BankSA is one of the largest financial institutions in South Australia, it is now owned by Westpac thanks to its merger with St. George. It offers a VISA debit card to be used with its everyday accounts.
The card is a debit card, which means that it is linked with the everyday account. This means that unlike a credit card there is no way to build up a large high interest balance on the account. Like a credit card it can be used to pay for items over the internet or if ordering an item by phone or through a mail order catalogue. VISA also has the verified by VISA programme which means that many internet transactions need to be password verified before they are approved.
A debit card can be used like a credit card at the point of sale at a shop or with a service provider. VISA is the world’s biggest credit card and debit card provider and is accepted by 29 million outlets throughout the world.
In Australia it can be used in ATMs, although if it is used in a branch that does not belong to BankSA then there is likely to be a fee for the use of the ATM. However as BankSA is in the Westpac this card can be used fee free in Westpac and St George bank branches as well as BankSA branches.
The card can also be used for EFTPOS transactions. The card is open to VISA’s zero liability guarantee which means that if there is an unauthorised transaction that is notified in a timely manner and that the card holder has not co-operated with the transaction.
The everyday BankSA accounts that have access to a VISA debit card are the Complete Freedom Account, the BankSA SENSE account, the Express Freedom Account, the Complete Freedom Student Account and the Retirement Access Plus Account. It is necessary to have one of these accounts.
The Complete Freedom account allows for a large number of fee free transactions in return for a flat monthly fee. This fee can be waived if either $2,000 is deposited in the month (this can include a salary) and if a home payment is made out of the account.
The BankSA SENSE account is an everyday account is an everyday account linked to a savings account. They have a consolidated statement to help an account holder understand their full financial status and allows for target setting.
BankSA is owned by St. George Bank – as is evident on the top of their statements, that say clearly “Bank SA is a division of St. George Bank”. It’s also worth noting that St. George Bank merged with Westpac Banking Corporation, making BankSA a part of the Westpac Group….
Also – it was BankWest that was bought by the Commonwealth Bank – not BankSA.
Thank for pointing this out. The writer must have bumped their head before writing this one as what you state is clearly correct.