Bank Australia Credit Cards

To apply for any of the Bank Australia credit cards, you must be able to satisfy the following criteria:

• At least 18 years old.
• Permanent Australian resident.
• Good credit rating.

More more information about eligibility criteria, go to the Bank Australia website.

First, check whether you are eligible to apply for a Bank Australia credit card. See above for the eligibility requirements.

If you meet the eligibility requirements, you can apply online, or by visiting a branch in-store or calling 132 888. Have your ID and income details handy and check our list of documentation you may need when applying for a credit card.

You can expect to receive a response within minutes (Bank Australia). In some cases, an instant response cannot be made and you will need to provide further information before the card can be approved; in this case, the card provider will contact you. You can check your application status at any time by calling 132 888.

You will have to activate the card when it arrives before you are able to use that card. Activate the card using the mobile banking app or online banking.

You can manage your Bank Australia credit card through online banking or the mobile banking app. To register for online banking, you must visit a branch in-store or call 132 888. Use online banking or mobile banking to do things like activate your card, view your recent transaction history, view your balance, and more.

When interest is charged

Interest is charged when you carry a balance on your Bank Australia credit card. Interest is charged on cash advances from the date of withdrawal (fees and charges apply) and balance transfers from the date of transfer.

Interest is charged on all purchases made using the Bank Australia Low Rate Visa, as this card does not offer any interest-free days.

When interest is not charged

Up to 55 interest-free days apply to the Bank Australia Visa credit card and Platinum Rewards Visa credit card. Interest-free days apply if you have paid the balance in full for the previous month’s statement and for the current month’s statement (the statement on which the purchases are listed).

Your credit limit for a Bank Australia credit card will be determined based on the information you provide in your application, keeping in mind the minimum and maximum credit limits available for each card. Find out more about how credit limits are determined here.

You can close your Bank Australia credit card account at any time by contacting Bank Australia:

• Phone: 132 888 (within Australia) or +61 3 9854 4666 (from overseas) (open Mon-Fri)

Your card balance will need to be repaid in full even after the card is closed. You will continue to receive monthly statements until your card balance is fully repaid.

If you are experiencing financial hardship, contact the Hardship Assistance team to get help in making repayments (phone 132 888).

If you are closing your Bank Australia credit card because you’re not satisfied with it, consider your other options when it comes to credit cards:

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Bank Australia (formerly known as bankmecu) was founded in 1957 as the CSIRO Co-operative Credit Society Ltd, with just 40 members. Within their first year, they granted three loans totalling $525. Today, Bank Australia has nearly 130,000 people and community sector organisations banking with them.

Bank Australia is a 100% customer-owned bank and profits are reinvested in the products and services offered to customers. Bank Australia is committed to providing Aussie jobs rather than outsourcing, so their call centre and lending centre are both located in regional Victoria.

In 1984, Bank Australia was the first credit co-operative in Victoria to issue Visa credit cards. They offer access to over 3,000 rediATMs and 24 branches around the country. They also have a mobile smartphone app available for Apple idevices and Android devices.

As a customer-owned institution, it’s only natural that Bank Australia cares about supporting Australian communities. One of the main ways they do this is by investing 4% of the bank’s profits into the Bank Australia Impact Fund, which funds projects that contribute to improving Australia’s environmental, societal, or economic needs. Any Bank Australia customers with a great project idea can apply for the annual Small Investments Round.

Another community support initiative is by providing free uniforms and school supplies to students who can’t afford to come to school otherwise, through sponsoring State Schools’ Relief. In 2015, State Schools’ Relief provided uniforms for 20,500 kids so they didn’t have to worry about getting into trouble about little things like socks or hats. They also provided senior high school students with maths calculators so they could study Maths B, Maths C, or the Sciences (which are required subjects if you want to study health or science at university). Bank Australia has also been sponsoring the CSIRO Science Pathways for Indigenous Communities program in schools since 2011, so that indigenous kids can reach their full scientific potential.

In terms of corporate and social responsibility in gender equality, Bank Australia’s Board of Directors was 50% women as of 2015, which is far better than the 20% rate reported by other ASX boards in this 2015 study.

As for protecting the environment, Bank Australia has been carbon neutral since 2013, offsetting carbon emissions on cars financed through personal loans since 2004, and offering biodiversity offsets for new home construction home loans since 2008. In a world first for a financial institution, in 2008 Bank Australia began buying five properties to become private nature reserves, where they work with conservationists and local community groups to offset the impact of their products on the environment. In Victoria, their first Bank Australia Conservation Reserve is home to many endangered species including the South-Eastern Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo in this video:

Source: Bank Australia

You can meet the other people and animals behind the Conservation Reserves on Bank Australia’s YouTube channel.

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