Complete Freedom

Yes, you can open more than one account at the same bank. This is a common practice. For example, somebody might have both a savings account and a transaction account with the same bank.

You don’t need a bank account to send or receive money through PayPal. However, you do need a bank account if you want to withdraw money from your PayPal account.

Opening a bank account over the internet or phone generally takes no more than 10 minutes. You can open an account just as quickly at a branch.

Deleting your bank account from PayPal is a simple three-step process:

• Go to your Wallet
• Choose the account you’d like to delete
• Click ‘Remove bank account’

Opening a bank account online is a simple process and only takes between five to 10 minutes to complete. To get started you will need a computer or smartphone with internet access.

Information to have available when you’re ready to apply is:

• Identification (such as driver’s licence, birth certificate, passport, proof-of-age card)
• Tax file number
• Residential address, email and a contact number

In some cases, you might be asked to provide employment details. If you’re not able to verify your identity online, most financial institutions let you provide this in the branch at a later date.

There are some types of bank account that you can apply for only in a branch. However, most bank accounts can be applied for conveniently online.

A debt collector can garnish your bank account – but only under limited circumstances. First, the debt collector must take you to court. Second, the court must rule against you. Third, the debt collector must ask the court to garnish money from your bank account.

If that happens, debt collectors might be able to garnish wages that arrive in your bank account. However, they wouldn’t be able to garnish welfare or child support payments.

Overdrawing a bank account can happen by accident. It’s often hard to know what your balance is, particularly with direct debits, scheduled repayments and pending transactions competing for cash.

To avoid being stuck with a bank fee every time your account is overdrawn, you can apply for a personal overdraft. This will enable you to overdraw your account up to an approved amount.

A personal overdraft is connected to your CommBank Everyday Account, so you can enjoy easy access to extra funds once approved – anywhere from $100 up to $20,000.

Your overdraft funds can be accessed via your CommBank keycard or Debit MasterCard, or online through NetBank and the CommBank app.

To apply you can either call the Commonwealth Bank directly or visit your local branch.

Centrelink can’t directly access your bank account – but it can gain indirect access under certain circumstances. First, data-matching software would need to identify that you might have received money to which you weren’t entitled. This could happen if the software discovered that you provided certain information about your financial position to Centrelink but different information to the Australian Taxation Office. Second, Centrelink would then have to ask your bank to provide details about your account. But even then, Centrelink would not be able to remove money from your bank account.

You can close a bank account with pending transactions. But after the account is closed, any incoming transactions will be declined by your (old) bank.

The best way to ensure this doesn’t occur is to either wait to close your account until all pending transactions are complete, or contact the creditor and supply them with alternate bank details.

If you’re unsure whether you have any scheduled transactions, you can speak to a banking representative over the phone or via online support.

In most cases, your bank withholds the amount owing for pending transactions (such as online purchases).

Because the pending amount is deducted from your bank balance, you can close your bank account and the purchase will be honoured.