Savings Terms and Conditions

Documents

This document contains the terms and conditions (Terms) for the Savings Account issued by Alex Bank Pty Ltd ABN 13 627 244 848, Australian Financial Services Licence 510805 (Alex, We, Us or Our).

You should also refer to our Savings Rate and Fee Guide which contains the interest rates and fees and charges applicable to the Savings Account.

Online access to the Savings Account is also subject to the Electronic Banking Terms & Conditions.

For information on our full range of products and services, see our Financial Services Guide.

Please read each document carefully and retain any necessary copies for future reference.

We may change each of these documents from time to time in accordance with their terms. Current versions are available from our website www.alex.bank.

Financial Claims Scheme

The Australian Government’s Financial Claims Scheme (FCS) protects people’s deposits in the unlikely event that an ADI, including a RADI, fails. Under the FCS, deposits are protected up to a limit of $250,000 for each account holder at each ADI that is incorporated in Australia and authorised by APRA.

The FCS can only come into effect if it is activated by the Australian Government when an institution fails. Once activated, the FCS will be administered by APRA. In an FCS scenario, APRA would aim to pay the majority of customers their protected deposits under the FCS within seven calendar days.

More information can be found at https://www.fcs.gov.au.

Product Summary

Key Product Risks

• Interest rates may rise or fall over time. It is possible for the interest rate to be zero or negative.
• Disruptions to banking services and systems may occur and there may be delays in your access to your Savings Account balance.
• If you owe money to Alex you may lose the balance of your Savings Account by set off against the amount you owe.
• You may need to pay tax with respect to income earned in connection with the Savings Account.
• If you do not disclose a Tax File Number or exemption, we may be obliged to withhold tax at the highest marginal tax rate from any interest payment.
• If Alex is aware you are a person to whom a legal sanction or prohibition applies, Alex may be required to suspend, cancel or refuse you services (including any transaction on your Savings Account) or close or freeze your Savings Account.

Opening a Savings Account

Qualifications

To apply for a Savings Account you must be an individual at least 18 years of age and an Australian citizen or permanent resident with the ability to provide Alex with a valid Australian issued Photo ID (Passport or Drivers Licence). You may additionally have tax residency of one, but only one, other jurisdiction which is acceptable to us in our absolute discretion.

Each account holder is limited to a single Savings Account. We may, at our discreation choose to merge or close your accounts if we find you hold multiple accounts. We will promptly inform you if we have done so, but we do not need to give you notice in advance.

Identification

When you open a Savings Account, we are required by law to verify your identity and the identity of any person appointed as a signatory on your account. You will be required to produce documents to verify your identity, one of which must include your photograph or signature.

If you, or signatories to the account, are not identified in terms of the law, the Savings Account will be blocked for all withdrawals (or all withdrawals by the relevant signatories) until the requirements are satisfied.

Tax File Number

All accounts earning deposit interest are subject to Tax File Number (TFN) legislation. It is not compulsory for you to provide your TFN or if you are in an exempt withholding tax category. However, if you choose not to do so, we must deduct withholding tax from the interest earned which is generally calculated at the highest marginal tax rate plus applicable Commonwealth tax levies, including the Medicare Levy. In accordance with the Privacy Act, we will keep your TFN confidential.

If you are a tax resident of an overseas jurisdiction, we may be required to collect additional information and to disclose information about you and your tax residency to relevant taxation authorities.

Tax Implications

Interest earned on your Savings Account should usually be declared for income tax purposes. Please consult your tax adviser or the Australian Taxation Office for more information.

Joint Accounts

A joint account is an account in the name of more than one person. The Savings Account may not be held jointly, it must only have one account holder.

Trust Accounts

A trust account is an account in the name of one or more persons as trustee for one or more other persons. The trust may be formal or informal. The Savings Account may not be held in trust, the account holder must hold all beneficial interest.

Signatories

Only the account holder may be a signatory to the Savings Account.

Lawful purpose

You must not open or use the Savings Account for any unlawful purpose, including the purchase of goods or services prohibited by the laws of the jurisdiction you are in.

Application

You can apply for a Savings Account online at www.alex.bank.

