Aussie's where do you Cash Cheques? Please Help

[Aaron Elliott]

I posted here about 6 months ago asking where to cash U.S Cheques because most banks charge between $20 - $15.

I was told by many that ANZ you can cash up to 4 cheques for $15.5 and one cost $12.5.

Long story short they charged me 15.5 each cheque and everytime I ring customer service or another branch I get told different prices some say $10 some say 12 and some say 15! Only one person from the bank said $15 for up to four.

If someone knows where it is in writting that it cost 15 for 4 cheques or know of a cheap bank in Aus I would really appreiate it!

Cheers - Aaron.

[Sheryl Polomka]

I have used 2 credit unions and Commonwealth bank. Both credit unions charged $15 per cheque and the Commonwealth charged $10 per cheque (although I was only banking one cheque so don't know if they charge per cheque but I would think they do).

I don't know of any banks that charge one fee for more than one cheque. I always have my payout limit set to $200 at Clickbank otherwise if it's any lower then it's not worth it with the fees.

[traceye]

I use ANZ. I've always only been charged $15.50 for up to four cheques.

Except one time, my chq was over US$2000 so I had to pay nearly $30 for that one chq and it took 6 weeks. That sucked.

T

[Sheryl Polomka]

Thanks Tracey, that's good to know. Next time I might ask at Commonwealth whether they charge more for multiple cheques. This was the first time I'd banked a cheque with them. ANZ might be one to think about moving too if they can offer more cheques with the one fee.

[Aaron Elliott]

Thanks traceye, I know ANZ can do it for 15.5 because they did it once, but now they say its 15 per check. Its very annoying. I might ring around to different branches. I cant find it it writting anywhere.

[Hamish Jones]

Cashing international cheques sucks.

My only suggestion would be that you speak to who is writing you the cheques and hold off until you have earned more.

That way, exponentially, the fees do not seem as bad.

[AndrewCavanagh]

I simply avoid international cheques.

It's not just the fee...I also have to arrange to have them banked or do it myself.

I suggest paypal or direct deposit if it's a substantial sum.

That's why at present I don't promote clickbank products or any affiliate program offering to pay me by check...not worth the extra effort or expense.

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh

[John Romaine]

Can you just have clickbank funds deposited straight into your bank account? I have my first cheque coming ($1100) and Im with a credit union

[Aaron Elliott]

clickbank said that you need 5 cheques before they will transfer to your bank account.

[powerspike]

I use comm bank, last time i cashed one, it was $12, luckily i have qualified for clickbanks EFT in australia, and got it enabled with an email to support. But before that, i had setup clickbank only pay out on $500 (when i was getting started, that was almost 18months worth!). but building up to it in the end was worth it.

Just checking the payment methods of what you are wanting to use (or about to signup to) would be a big benifit in that reguards.

[SolarFelineAU]

Thanks everyone, I never considered this.

I think I'm going to go into St George and other banks on Monday and ask what their fees for processing USD cheques are....

SolarFeline

[John Romaine]

Originally Posted by Aaron Elliott

clickbank said that you need 5 cheques before they will transfer to your bank account.

Ahh, yes youre right. Thanks Andrew

[Janet Sawyer]

Clickbank

Direct Deposit is not an available payment option for one of the following reasons:

1. You have not met the distribution requirements. An account must have first received three paper paychecks within any 12 week period before it is eligible to enroll in direct deposit
2. You have made an update to your email address or password within the last seven days. If you have made a change to your email address or password you must first wait seven days before changing your payment method.

Yes, I do know I'm not an Aussie, but here's my simple solution for getting YOUR money and SAVING on the BANK FEES.................


When you first join Clickbank, set the fee as HIGH something like $200 that will give you chance to meet their Customer Distribution Requirement and still have a decent chunk of change once the bank has taken it's fees - here in the UK my bank charges 10% of the total in USD !

Once you have the payments running, you've met the CDR so on to the next step. Set your payment threshold as LOW as you can, it can be as low as $10 - it won't take you long to get your next check. After Clickbank take out their $2.50 processing fee......... well you are left with $7.50 but are one step closer to the Direct Deposit, so let's assume you get another $7.50 cheque two weeks later.
These 2 checks are really valueless as the bank will charge you $15 for paying them in....... so just frame them, light the barbeque with them whatever....... they haven't cost you anything really, because what they have done is saved you $15 on every further Clickbank payment.

