Benefits of a Citibank Plus Transaction Account

No Monthly Account Fees

Choosing a Citibank account means enjoying a transaction account without the inconvenience of being charged a monthly fee to access your own cash. If you’re currently paying a monthly account keeping fee on your transaction account, you could potentially save money on fees by choosing to switch to Citibank.

Unlimited Transactions

The vast majority of lenders only offer a limited number of transactions per month in order to avoid being charged a fee for accessing your cash. However, the Citibank Plus Transaction Account allows you to make unlimited free transactions to or from your account.

This is ideal for customers receiving several deposits each month, such as salary deposits, and multiple transactions each month, like withdrawals, EFTPOS transactions or BPAY payments. Regardless of how many transactions you make, you know you won’t incur hefty fees.

Unlimited Free Withdrawals

The vast majority of lenders limit account holders to withdrawing cash from only their own ATMs. This can be inconvenient for some customers if they’re unable to locate a local ATM of their own bank.

Yet Citibank allow customers with a Citibank Plus Transaction Account the convenience of making any number of withdrawals from their accounts using a Citibank ATM, or a Westpac, St.George or Bank SA ATM anywhere in Australia at no charge, as well as Citibank has ATMs available in more than 25 countries. Account holders may also use certain Australia Post outlets to access funds.

Minimum Account Balance

It’s possible to open a Citibank Plus Transaction account with only a few dollars. You’re not constrained to having a specified minimum deposit in order to open your account, which makes it suitable for everyone.

There is also no minimum ongoing balance required for the Citibank Plus account.

Worldwide Money Transfers

The global presence of such a large bank means that Citibank customers can enjoy the benefit of making free worldwide money transfers to more than 25 countries using the Citibank Global Transfers payment system. This kind of international money transfer is fee free for Citibank customers. Any money transferred is exchanged over to the currency of the destination account automatically at whatever the foreign currency exchange rate is confirmed at during the transaction.

Citibank’s system will show the exchanged currency amount on your computer screen prior to confirmation that depicts a small commission amount represented by a spread of the actual exchange rate, which allows the bank to avoid charging customers a flat-rate fee for this kind of transaction. Once this amount has been confirmed by the customer, the funds should appear in the destination account almost immediately.

Linked Accounts

One of the major benefits of a Citibank Plus Transaction account is the ability to link your account to any of Citibank’s other accounts. This includes linking up to 3 other Citibank Plus accounts together.

Customers may also apply for a cheque book linked to the transaction account, as well as a Visa Debit Card to facilitate easy payment for shopping online or convenient access to cash while travelling abroad.

Interest on Savings

The vast majority of transaction accounts available pay a pittance in interest on your savings. Yet Citibank offer a high interest rate of 3.25% p.a. on your linked savings (effective as of 5 February 2011), which is generous for an at-call transaction account.

There is 0% interest payable on your primary Citibank Plus account, however, if you choose to create a linked savings account, this will incur the higher interest payable on funds accumulated.

Round the Clock Account Access

Citibank makes it easy for customers to access accounts at any time of the day or night. This alleviates the inconvenience of waiting for bank branch opening hours. Log into the secure online banking website at any time to access account details or transfer money. Customers can also access accounts via phone banking or mobile banking easily.

Applying for a Citibank Plus Transaction Account

Applying for a Citibank Plus Transaction Account is quick and easy if you submit your application online. Citibank use a secure server, so your information is kept private, confidential and safe at all times.

The convenience of submitting your application online means that you’re able to apply in your own time when it suits you best, rather than spend time visiting bank branches during opening hours, which may not always be convenient for some customers.

Qualifying for a Transaction Account

In order to qualify for a Citibank Plus Transaction Account, you will need to be over the age of 18 at the time of application and you will need to be an Australian resident. Citibank Plus accounts are only available for personal customers. Business customers are ineligible for this type of account.

You will also need to provide at least 100 points of identification, which includes at least one form of photo ID. Acceptable forms of identification include driver’s licence, birth certificate, passport or Medicare card.

It is also a requirement that you have a valid email address in order to complete your account application, along with Internet access. Your account verification will be sent to your email address, as will your monthly account statements.

Information You Will Need to Provide

Throughout the application process for your transaction account, you may be asked to supply verifiable information that includes:

• Residential Address
• Contact Details
• Valid Email Address
• Driver’s Licence number

It is not mandatory that you supply your tax file number, however Citibank is obliged to deduct tax from your account at the highest tax rate if you do not.

Signature Verification

Even though your application may have been submitted over the Internet, you will still need to provide a signature card. This can be taken to any Citibank branch or any Australia Post outlet to verify your signature and hasten the application process.

Verifying Your Account

Once you have submitted your application for your account, you will receive an email containing a confirmation code and an Application Reference Number. You are able to use this reference number to check on the status of your application at any time. Some applications may take as long as 3 business days to open, so having access to check on your application status can be very handy if you’re unsure when it will be opened.

When your account has been opened, you will also receive an email notifying you of this. Your Citicard at account PIN will be posted to you in the mail immediately afterwards.

Accessing Your Account

Once your account has been opened, you are able to access your account using the account information you would have been sent as part of your verification email. This will include your account number and PIN for Internet banking, as well as a PIN for phone banking if you prefer.

You will be able to check your account balances, pay bills, transfer funds between accounts and change your contact information from within your secure online account.