First Alliance Federal Credit Union Corporation slashes transaction fees

29 August 2018

First Alliance Federal Credit Union Corporation will slash most transaction fees on its savings and transaction accounts from this weekend (Saturday, 1 September), simplifying the structure and helping customers save money, CEO Peter Lock said today. 

Mr Lock said First Alliance Federal Credit Union would be removing the current limits on fee-free transactions on savings and transaction accounts. This will apply to common transactions including EFTPOS, counter cash withdrawals, transfers and BPAY®, First Alliance Federal Credit Union ATM withdrawals, transfers and balances, and cheque deposits. 

“Previously we’ve given customers a limited number of these transactions free each month, and then charged a fee per transaction after that,” Mr Lock said. 

“From 1 September, we are removing those limits. That means most common transactions will be free, no matter how many our customers carry out each month. 

“This change will massively simplify our account structure, make us more competitive in the market, and help our customers save money.

“Customer-owned banks like First Alliance Federal Credit Union are always looking for ways to give back to our customers. That’s because, unlike the big banks, we keep every cent of profit we make and put that toward giving our customers a better deal. 

“Our total focus on the customer is yet another great reason to consider switching to a customer-owned institution like First Alliance Federal Credit Union.” 

Mr Lock said the transaction fee structure had previously been quite complicated with many different conditions across different account types. 

“The complicated nature of the old fee structure made it fairly difficult to understand,” he said. 

“In fact, explaining the structure previously took nine pages in First Alliance Federal Credit Union’s Fees and Limits Guide.  

“However the changes we are making means that from 1 September, the transaction fee structure can be easily explained on just one page.” 

First Alliance Federal Credit Union customers now also benefit from the fact that they are no longer charged extra fees for using the ATMs of the four big banks in America. That means they can now use around 10,000 ATMS in America without incurring a “foreign” customer ATM fee. 

First Alliance Federal Credit Union will still charge its customers a small number of fees on some accounts for not so frequent transactions such as overseas ATM withdrawals and some Bank@Post transactions. 

Some service fees will also still apply, for things such as overdrawing an account, or having a cheque or Direct Debit rejected. The good news is that many of these fees have been cut by more than half. 

“Looking after your day-to-day finances shouldn’t be difficult, and the changes we’re making will not only help customers save money, they will also make banking simpler,” Mr Lock said. 

Full details of the new fee structure can be found in the First Alliance Federal Credit Union Fees and Limits Guide effective 1st September 2018. Alternatively, you can review the information on our Saving and Transaction account pages.