If you’re selling in Australia and/or paying suppliers in AUD, you’ll want to find yourself the best AUD account available in the UK, i.e. an AUD business account in UK which has low fees and provides reliable transfers in Australia. The solution? Multi-currency digital accounts. These quick to open digital bank accounts (same-day) are available in multiple currencies, including AUD. Currency conversion is around 0.5%, whilst Amazon currency conversion costs can be up to 4.5% of the lump sum converted.
Our Australian dollar (foreign) bank account comparison will help you discover the best option to save money when importing or exporting to Australia. See also our guide to the best Multi-Currency Account for information on trading with multiple countries. Please note less companies offer AUD account that they do for USD accounts in the UK and EUR accounts in the UK.
Best AUD Accounts: Get an Australian Dollar Account with Australian IBAN
View the top rated AUD foreign bank accounts – Updated for: September 2023
Best AUD Account for All Types of Customers
- Open Australian bank account from UK easily
- BSB Code and Account Number granted
- Corresponding wise debit card to make physical purchases
The ground facts
- If you are selling on Amazon in Australia and using the default Amazon setup, you will lose up to 4% of your sales in foreign exchange fees when using their Amazon Global Seller Program if you supply a GBP denominated bank account in the UK for your AUD sales.
- If you are using eBay, your items will appear more expensive than their listed price for international buyers (due to Paypal’s high currency exchange fees, even if you transfer money from Paypal account to your Transferwise account).
- If you use a UK bank to exchange overseas funds to domestic currency, it may cost you up to 4% of the lump sum (unless you have a multi foreign currency account set up).
- If you are using an Australian bank then you would pay as much as A$30 + 3.5% in international transfer fees. You don’t necessarily need to opt for an Australian dollar bank account to make payments – our list of best money transfer services in Australia can help you with that.
When selling internationally, it’s natural to expect more complications in terms of operations and tax but, nevertheless, there remains huge growth opportunities for online sellers and international businesses alike. Fortunately there are many FinTech’s committed to championing SMEs with an aim to make it easy to do business anywhere in the world. By choosing the right FX service, offering multi-currency accounts, an AUD business bank account in the UK and cheaper FX spreads will beat Amazon’s currency exchange program (offered via the Amazon Global Sellers Online centre), eBay’s currency exchange fees, or other high-cost “default” solutions.
Best AUD Account UK & Your Savings – Online Marketplace Sellers
| Annual Turnover | Amazon Currency Exchange | Specialist Provider | Saving |
|---|---|---|---|
| £10,000 | £400 in currency fees | £150-£200 in currency fees | £200-£250 |
| £50,000 | £2,000 in currency fees | £500-£750 in currency fees | £1,250-£1,500 |
| £100,000 | £4,000 in currency fees | £500-£1,000 in currency fees | £3,000-£3,500 |
| £1,000,000 | £40,000 in currency fees | £5,000 in currency fees | £35,000 |
Notes: The above table is not marketplace specific. The currency exchange services for online sellers can be applicable to your business regardless of whether you sell on Amazon, Ali Baba, TMall, Overstock, eBay, Ubid, Bonanza, or any other online marketplace. The figures used in this table are only meant to demonstrate what you could potentially save; They use 4% as the base figure for currency exchange fees and 0.5%-1% in foreign currency fees when choosing a specialist provider – this is not necessarily what you’re paying at the moment, or what you’ll be paying with a currency provider, but rather a rough figure based on Amazon’s FX fees and information supplied by currency transfer brokers.
The Best AUD Account in UK?
Multi-Currencies Accounts Keep You Covered!
The below are the best foreign currency account in Australia you can open globally using two of our most recommended multi-currency account providers:
| With World First You can… | With TransferWise You Can… |
|---|---|
| ✓ Open AUD accounts from UK | Open AUD accounts from UK |
| ✓ Open AUD accounts from Australia | Open AUD accounts from America |
| ✓ Open AUD accounts from Europe | Open AUD accounts from Europe |
Note there are only a small number of money transfer companies offering AUD accounts that you can open from the UK. There are a greater number of providers offering GBP, EUR and USD accounts but only a few allow you to open an AUD account in UK for now.
How to Open Australian Bank Account from UK
For individuals, the process to open an Australian bank account from UK is actually a little easier than you might think. Unlike many other countries that require applicants to be in-country and to have a local address, Australia does not stipulate this as a requirement at the initial account opening stage.
For businesses however, it’s a different story. The question of ‘What is the best AUD account in the UK?’ just can’t be answered by opting for traditional Australian banks. To open a business bank account in Australia you’ll need to have a registered Australian business with an accompanying Australian Business Number (just like a company registration number with companies house). In fact, to open a business bank account in Australia a business would have to provide:
- An ABN (Australian Business Number)
- Company name
- Tax file number, supplied by the Australian Tax Office (ATO)
- Business certificate of incorporation
- ID&V for directors owning over 25% of the company*
*Australian banks use a ‘100 point check’ – this is a government led identification & verification system. Business directors can submit various forms of ID (such as a passport, driver’s license and proof of address, e.g. tenancy agreement, gas & electric document) which are assigned a number of points. Applicants are required to meet a minimum of 100 points in total to open an account.
As SMEs domiciled outside of Australia are unlikely to want to go through the rigorous process of registering a local business in Australia they will almost certainly prefer the ease of digital multi-currency accounts. Particularly as the providers of the best AUD accounts UK offer Australian dollar accounts which are physically held in Australia and act just like local bank accounts.
Products such as the Wise borderless account now make it possible for individuals and businesses to open digital currency accounts with ease. These accounts are still in the name of the individual/business and work just like a normal transaction account. You can make and receive payments just like a local in 10 currencies, including AUD. A Wise account in Australia comes with its own BSB code and account number. You can provide this to customers to receive payment and spend from the account balance to pay Australian suppliers. The only drawback we can see is that as it stands automated direct debits cannot be set up, so if you have a requirement to automate a monthly payment it may be that you need to explore opening a normal transaction account. Though the cost and resource to open a new business in Australia is likely to outweigh the small convenience of automated direct debits.
Businesses can also spend from their Wise AUD balances with a corresponding wise borderless debit card which comes with the account and can be used wherever mastercard is accepted – in over 200 countries and millions of locations worldwide.
Foreign exchange fees are cheaper with Wise vs Australian banks across the board as well – whether it’s for sending money online or using a Wise debit card abroad.
For these reasons, Australian businesses looking for the best foreign currency account in Australia will similarly appreciate Wise too. Whether you’re a UK business or Australian business, you can open accounts in 56 currencies with 10 of these held locally to the country they represent.
How to Open Australian Bank Account from UK
Summary – Compare AUD Accounts UK
Whilst Australia allows individuals to open an Australian bank account from UK prior to arriving down under, businesses are required to have a locally registered Australian business. This is likely to prohibit many SMEs who trade with Australia from opening a fully-fledged Australian business bank account in the UK with any of the ‘big four’ Australian banks. Online marketplace sellers in particular will be looking for a hassle-free solution for their Australian-based sales. Fortunately, the rise of multi-currency digital accounts has made the process of finding a business AUD account in the UK much easier. The multi-currency accounts supplied by Wise and WorldFirst are in our view the best foreign currency account in Australia to provide a BSB code and account number, as well as multiple other accounts in a wide-variety of currencies.