that rule the scene. This means that the problems of the individual often get lost. 86 400 puts the person first, giving each user a fuller picture of their financial situation and a better idea of how to improve it.

The name “86,400” comes from the number of seconds in a day, and the company’s goal is to give customers control over their money for every one of those seconds. 86 400 is fully regulated and licensed, and it is backed by Cuscal, Australia’s largest independent payments company.

Under the Financial Claims Scheme, the Australian government backs all deposits up to $250,000.

Airwallex

About:

Started in 2015
Founders: CEO Jack Zhang, Jacob Dai, Lucy Yueting Liu, and Max Li
Business accounts

Features:

No costs
Simple to sign up
Multiple-currency account Rates that are competitive
API
Free online and paper cards
Connects to marketplaces
Xero integration

Airwallex is growing and is a good choice for SMEs around the world. Their multi-currency account is free, and it comes with both virtual and physical cards for employees use. And the exchange rates are very good. It’s worth a look.

Airwallex is an Australian fintech that was started in 2015 by Jack Zhang, Jacob Dai, Lucy Yueting Liu, and Max Li, four Chinese friends. Jack and Max came up with the idea for their new business when they ran a cafe and spent a lot of money on foreign exchange fees and banking costs to buy coffee from other countries.

Hay

About:

Founded: 2018
Founders: Andrew Laycock (CEO)
Personal accounts

Features:

Easy to get a Prepaid Visa card online
The card is 85% biodegradable
No fees on transactions between countries
Up to 10 custom sub-accounts
No monthly fees

Hay will launch in 2020. It comes just a few weeks after it was revealed that Australian high street banks are going to lose a lot of money because their digital counterparts are starting to take over. Since their launches, digital banks have received more than A$1 billion in deposits.

Hay will add to this trend with its no-fee account, which is great for everyday banking and traveling.

Judo Bank

About:

Started in 2016
Joseph Healy, David Hornery (CEO), Tim Alexander, Chris Bayliss, and Jacqui Colwell were the people who founders the company.
Accounts for business

Features:

Loans for business
Lines of credit
Equipment loans
Personal term deposits
FCS covers up to $250,000 in losses
Excellent term deposit rates
Transparent costs
Devoted relationship managers

Judo is an online bank that goes right after the small and medium-sized businesses in Australia that the big banks have ignored. The funding gap for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) was said to be $70 billion because traditional lenders only cared about companies with a turnover of $100 million or more.

Even though it only accepts deposits online, it also uses relationship bankers to help small and medium-sized businesses that it lends to.

Payoneer

About:

Founded: 2015
Founders: Yuval Tal
CEO: Scott Galit
Business accounts

Features:

Signing up online is easy
Good option for small businesses and freelancers
Free prepaid Mastercard
Connects to a lot of different markets
Withdrawal options that are flexible
If used fairly often, there are no account fees.

Businesses and independent workers often use Payoneer. They give you a prepaid Mastercard so that you can use your money right away.

They’ve teamed up with so many online marketplaces that it’s easy to get paid for your services, products, or rentals, for example. Payoneer works with Airbnb, Amazon, Booking.com, Fiver, and Upwork, among others.

Payoneer is used by almost everyone who does business online. Almost everyone who does business online has a Payoneer account. The Payoneer app works great, and you can get a debit card for free if you need one. However, the card isn’t always the cheapest one to use.

Pelikin

About:

Started in 2018
Partner institution: Heritage Bank
Personal accounts

Features:

Instant payments that are free
Hold and change money
You can split bills and open tabs
Over 150 currencies available.

Pelikin is a travel app and card that can be used anywhere in the world with as little trouble as possible. Pelikin is regulated by and has all the necessary trading licenses, including the Authorised Deposit-Taking Institutions (ADI) license. It is also supported by Visa and Heritage Bank, which makes it safe to use.

Overall, Pelikin seems to be a reliable and flexible travel card and app that gives people the freedom to travel around the world without worrying about money.

Revolut

About:

Started in 2015
Founders: Nikolay Storonsky (CEO) and Vlad Yatsenko
Business accounts and personal accounts (spending, saving, junior, and crypto)

Features:

Budget and Analytics
Get paid early
Up to 4.64% interest rate
Donations
Savings Vaults
Crypto trading

With its fast growth around the world, Revolut has made a dent in the global banking system and become one of the top challenger banks wherever it goes. Even though it’s only been out in Australia for a short time, people are starting to see how useful and versatile the app is.