Once you have notification from Clickbank that your 3rd check has been issued, go into your account home settings and set up the direct payment from then on. It's wise now at this point to RAISE your payment threshold back to something more valuable like $200 for each payment.

Hope that helps at least one person out there..........

[Quentin]

Westpac used to do up to 4 cheques but it is now only one.

Q

[maco]

I have cashed 2 Amazon cheques 4 weeks ago and they charged me only $15.

Originally Posted by Quentin

Westpac used to do up to 4 cheques but it is now only one.

Q

[Pat Ordenes]

just on this... sort of...
What about paypal?
The banks charge when i transfer from paypal to westpac...
Any ideas?
Thanks!

[doop]

Originally Posted by Pat Ordenes

just on this... sort of...
What about paypal?
The banks charge when i transfer from paypal to westpac...
Any ideas?
Thanks!

The banks won't charge you for withdrawing from PayPal. (I've used both NAB and Westpac)

If you take out more than $150AUD PayPal won't charge you a fee - Less than $149.99 PayPal charges AUD$1.00

That said they will NEVER give you a good exchange rate if you charge in USD and want to withdraw in AUD - the exchange rate they give is always a few cents worse than the "REAL" rate so you'll end up loosing a couple of % to exchange fees.

Ie/ My Products are sold in USD. My last last PayPal withdrawal was AUD$1,470.30 (USD$1,202.2) with a PayPal exchange rate of .8176 whereas Google said the exchange rate should have been .7976

Might not seem like much of a difference but that works out to $ difference of: AUD$1507.27 if I got the "Proper" exchange rate (a difference of $36.97!!!)

Good news is however that if you keep track of everything properly (YOU ARE TRACKING EVERTHING PROPERLY! - your accountant can work some magic and you can recoup some of this at tax time.

[Aaron Elliott]

Thanks all, So from what I've seen ANZ are the cheapest (Well for Some) Im yet to find a branch that will cash 4 cheques for only $15.... I ll be ringing around soon....

Next best from that is Savings & Loands they charge $12.50 for each cheque.

Just go do to DEFCREDIT - They charge $21 per cheque...

[dylanloh]

Do you've have a Travelex branch in Australia? I've one in Singapore that I use, they charge $10 per check.

D

[zuberr]

Hah... money going down the drains :P

When I was in Australia two years ago... I used Commonwealth bank and they charged me $10 to cash a cheque.

Now, back home (in Mauritius), the local banks here charge $3-$3.50

[SolarFelineAU]

Originally Posted by dylanloh

Do you've have a Travelex branch in Australia? I've one in Singapore that I use, they charge $10 per check.

D

Ah, yeah we do. We have more than one branch in our big country.

I can't post links as yet, but I googled "Travelex" and clicked on the "Australia" radio box thingy.

SolarFelineAU

[lesleyk1]

Mine only cost me the price of a postage stamp...thank goodness I have a US bank account!

[medallion]

Hi there,

As an internet marketer, I understand the problems you are having.

One of the better ways, and less known, is to use CustomHouse dot com dot au

They are a foreign exchange company, and even though it is a bit dreary setting the account up, as you need your 100 points of ID etc, it can all be done via the phone and post.

Once set up, you mail them your cheque, and you;re on your way. The funds turn uo, as Aussie dollars in your nominated Aussie account.

Martin

[SolarFelineAU]

Originally Posted by medallion

Hi there,

As an internet marketer, I understand the problems you are having.

One of the better ways, and less known, is to use CustomHouse dot com dot au

They are a foreign exchange company, and even though it is a bit dreary setting the account up, as you need your 100 points of ID etc, it can all be done via the phone and post.

Once set up, you mail them your cheque, and you;re on your way. The funds turn uo, as Aussie dollars in your nominated Aussie account.

Martin

Thankyou for that medallion. I had no idea about the above.

And the poor buggers just got taken over by Western Union! I don't know if it is going to be good nor bad for us Aussies who want to use this service.

