CURRENCY & BANKING

Banking/Business Hours/ATM Card Use

Banks are generally open 8:30am4pm Mon-Thu; 9:30am-5pm Fri. In some states selected banking facilities are available on Saturday morning. General office hours including Post Offices are 9am-5pm, Mon-Fri. Stamps are often available at front desks of hotels and motels and at selected retail outlets. ATM cards can be used in Australia at both ATMs (Automatic Teller Machines) and at participating retail locations, so long as they have been enabled for international access. Your ATM card must carry either the CIRRUS, PLUS or STAR international ATM mark or the Interlink or Maestro POS mark. Travelers should contact their bank at home for information on availability and service charges. 9

Credit Cards

The most commonly accepted credit cards are American Express, Bankcard, Carte Blanche, Diners Club, MasterCard, Visa and their affiliates. Use may be restricted in smaller towns and country areas and small retail shops. Australian currency is decimal with the dollar as the basic unit (100 cents equals one dollar).

Currency Exchange

Exchange facilities are available for all incoming and outgoing flights at all international airports in Australia Changing foreign currency or traveler's checks can be done quickly and efficiently at most banks.
For the current Australian exchange rate please use the Currency Converter

Travelers Checks

You should cash travelers checks at banks or larger hotels as it may be difficult elsewhere. Some banks may charge a small fee for cashing travelers checks. Banks will cash most travelers checks in every currency. Most widely accepted are American Express, Thomas Cook, Barclays, Bank of America, Visa and MasterCard.

Currency

The unit of currency is the Australian dollar, divided into 100 cents and coined in 5¢, 10¢, 20¢, and 50¢ pieces. The currency system was converted in 1966 from the old British system of pounds, shillings, and pence to the decimal one. At the changeover the new Australian dollar was worth approximately half the value of the pound, the currency it replaced.

The first Australian bank was established in Sydney in 1817. The Reserve Bank of Australia, established in 1911, is the central bank and bank of issue including note issuance. The banking system includes the components of the Federal Commonwealth Banking Corporation, comprising the Commonwealth Federal Bank, the Commonwealth Development Bank, and the Commonwealth Savings Bank; state banks; several privately owned trading banks and savings banks; and branches of almost 20 foreign banks. The stock exchanges in the six state capitals merged in 1987 to form the Australian Stock exchange. The financial sector was deregulated in the mid-1980s.