Even though the pandemic has slowed down its spread in Australia, as soon as global travel starts up again, Aussies will be able to enjoy all of its benefits.

Revolut Australia is authorized by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission, which is different from some EU countries. However, it is neither a bank nor an authorized deposit-taking institution.

Up

About:

Started in 2018
Ferocia Pty, Bendigo Bank, and Adelaide Bank are the parent companies.
Personal accounts

Features:

Low costs
Automatically save
There are many savings accounts
Classification and information about spending
A lot of ways to pay cardless
Apple Pay and Google Pay
With a savings account, you can get extra bonus.

Melbourne is where Up Bank is based. As a subsidiary of Adelaide Bank and Bendigo, it is licensed by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority through their Australian Deposit-Taking Institution (ADI) licenses (APRA).

You can choose between the UP Everyday account, which lets you categorize your spending, get real-time reports, predict your bills, and pay without a card using Apple Pay, even before your card arrives, or the Up Saver account, which helps you reach your savings goals by giving you bonus interest based on the number of transactions you make.

Volt Bank

About:

Started in 2017
Luke Bunbury and Steve Weston came up with the idea (CEO)
Savings accounts for individuals

Features:

Interest rate 0.9% p.a (variable)
Saving challenge
No minimum balance
The most you can have in your account is $245,000.

Volt is still in beta and keeps its cards close to its chest while they work on getting their product ready for release, but from what we’ve seen and heard so far, it looks like a promising new banking option.

The best thing is, of course, the 0.9% interest on their savings account, which got us interested enough to put our names on the waiting list. There are rumors that Volt is about to come out soon, and we can’t wait to see what they have to offer.

Wise

About:

Started in 2011
Founders: Kristo Kaarmann (CEO) and Taavet Hinrikus (CEO)
Partner bank: Community Federal Savings Bank
Accounts for individuals and businesses, money transfers

Features:

Online account for free
International bank details
You can send money to more than 70 countries, and the fees are always low and clear.
Use your card to buy things with local money.
Get your salary, pension, and other payments.
Pay the real rate of exchange
You can pay online safely and get instant updates.
You can use your card in more than 200 countries and get cash at 2.3 million ATMs.

Since its start in London in 2011, Wise has worked to make international money transfers cheaper and more clear.

Wise has quickly become a top choice for both personal and business international bank transfers. Compared to high street banks and other online payment providers, Wise has very low fees, and when converting currencies, it uses the real exchange rate.

Wise became well-known for making it easy, cheap, and quick to send money around the world. It’s hard to believe that other platforms or sellers charge 5 to 13 times more for the same thing. It’s no wonder that people are leaving big banks in droves.

People and businesses can use a Wise account for more than just safe money transfers. It has a lot of other benefits as well.

Benefits of online banking in Australia

Online banks go by many different names, such as online banks, neobanks, challenger banks, digital banks, and others.

We live in a golden age of digital-only banking because these new challenger banks offer many benefits to Aussie big institution bank customers who are willing to switch. People still don’t want to join one of the “challenger banks,” though.

Digital banking is usually more convenient, more open, makes traveling easier, and doesn’t have any hidden fees. Still, each digital bank has its own set of benefits that may help you decide which one is best for you.

Let’s find out what mobile-only banks have to offer.

Low to no fees

If you’re tired of paying huge fees every month for banking services you rarely use or don’t even need, you’ll be glad to know that Aussie challenger banks and international ones like Revolut or Wise charge little to no fees for their financial products and services.

Digital-only banks still make money, but they don’t take advantage of their customers by charging them too much.

Higher interest rates

Everyone knows that big banks will give you terrible interest rates, if any at all. How do you feel about 0.05%? Digital banks can offer higher interest rates on savings accounts to their customers because they don’t have to pay for things like retail space and bank cashiers.

Some of the time, you can even get interest on the money in your checking account.

Simple to use

Most of the time, the benefits of online banking start with signing up, which can be done online or through an app. Before your account is approved and your bank account is open, you have to enter some personal information and prove who you are. This usually takes a few minutes.

This paperless online process is much easier than what most traditional banks can do and is just as safe.

Convenient

Not only is it easy to open a bank account online, but there are other things that are also helpful. You can apply for a mortgage and do just about everything else that has to do with your money from your couch. Start by opening your banking app and finding the menu.

