your net:// How to dodge queues and save money

By KARYN SCHERER

Okay, I'll be honest. I was one of the last people on the planet to acquire a cellphone, so I'm not really an early adopter.

But I've never enjoyed wasting my lunch-hour in a queue at the bank. When BankDirect came long three years ago, I eagerly signed up and have never regretted it, for the following reasons:

1. Its home loans are cheaper. Like many of its customers, I was attracted to BD by its home loan rates, which have consistently beaten the traditional banks by around 0.5 per cent. In my case, that's just under $10,000 in interest saved over a 15-year term. A word of warning though: mortgage brokers won't necessarily tell you this. Banks pay brokers commissions for bringing them business and BD does not play this game, to save costs.

2. Its fees are cheaper. Because its costs are lower, it can afford to charge you less. My old bank, for example, charges 25c for Eftpos transactions, while BD charges 15c. Paying a bill now costs me 30c, instead of 50c. And having an automatic payment rejected costs $7.50, instead of $15. Although my old bank waives fees for some customers, this would have saved me a maximum of only $3600 over 15 years - a lot less than I'm saving in interest on my home loan.

3. It's open 24 hours a day. I frequently find myself fiddling with my finances at 10 o'clock at night. It's great to be able to log on and sort it all out right then and there.

4. Everything is at your fingertips. You can check your statements going back several months (including that morning's purchases on the credit card), change the frequency or amount of your loan payments, or set up new automatic payments - all by yourself.

5. It's an accountant's dream. If you're that way inclined, you can use various software packages to manage your records. Apparently, these include Quicken-QIF, Money-OFX and Spreadsheets-CSV.

Tip: You don't actually need access to the internet to be a customer. You can simply use BD's telephone banking service and still save money. But BD will hate me for saying this, because it is cheaper for it if you just use the net.

Another tip: Consumer magazine recently criticised BD for the establishment fees it charges customers wanting relatively small home loans. This shouldn't be an issue in Auckland, but might need to be taken into account elsewhere.

In case you're getting suspicious this might be a paid advertisement, I have to admit the occasional glitch.

It seemed to take forever to get the paperwork organised for my home loan. And again when I wanted to extend the loan a year later. And again a year after that.

The other day I deposited a cheque in my cheque account through an ATM, and it turned up in my credit card account. I was told this can happen to people whose credit cards are also their ATM cards.

But whenever I have got on the phone to an account manager, my call has been answered promptly, politely and efficiently. I wouldn't go back to queues for all the money in the world.