Citibank Online Saver

Really bad experience – I've never spent so much time on the phone for a bank. First, the website didn't work and it took Citibank at least a month and multiple phone calls trying to explain before they fixed it for me. Then I couldn't add my TFN, which meant that they had to withhold interest until that's done. And then it was very very hard to get money out of the… Read more

account. It requires the team to call me at unpredictable times and if I miss the call, there's no direct call back number. So I had to go through a very long automated options on the phone and speak to staff who's on a separate team, constantly repeating my situation. They have poor record of past conversations. It's such a horrible experience, I'll never go back to Citibank again.

Switched to better Service – Opened an online saver account and was hounded by phone and emails to provide 11 year old info re my last job description and job title although I retired in 2011. In light of the OPTUS debacle I refused to give any information that could be used to steal my identity. Was then threatened that they had the right to block my account. Never again Citibank for me.

Appalling systems and processing times – I opened a Citibank Online Saver account but never again. First, despite giving them my TFN, they deducted interest incorrectly. Told me it would take a month to correct! After complaining they fixed it in a few days. Second, transferring money out of this account is a nightmare! You have to set up a linked account. That takes 5 business days,… Read more

then you have to send a small deposit from your linked out back to Citi Online Saver - that takes up to 3 business days, then you have to wait another 3 business days to transfer a large sum - so 11 business days to transfer your own money. The website is antiquated, terrible UX and confusing. When you phone, its an offshore contact centre that is so slow. Someone needs to go thru all their processes and take out the red tape and confusion and they need to desperately improve their technology - just awful. Was with them for a month and pulled my money out! NAB have recently bought it - good luck!

Really bad bank, recommend against joining it – I have had nothing but trouble from Citibank Online account. Their offshore 'helpline' is hopeless, they consistently misunderstand what you are asking and their 'service' takes forever. I do NOT recommend Citibank.

Beware – Citi have a history of: 1) legally reducing your bonus period interest rate before the period has finished (possible by the T&C stating the rate is variable and therefore subjuct to change. 2) using outsourced call centres, so if something doesn't go to plan, its very likey you'll have a stressful and anxious experience attempting to find a… Read more

solution (possibly while you're unable to access or withdraw your funds)

NB. As of June 2022 the FSC (govt backing) is with Nab, not citi. So if you have 150k deposited with citi online saver and 150k in other Nab accounts, this will count as 300k with Nab. (FSC max cover is 250k per institution)

weird linked account system – They asked you to transfer from linked account to activate link account. Otherwise, you will not able to transfer your money out! It seemed the system did not identify my transfer in money and I have no idea how long will that take to get my savings out. I DOES NOT recommend this product.

Introductory rate not honoured – Opened an online savings account under 2 months ago. Introductory rate of 3% for first 4 months was advertised. Just got informed it has now dropped to 2.85%. While I acknowledge the terms and conditions does specify that the introductory is subject to change, I feel this is valuable information for the anyone out there thinking about opening an… Read more

account with citi. The lesson for me is the advertised validity period of the introductory rate means little if the word "variable" is in there. i.e they could advertise a high introductory, variable rate for the first 20 years and then drop the rate right down after one month and it would be within their rights to do so. I expected more from Citi. Will proceed to close up my account and bank elsewhere.

Be wary of the advertising of the promotional rate – I specifically signed up for the Citibank online savings account because they advertised a promotional rate of 3.4% for 4 months. However after one month it dropped to 3.05% and now 3%. When I wrote to complain about the change in rate and not honouring their advertised special, I was basically told rate changes were in the conditions. Therefore… Read more

i didn't pay sufficient enough attention to the long list of conditions. If the bank advertises a rate for a promotional period they should honour it. Be warned. Mauro

Incompetence – I deposited a large sum of money (some $200k). When I eventually needed it, in the transfer they lost my money for some 10 days. Their phone personnel are uniformly incompetent, and their systems are the same. When the money eventually turned up (after many phone calls and stress), they didn't bother to pay any interest for the time they had… Read more

"lost" the money in their system.

I have also had similar bad experiences with their call centre when I had a Citibank Visa credit card. I had hoped their phone personnel would have improved since the early 2000's, but clearly not.

Incredible levels of incompetence for a financial institution. Bad call centre.