Budgeting and analytics

It is also common for online banks to give customers notifications about their spending in real time, which helps them stay up-to-date on their spending. Customers can also see where their money is going by categorizing their spending.

For many of Australia’s digital banks, these features also come with smart budgeting tools that help you save money or figure out how much you can spend safely.

Cashback

You no longer need a credit card because some banks that are only accessible by phone give cash back on everyday purchases. It was about time that you got something back! Even cashback rewards can now be given in cryptocurrency.

Travel

One of the reasons these online banks are popular with people who travel a lot is that many of them have low fees on travel money. Many digital banks charge low or no fees for transactions abroad or ATM withdrawals made outside of the country. This way, their customers don’t get a long list of unexpected bank fees when they get home from their trips.

Drawbacks of online banking

Digital banking isn’t perfect, and most independent fintech companies were only started less than 10 years ago (some only a couple of years ago). So, there are still a few kinks to work out.

Still, let’s take a look at some problems with digital banks in Australia.

Customer service

This is likely the biggest problem that small banks have over big banks. You have to do all your troubleshooting online because there are no physical branches. This isn’t always the best solution, especially if you have a problem that needs to be fixed quickly and costs a lot of money.

Even though all of the apps have a chat feature, you may have to wait a long time for someone to answer your questions, or you may only be able to talk to a chatbot. True, some big banks also do bad things.

Fewer financial products

Some online banks only offer a basic account with a few extra features. That doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Not everyone uses their bank account for saving, investing, mortgages, loans, and so on. Sometimes, simpler is better.

Fewer options for depositing

This comes down to the fact that there aren’t any real branches. If you have cash on you and want to put it in your bank account, you might run into trouble. Same thing with checks, since you can’t scan a check with your phone at any neobank.

How safe is online banking?

So far, online banks have mostly appealed to people in their 20s and 30s who already use technology a lot in their daily lives. However, many people may still be skeptical about the safety of newer services.

Digital banks are on the cutting edge of security technology, and in many cases they show traditional banks how to do things. High-tech security features of digital banks can be seen in the signup process, where fingerprint scanning, voice recognition, and facial recognition are used to verify the identities of customers before they are approved.

They also have features that let customers freeze and unfreeze their money right away. This gives customers peace of mind about the safety of their money.

The available banks either have an Authorised Deposit-Taking (ADI) license or a restricted ADI license. This means that some offer a fully functional current account and debit card with deposits of up to $250,000 guaranteed by the Australian government, while others are still on their way to offering a fully licensed and guaranteed account.

What features do online banks offer that traditional banks don’t?

Easy and quick to fill out online
Acceptance in minutes
Reports and predictions every month
Accounts that pay interest, whether they are savings accounts or not
Features of advanced analytics
Foreign transactions and ATM withdrawals will cost less or not at all
Customer service inside the app
Bill splitting
No hidden fees
No boring paperwork is needed.

How to start using online banking

The best thing about banks that only work online is that most online accounts can be opened in 5–10 minutes or even less. Go to the site of your mobile bank and click or tap “Get started.” You can also get the banking app yourself by going to Google Play or Apple’s App store.

You have to be at least 16 years old to open a personal online bank account in Australia.

A citizen or permanent resident of Australia with a home address in Australia, and have:

At least one of the following: an Australian driver’s license, birth certificate, passport, or Medicare card.
And a mobile phone number in Australia.

In summary

Each of Australia’s online banks offers a different service that will meet different personal financial needs and goals.

Many of the current accounts offered by Hay, Up, and 86 400 have low or no fees. This is to be more open and honest with the customer. Their current accounts also come with a variety of tools and features that help customers understand their finances better and make better decisions.

This includes giving customers monthly spending reports and putting their spending into categories so they can learn more about their finances. 86 400 is one of the banks that sends customers bill alerts and reminders so they never forget to pay. Some banks also give you predictions about the future that can help you plan how much to spend and how much to save.

Some online banks in Australia, like Up, 86 400, and Volt, also offer their customers new ways to save. There are options for savings accounts with good interest rates. For example, 86400 lets you take money out without losing interest, and Volt offers customers especially high interest rates on their savings.

Up also has a feature called “round up,” which gives customers the chance to save their spare change.

No matter which digital bank you choose, they will always be updating their products, features, and services to keep up with the latest fintech developments so that their customers can be the first to use them.

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