We may or may not accept your application in our absolute discretion and do not need to provide a reason for doing so. We may, from time to time choose to pause distribution of this product to all new applicants by restricting application via our website. This will be communicated on the website.

Switching service

If you wish to switch from another bank, we will assist you as below. You can request that we:

• give you a “change of account” letter (for you to give to your other bank);
• help you identify your own BPAY payments, internet payments and debit or credit card arrangements;
• obtain a list of your direct debit, direct credit and periodical payment arrangements from your other bank;
• help you identify which of those arrangements you wish to move to your new account with us or cancel; and
• notify the organisation that administers those arrangements of the details of your new account with us or your instructions to cancel an arrangement.

Operating a Savings Account

Deposits

Deposits into your Savings Account can only be made by electronic transfer. We do not accept cash or cheque deposits.

The maximum balance limit is $250,000. Alex has the right to reject deposits (inwards transfers) where the account balance is above $250,000.

Where, at our discretion we choose to accept such higher deposits, we will confirm the acceptance with you noting your account will still be subject to the maximum daily withdrawal limit in Electronic Banking.

Withdrawing or Transferring Money

Funds are at call and can be accessed at any time through Electronic Banking subject to your maximum daily limit.

Withdrawals that you initiate from your Account using Electronic Banking cannot be future dated.

We may impose a maximum amount per day you may transfer from all the Accounts you can access using Electronic Banking. At the moment that amount is $5,000 per day. If you would like a lower limit, you can set a daily withdrawal limit of up to $5,000 through Electronic Banking. Call us if you need to make any withdrawals which exceed the $5,000 daily limit. If there are insufficient cleared funds in the Account at the time you tell us to make a payment (including the time for a direct debit you have arranged), we may decline to make the payment, or use our discretion to honour the payment (noting the requirement below that your Savings Account may not become overdrawn).

Foreign currency and international transfers

All transfers into and out of the Savings Account must be in Australian dollars and from or to a bank account located in Australia.

Effective date

The date on which withdrawals and deposits are applied to your account may differ, depending on the nature of the withdrawal or deposit. Deposits and other credits will not be treated as made until the date on which those deposits or other credits are applied to your account in the ordinary course of business (referred to as the ‘effective date’). Generally, deposits and withdrawals will be applied to your account (i.e. ‘be effective’) on the date of processing but, in some cases, they may be applied as at a different date.

Disruption to service

When planning transactions you should bear in mind that a banking service may sometimes be disrupted because a service is temporarily unavailable, or a system or equipment is not working in a normal or satisfactory way. We will correct any incorrect or failed transaction resulting from a disruption and will adjust any amount debited or credited to your Savings Account accordingly. To the extent permitted by law and applicable codes, we are not responsible for any loss you suffer (including consequential loss) in connection with a disruption.

Electronic Banking & Mobile Banking App

This is a service that Alex makes available through the internet to enable the electronic receipt and transmission of information and instructions (including in relation to the Savings Account). It is generally available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but will be subject to periods of unavailability.

The Savings Account can only be accessed through Electronic Banking (including via our mobile banking application). You must register to access Electronic Banking generally. To access the mobile banking application you must register and download the mobile banking application.

Your use of the Electronic Banking service (including any mobile banking application) will be governed by the Electronic Banking Terms & Conditions (which incorporates the Mobile Banking App Terms). Please refer to our Electronic Banking Terms & Conditions for full details.

Direct deposit arrangements

Under a direct deposit arrangement you can alter, stop or suspend an individual deposit by contacting the depositor or financial institution making the deposit.

Direct debit arrangements

Direct debit arrangements are not supported on the account and any request from a third party to debit your Savings account under a direct debit arrangement will be rejected.

Statements

Statements for your account will be issued at least once every 6 months (or more frequently if you ask). Statements will be provided and be available to you online through Electronic Banking.

You should regularly check your account transactions and your statements and advise Alex as soon as possible of any errors or unauthorised transactions on your statement.

Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing obligations

In order for us to meet our regulatory and compliance obligations we will control and monitor your Savings Account and the transactions to and from it.