SolarFelineAU

[Aaron Elliott]

I dont see the advantage of CustomHouse as they charge $15 per check and you have to mail it there ( risk losing ).

[Sheryl Polomka]

So if you do direct deposit with Clickbank do you have to pay a heap of fees for that? I didn't know you could get your payment direct to your bank account with Clickbank, I thought the fees would be just as much as cashing a cheque.

[Aaron Elliott]

ANZ customers can you please tell me which branch you go too? My local branch wants to charge $15.50 per check.

The entire reason I joined ANZ was to cash 4 checks for $15.50, as other warriors are doing. But they wont do it!!

Can someone who banks with ANZ please tell me which branch you goto.

[dave147]

instead of "cashing" your checks, put them into your ANZ account (if you have one) and wait for them to clear - it's $15 per transaction so wait until you have a few checks to put in

[HR_MBA]

Your local bank or Australia Post Office should be fine!

[traceye]

Originally Posted by Aaron Elliott

ANZ customers can you please tell me which branch you go too? My local branch wants to charge $15.50 per check.

The entire reason I joined ANZ was to cash 4 checks for $15.50, as other warriors are doing. But they wont do it!!

Can someone who banks with ANZ please tell me which branch you goto.

I've used various ANZ branches around Sydney and they are all the same - $15.50 for up to 4 chqs of less than US$2000 each.

Remember to deposit it into your account, rather than 'cash' it.

[John Romaine]

I enquired just recently at the Bank Of Queensland with a Clickbank cheque. I simply wanted to deposit it into my savings account. They requested a fee of $50 PLUS a small percentage of the total balance of the cheque to deposit it into my account. I decided against it due to the cost, and ended up depositing it into my credit union account which was very easy and cost me $20 total.

The only downside was that I now have to wait approximately 6 weeks for it to clear.

[SolarFelineAU]

Originally Posted by ramone_johnny

I enquired just recently at the Bank Of Queensland with a Clickbank cheque. I simply wanted to deposit it into my savings account. They requested a fee of $50 PLUS a small percentage of the total balance of the cheque to deposit it into my account.

What a bluddy rip-off, and UNCOMPETITIVE! That's daylight robbery!!

Thanks mate, for telling us this!!

Originally Posted by ramone_johnny

I decided against it due to the cost, and ended up depositing it into my credit union account which was very easy and cost me $20 total.

Much better fee for you. Could you please post which Credit Union you used?

The only downside was that I now have to wait approximately 6 weeks for it to clear.

6 weeks is a bit of a long time.

SolarFelineAU

[dkblair]

I actually had a local Westpac branch cash a couple of USA cheques under $200 in 3 days.
Ive found most CPA networks are most sympathetic when you speak to them directly about getting a wire transfer.
Buy yes I have been told 6 weeks is pretty normal for clearance.

[Craig McPherson]

Originally Posted by ramone_johnny

The only downside was that I now have to wait approximately 6 weeks for it to clear.

I'm not saying this will happen to all of you but it worked for me.
My first 6-7 cheques from Clickbank took 6 weeks also as the bank sends the cheque back to the U.S for some reason.

One day I decided to have a decent chat with the guy behind the counter. He is a new Australian and I asked him stuff like "how long you been here" etc. The next time I went in I deliberately held back to get him to serve me. Lo and behold, once he processed the cheque he told me that the funds were available there and then.

After picking myself up of the floor I asked him why the procedure had changed and he simply winked at me. I have not pursued the matter further and my last dozen cheques have been in my account instantly.

ps: I still pay a $10 fee for each cheque and I am investigating the direct deposit avenue. I did not know it existed. I also enjoy my chats with Didier immensely.

[rondo]

I've never had to wait 6 weeks. The funds are available immediately if you ask for it.

However, you may be asked to sign a form promising to cover the amount in case the cheque doesn't clear.

Andrew

[SolarFelineAU]

Originally Posted by rondo

I've never had to wait 6 weeks. The funds are available immediately if you ask for it.

However, you may be asked to sign a form promising to cover the amount in case the cheque doesn't clear.

Andrew

Thankyou for this Andrew, but which bank are you talking about? Or are you referring to the fact all banks have this facility??

