[Sharon]

Here we have offset accounts against our home loans – that’s where my emergency fund is – it doesn’t pay interest but offsets against my homeloan. eg if you have a loan of $100,000 and your offset is at $40,000 you only pay interest on the remaining $60,000 (but payments are based on the $100K so you pay off quicker).  The $40K can be accessed at any time.

I am also trying to understand bank transfers in the US.  Here it is super easy – all you need is what we call the BSB number (bank number) and account number and you can transfer to anyone within 24 hours.  Updates on balances in your account are instant – is it not like that in the US?

[Jeanna]

If both banks utilize Zelle then yes, it’s pretty instant, but otherwise interbank wire transfers can take anywhere from 2-5 business days. I wish they had that offset benefit on a mortgage though, that sounds pretty awesome.

[Hank]

I bank at my local credit union. I can transfer and receive monies from other members instantly.

I am liking the offset accounts, lol. We don’t have this in the USA.

[Barbara]

Our bank transfers sound the sane. I don’t know about what you mentioned first. I haven’t heard of anything like that except a heloc which is really bad. Here we have a mortgage. If you want a emergency fund you put it in a seperate savings account. A heloc is a line of credit. People here think it’s a savings but it’s really not it’s a line of credit backed by your mortgage. Why do you ask? Are you thinking about moving here?

[Author]

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