How to switch to us
As part of our promise to provide ‘banking that’s personal’, Queenslanders Credit Union has put together this step-by-step guide to switching your accounts to us.
Your first step in switching to Queenslanders is to open an account with us. You can, of course, use an existing account if you are already a member.
Review your old bank statements to identify all regular payments to and from your old account (the ‘credits’ and ‘debits’) or ask your old financial institution to provide you with a list of your regular direct debits and credits.
Payment cycles range from weekly and monthly to quarterly and yearly, so you will need to look back at least 13 months.
There are four kinds of regular payments you’ll need to look out for:
- Regular direct debits and credits as mentioned above
- Periodical payments are standing instructions given to your financial institution e.g. “on a monthly basis, debit my account and pay my rent”
- Recurring payments are made by your providers or merchants where you have supplied your Visa Debit or Credit Card number; and
- ‘Pay anyone’ payments are payments you make using your financial institution’s internet banking service e.g. “every month pay my child’s pocket money”. Before you close your old account you should access your internet banking account with your old financial institution to print out your ‘pay anyone’ list.
The first thing you need to do is advise your employer of your new account details to ensure your salary gets paid into your new Queenslanders account.
Once you start receiving your pay to the new account, each organisation that makes regular direct debits and credits to your old account will need to know our BSB and your Account number.
Download a ‘Switch of Financial Institution and Account Details' Form or collect one from your nearest branch.
Complete the form to advise each organisation of your new account details. You will need to sign and authorise each change before we can advise each organisation on your behalf. Once you’ve completed the form, e-mail it back to us at info@queenslanders.com.au and we will send the form off to your old bank.
- If you make periodical payments, apply for Net Teller on your new account and load each payment via the internet.
- If you have recurring payments, advise your provider or merchant of your new credit card or debit card details.
- If you use internet banking to make payments yourself, apply for NetTeller on your new account and set up your personal payee details and create future dated recurring payments.
Once you are sure that all your regular debits and credits have been successfully re-established on your new account, you can close your old account. We've provided you with a handy template document to do this.
Once you have all the official paperwork done, you might want to have some fun and send your bank manager a message - tell them "It's OVER!". Choose one of our 'Dear John' letters we back created in November (well before the big banks started breaking up with each other).
Once all organisations have been advised of your new account details, you should:
- Make sure you have enough money in your old account to cover current payments until all regular payments have been re-established on your new account.
- Check your new account when you are expecting the next regular direct debits and credits to appear and contact the organisation or Queenslanders Credit Union if the payment does not appear on your new account or continues to appear on your old account.
We have no control over when organisations make direct debits and credits to or from your account or when they will update their records. Following these tips should ensure you are not charged additional fees such as dishonour fees or overdrawn account fees.
Remember the organisation that makes direct debits and credits to your account will contact you for new instructions if these regular payments fail.
As always, if you require further information you can contact us or visit your nearest branch.