SolarFelineAU

[Aaron Elliott]

Yes I also have never waited, funds always go directly in the account. However maybe Ill ask to have them deposited instead of 'cashed'. Although I dont really understand the difference.

As for $50 + a percentage of the check just to cash it - well thats just insane, so its no wonder why we hate the banks!

[rondo]

Originally Posted by SolarFelineAU

Thankyou for this Andrew, but which bank are you talking about? Or are you referring to the fact all banks have this facility??

SolarFelineAU

Westpac, but I believe all banks do the same.

Andrew

[Aaron Elliott]

I went to another ANZ branch, again they charged $15 per check and they say there is no way they can cash up to 4 checks for $15.

They also are making me wait 6 weeks for it to "clear". Although the other ANZ branch didnt do this!?

I cant find any branch that will

1) cash 4 checks for $15 and;

2) at the same time have instant funds available!?!

Please anyone in SA who uses ANZ can you tell me where they cash 4 checks for $15? Otherwise I think Savings and loans for $10 per check (plus wait 4 weeks) is best option.

[mariner7]

I got around all this by opening a Wells Fargo checking account with debit card. Granted, I was over in the US at the time, but there is no requirement for a Tax ID/SSN. I inquired about opening an account for a mate in Melbourne and they said he needed to fax his ID over. I'm unsure about if he needed a US address or whether they just send it straight to him.

It costs US$5 to use the ATMs for cash out, but if you are paying bills, etc, the credit card function is fine.

[LeeMasterson]

Hi Aaron,

If I receive an international cheque, I'll use Bendigo Bank (Adelaide Bank) as they charge a flat fee of $10 and only make you wait for 20 days to clear funds.

If you have two or more cheques, then try St. George Bank (Bank SA) as they'll charge $11 for one cheque OR $5.50 per cheque for 2 or more cheques - also with a 20 day hold on the funds.


Hope this helps
Lee

Originally Posted by Aaron Elliott

I posted here about 6 months ago asking where to cash U.S Cheques because most banks charge between $20 - $15.

I was told by many that ANZ you can cash up to 4 cheques for $15.5 and one cost $12.5.

Long story short they charged me 15.5 each cheque and everytime I ring customer service or another branch I get told different prices some say $10 some say 12 and some say 15! Only one person from the bank said $15 for up to four.

If someone knows where it is in writting that it cost 15 for 4 cheques or know of a cheap bank in Aus I would really appreiate it!

Cheers - Aaron.

[Aaron Elliott]

Thanks for letting me know about BankSA - they sound the best.

Im ditching ANZ, they so hopeless they opened me the wrong account - told me they closed it now I get $30 fee's from that old account which is still open...

[acedalright]

I'm with St George and have the luxury of having a sizable deposit with them. I have for the longest time employed the "I can take my money out anytime" policy and I get better rates, reduced fees and surprise surprise...


Cheaper bank-check charges

Throw your weight around if you can (nicely)...(or not - everyone hates banks)

If there's no silver lining, just bank 4 at a time at ANZ

[Aaron Elliott]

Thats the problem banking for at a time with ANZ will cost 15x4 $60!

I cant find any ANZ branch that will bank 4 checks for $15.

[Agent007]

Westpac will do up to 4 cheques from the same country for $20 total. If the teller says they can't do 4 for $20, tell them they're dreaming and ask them to get the manager or check their rules. They still do it. It just used to cost only $15 before.

I remember only a few years ago credit unions is SA would do it for $5. Good ol' days

[Aaron Elliott]

Ok so far its;
1) westpac (pending they do 4 for $20)
2) bank sa, 5.50 for 2.

Thanks!

[Aaron Elliott]

at savings and loans they will do 4 for $10 total - 30 day clearance time.

[Kezz]

Same here - Bendigo Bank at $10 per cheque. But they made me wait 30 days not 20, denied!

[Vyliss]

Originally Posted by ramone_johnny

Ahh, yes youre right. Thanks Andrew

No it's 3 cheques.

Also Commonwealth charges only $10 per cheque.

[snazzy]

So for those using direct deposit for Clickbank, does it appear in your Aussie bank account as AUD or USD? And if USD, what fees does your bank charge for direct deposit of foreign currency? Thanks