I've been coming here for bank loans and financial advice for 30 years. Great bank with friendly…read moreand helpful staff. It can get busy sometimes with only two tellers on duty. Good for loans and financial assistance.

Who honestly enjoys going to the bank?? Most of time you end up standing in a long queue under…read moreflorescent lightening just in order for someone to tell you that, indeed, you're pretty darn broke. Commonwealth has not provided me with the best experience in general, but the staff at the Glebe branch is the single redeeming factor in my overall banking experience. The information desk became my best friend early on when I was urgently trying to figure out how to wire money between my Bank of America account and Commonwealth account. Seemingly one's own money should be accessible where ever he or she happens to be in the world, right? But because these sorts of things are never as easy as they should be, I stuffed up and ended up costing myself nearly two hundred dollars in processing fees. NOT IDEAL. The staff there at the Glebe branch helped me every step of the way thereafter, and though there was nothing they could do about my previous loss (occurred on the American end), they advised me of the best options moving forward. After the third time I went in, the manager knew my name and was always more than happy to answer all my questions. I was even permitted to come behind the counter in order to use their computer for online banking instead of having to pay the processing fees associated if the teller were to help. Here's to the customer service aficionados who work hard to smooth out the Commonwealth bumps. Keep treading water, guys... maybe at some point it will pay off!

One of my best banking experiences. The ladies are very helpfulread more

Landed as an immigrant to Aus so I first had to activate my account before it could actually be…read moreused. When we showed up for our appointment we were told that the person assigned to us was transferred the week before to another branch. Since all cards and details were sent there, we had to go to his branch. At this point I could honestly say I was seriously doubtful that NAB and us would have a good working relationship. Fortunately, when we arrived, we were helped by friendly, knowledgeable staff. Thus, despite the small hiccup in the beginning, I feel confident NAB provides good customer care.

KVB Kunlun is an international financial service corporation with a local presence in Sydney's…read moreCitigroup centre on Park Street. I visited KVB to exchange Forex and was amazed at the crowd and queue. Clearly they offer a very competitive pricing. The office is very professional and they have a tv screen where you can watch the latest financial news. The waiting time is long and I took over 45 minutes to reach the counter. Also they have limited seating, so expect to stand a long time. As, they have a token facility, you can grab a token and come back, but there is no way of predicting how long the queue is or how fast it may move. The day I went they were charging an extra $10 for all currencies irrespective of the amounted exchanged. I felt that was quite steep and unnecessary. Also being a HK based company, I assumed they would have sufficient HK dollars, but by mid-day there was a poster informing that all HK dealings could be reserved but only distributed the next day. Definitely not happy about that..

Hands down the best forex rates in the city…read more Whenever I have visitors, I tell them to go here so they don't get ripped off by Travelex or any of the other currency exchange places, as they give you the closest rates to the current forex. Found in the Citigroup Centre, take the lift to Level 18 and then grab a ticket. I've been lucky, as the few times I've gone there hasn't been a massive queue. One note, you'll need to swap at least $1000 or you may be charged with a $10 fee. However, the $10 may be negligible considering the rates some of their competitors offer...so you'll end up saving either way.

I often wonder why people complain about big banks when there are options like Qantas Staff Credit…read moreUnion. Perhaps the name puts people off as you would think that you need to be a staff member of Qantas, but the reality is that they have a pretty liberal policy of who can join including if you know someone who has an account there ;-) , or work in Aviation, Hospitality, or Government.... The big advantage of this credit union is that they charge very low fees, give great interest rates, and have great service. What more could you ask for.....well perhaps the other thing is they don't have many branches, there are ones at most of the large airports, but to be honest I have never found this to be a problem as the ATM card is accepted at Westpac/St George ATM with no fees, and you can make cash/cheque deposits at Westpac branches too. I used to bank with a large bank, and they charged $5 a month fee, I changed to QSCU and there are no monthly fees, and i get a transaction allowance. Hopefully this doesnt sound like an ad, but I love this organisation, especially as an alternative to the big banks with their fees.

Pharmacy/ cafes/ food stalls(all under the shelter) all within the vicinity of the buidling…read more There is even a cafe on the ground floor! Perfect for employees who want a cuppa but do not want to leave the building :) (I havent tried the coffee there, so cant comment on that)

Good pace for credit card and loans and moreread more

There's something distinctly local about the Balmain ANZ branch. Maybe it's the Tigers memorabilia…read morethat sneakily surrounds each of the tellers, or the fact that every person in there knows everything about everyone in Balmain. They know your name and its not just from looking at your handycard. There's no false happy facade or strict procedural customer service, just genuine smiles, fast & friendly service and, if you're lucky, a local tale or two. Despite being in a busy inner city suburb, they practice typically small-town homegrown sensibilities, greeting you genuinely and genially every time you walk in. That is, unless the Tigers lost this week.