Transactions may be delayed, blocked, frozen (which may include isolating funds and moving them into a separate account) or refused where we have reasonable grounds to believe that they breach Australian law or sanctions (or the law or sanctions of any other country). Where transactions are delayed, blocked, frozen or refused (other than by reason of a system unavailability or malfunction), to the extent permitted by law we and our correspondents are not liable for any loss you suffer (including consequential loss) in connection with your use of your Savings Account.

We may from time to time require additional information from you to assist us in the above compliance process and you must provide that information. Where legally obliged to do so, we will disclose the information gathered to regulatory and/or law enforcement agencies, other banks, our related bodies corporate, service providers or to other third parties.

You provide us with the following undertakings and indemnify us against any potential losses arising from any breach by you of such undertakings:

• you will not initiate, engage in or effect a transaction that may be in breach of Australian law or sanctions (or the law or sanctions of any other country); and
• you will not use your Savings Account in an activity prohibited by Australian law or sanctions (or the law or sanctions of any other country).

Account suspension

Alex may suspend your Savings Account if:

• we are required to do so legally or by a regulator; or
• we believe there is suspicious activity on the account or transaction.

Where it is reasonable and permitted by law, we will promptly notify you of the suspension of your account.

Account closures

You may close your Savings Account by giving us written notice or contacting us.

We may close your Savings Account if:

• it has a zero balance for a consecutive period of 14 days;
• we are required to do so legally or by a regulator;
• we believe there is suspicious activity on the account;
• we reasonably believe you have breached the terms and conditions of the account; or
• we believe the operation of the account is outside our risk appetite (for example, you or your signatories have not provided correct, complete or up to date identification information).

Upon closure of your Savings Account, the savings balance plus any accrued interest less any accrued fees or charges will be paid to you. If your account is in debit or you owe us an amount, you must pay the outstanding balance or amount. If your account is holding uncleared funds at the time of closure these funds cannot be released until they are cleared.

Interest, Fees and Charges

Interest

Interest will be calculated on the daily closing balance of your Savings Account. The daily interest rate is the variable annual rate divided by 365 in a normal year and 366 in a leap year. Payment of interest occurs on the first day of each month or, for the final interest payment, on the date the account is closed.

Notification of changes to interest rates on savings will be notified to you no later than the date the change takes effect, unless permitted otherwise by law and applicable codes. Notification may be communicated via an advertisement in the national or local media or by a notice printed on your account statement or by sending you a written or electronic notice. Interest rates that apply to your account are available on our website in the Savings Rate and Fee Guide.

Alex may vary the method by which interest is calculated or the frequency with which it is debited or credited. Any such change will be notified to you no later than 30 days before the change takes effect, unless permitted otherwise by law and applicable codes. Notification may be communicated via an advertisement in the national or local media or by a notice printed on your account statement or by sending you a written or electronic notice.

Fees

Fees applicable to the Savings Account are specified in the Savings Rate and Fee Guide. You authorise us to debit fees to your account.

As at the date of this document, there are no applicable fees and charges.

Alex may introduce or vary fees & charges. If the change results in an increase to fees & charges, this change will be notified to you no later than 30 days before the change takes effect, unless permitted otherwise by law and applicable codes. Notification may be communicated via an advertisement in the national or local media or by a notice printed on your account statement or by sending you a written or electronic notice.

Government charges

Any government charges or duties you must pay for using the account will be taken straight from your account and shown on your account statement. These charges may vary according to State or Territory.

As at the date of this document, there are no applicable government charges, but this may change from time to time. We will tell you about the introduction or change to government charges reasonably promptly after the government notifies us (however, we do not have to tell you about if the government publicises the introduction or change).

Adjustments

We may make adjustments to any amount credited or debited to your Savings Account so as to reflect the true position between you and us.

General terms and conditions

Changes to Terms

We may vary these Terms from time to time. Variations with respect to interest, fees and charges are covered above.

For other variations, where the variation is or may be adverse to you, Alex will provide you with at least 30 days’ prior notice.

Where permitted by law and applicable codes, we may reduce the notice period or provide no notice period where the variation is necessary to comply with law, protect our systems, prevent criminal activity or to mitigate a material increase in credit risk or loss.

Notification may be communicated via an advertisement in the national or local media or by a notice printed on your account statement or by sending you a written or electronic notice.

