Fees
CUA prides itself on its ‘fair fee’ policy. We have no account keeping fees and over 80% of our members don’t pay any regular transaction fees. We also support CUA members who support us by providing more free transactions to those who do most of their banking with us.
CUA’s fees and charges:
- CUA schedule of fees effective 1 September 2008
- One off and exceptions fees
- Lending schedule of fees
- MasterCard Rewards fees and charges
- Low Rate MasterCard fees and charges
How to avoid excess transaction fees
With no monthly account keeping fees CUA makes it easy to take control of your banking. In fact, it is possible to bank without regular fees and charges by following a few useful hints.
Do all of your banking with CUA
- While all members receive a certain number of free transactions on their accounts each month, CUA’s ‘fair fee’ policy recognises loyalty by giving more free transactions to those members who do most of their banking with CUA
- It is possible to earn up to 26 free transactions per month simply by choosing CUA for those products and services that most Australians have either with one financial institution or spread across many.
- For more free transactions per month talk to CUA about home and personal loans, investment accounts, health and general insurance, financial planning and credit cards.
Paying for purchases
- Ask for a free upgrade of your Redicard to Visa Debit¹. With Visa Debit, all EFTPOS transactions are completely free as long as you press the credit button. Visa Debit works in the same way that a credit card does in that you can use it to shop online and over the phone, except it does not come with a credit limit so you only spend your own money.
- Use a CUA MasterCard² for all purchases and pay your bill in full each month to avoid interest.
Withdrawing cash
- Plan your transactions so you do not exceed your allowed number of free transaction per month.
- Combine transactions by using EFTPOS to pay for purchases and withdraw cash at the same time.
- If you find that you do need to make an excess withdrawal, do so from the supermarket using EFTPOS. This incurs a much cheaper fee than withdrawing from an ATM or branch.
- When withdrawing cash from an ATM always use a Rediteller machine wherever possible to avoid ‘direct charging’. This new industry regulation to be introduced in 2009 means that customers will be charged upfront for their transaction using the ATM. As Reditellers are owned and operated by credit unions, using a Rediteller means your transaction will not be direct charged but will be included in your free component of transactions.
Paying bills
- Access phone or internet banking to pay bills for free using BPAY.
- Transfer funds into another person / company’s bank account, at any financial institution, for free via internet banking.
- Use your Visa Debit* card and select the credit option for unlimited free transactions.
- Use your CUA MasterCard* and pay your bill in full each month.
Checking account balances
- Obtain account balances for free by logging onto your account via Web Banker (www.cua.com.au) or phoning Telebanker, 133 cua (133 282).
Avoiding dishonour fees
- Ensure you always have sufficient cleared funds in your account to cover all withdrawals and/ or debits.
- You may wish to consider applying for an overdraft facility as a safety net for any unexpected expenses you may incur.
Note: ¹ Eligibility criteria applies. ² Subject to credit approval. *While all transactions made by pressing the credit button on your Visa Debit or MasterCard are free, some merchants may apply a surcharge fee. Some merchants may disable the credit button for Visa Debit transactions.