Privacy and confidentiality

Your privacy is important to us. We only collect, use, store and disclose your personal information in accordance with the requirements of law and our Privacy Policy. We will make reasonable efforts to keep any such information that we have about you secure and to ensure that any of our employees or agents who have access to information about you do not make any unauthorised use, modification, reproduction or disclosure of that information. You should notify us if any of your personal information changes. You can request access to your information held by us by contacting us in accordance with the procedures set out in our Privacy Policy. Our Privacy Policy contains information about how you may complain about a breach of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), and the process by which your complaint will be handled. Please refer to our 

Provision of credit

Alex does not agree to provide any credit in respect of your Savings Account.

To enable Alex to comply with the National Credit Code legislation, you must not overdraw your Savings Account. We will not allow debits to the Savings Account where we are aware these would result in a negative balance. If for any reason the Savings Account is overdrawn, it must be immediately repaid with all applicable fees and charges.

If you require credit, personal loan facilities are available and one of our lending staff would be more than happy to discuss the options and terms and conditions of these facilities with you.

If you are experiencing financial difficulties please contact us to discuss how we may assist you.

Right to combine accounts

Alex may apply the balance of your Savings Account towards the repayment of any debt that you owe to Alex, unless prohibited by law or applicable codes. We will promptly inform you if we have done so, but we do not need to give you notice in advance.

Changes to account holder and signatories

Trust accounts, joint accounts and multiple signatories are generally not permitted, and Savings Accounts can not be opened with these features. Once a Savings Account is open, exceptions may be made in the case of your attorney or your death, bankruptcy or incapacity, provided all relevant information and documentation is supplied to Alex.

Change of details

You should notify Alex promptly of any changes to details on your account. Alex is not responsible for any errors that occur as a result of your failure to do so.

Postal communication

We may send you notices or other documents to a postal or residential address that you have provided to us.

Electronic communication

If you provide us with an email address or mobile phone number, you consent to us using them to send you notices or other documents in accordance with your Electronic Communications Consent. Some of our products may be provided on the basis that all communications will be provided to you electronically, unless required otherwise by law or applicable codes. As such, if you do not consent to receiving communications electronically through Electronic Banking or otherwise in accordance with your Electronic Communications or withdraw your consent, Alex may decline your application or close your account. Electronic communications must be regularly checked for notices from us. You also agree that we are entitled to rely upon and accept any information or documentation that you send to us by electronic communication as an original document or communication from you to the extent necessary. Please refer to your Electronic Communications Consent for more details.Privacy Policy for full details of the above.

Jurisdiction and governing law

These Terms are governed by the law of Queensland and each party submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts exercising jurisdiction in Queensland.

Severability

If any of these Terms are held to be invalid, illegal, unlawful or otherwise incapable of being enforced, all other Terms will remain in full force and effect.

No Assignment

Your rights and obligations under these Terms are personal to you and you must not assign, transfer or otherwise dispose of any or all of your rights and/or obligations under these Terms. We may assign or transfer or otherwise dispose of our rights and/or obligations under these Terms by providing the transferee is an ADI and Australian financial services licensee. You may close the Savings Account in accordance with these Terms following such a dealing.

Contact us

You can always reach us on phone and email during our business hours. Our contact details are:

• Phone: 13 ALEX
• Email: help@alex.bank

Feedback and complaints

Our internal dispute resolution scheme

We hope you are delighted with our services, but if you wish to make a complaint, you can notify us in the following ways:

• Email – you can email us on help@alex.bank; or
• Phone – you can call us on 13 ALEX.

Please clearly provide your contact details, and the details of your complaint. We aim to resolve all complaints within 5 business days and if this is not possible we will keep you informed of our progress. If you do not hear from us within five business days, you may contact our Complaints Team by email at complaints@alex.bank or by phone at 13 ALEX.

External dispute resolution scheme

If you are not satisfied with our response to your complaint, or if you consider that we have not responded to you in a timely manner, you may contact the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) online at www.afca.org.au, by phone on 1800 931 678, or by mail at GPO Box 3, Melbourne, VIC 3001.

See our Privacy Policy and our Statement of Notifiable Matters for further details about our dispute resolution procedures in respect of your personal information (including credit information).