Bankwest Reviews 128

We are long-time (many years) customers of Bankwest, but do not feel valued, as we have to continually ask for a better rate for a term deposit. The better rate is eventually reluctantly given! (only to match the Commonwealth Banks rate who I think owns them). Less than professional service with spelling mistakes on their forms and emails sent to incorrect people. (well, they do state don't trust the emailing system). Even before the branches closed there was evidence of lack of concern/training/ability and professionalism among the staff. Now some things can't even be done online, one has to have the mobile app on their phone! This is too much for older people and many have taken their business elsewhere, such as to Police and Nurses Bank who have physical branches. Loss of so many customers and so many bad reviews doesn't seem to faze them, as when one states they will take business elsewhere, it is met with "that is your prerogative". Avoid this bank. The majority of service quality has gone from bad to worse.

Cannot believe the negative feedback and reviews.. .our experience is so different. We are entering our second year of fulltime overseas travel and have never had any issues with access to money, payments (card or phone) at any time. There is zero ATM fees and zero fee for buying goods in the credit card (just pay off the balance)

One thing we do, inform Bankwest prior to changing countries (to avoid blocking due to suspect scamming).

We also have a Bankwest World (Qantas) credit card so take advantage of their travel insurance, which we upgrade for a full year at a time (just have to be in Australia to initiate the policy). I have run this PDS through Ai against other travel policies and it comes up as near perfect for our circumstances, and great value.

The Bankwest app is great and was redesigned a couple of years ago to have a minimal appearance.

My only true complaint is their lack of 2 factor authentication! The bank went fully on-line and yet did this without putting 100% authentication in place and rely on sending an (outdated) SMS to confirm online payments. If you're travelling you can turn this off.... but turning off security features, is this really good security?? Think about it.... for us, when forced to make an online payment overseas, we have to make the payment, swap SIM cards to receive the SMS, completing the payment. To put into context, even our Ring doorbell has 2FA, yet a bank which excels in areas we think is awesome, doesn't have a basic 2FA system using an app.

Idiot bank - never ever dealing with this joke of a bank. And recommend people not to apply either for any lending product with them. Approved conditionally with payslip then they ask for a million document for their zero fee CC, with Perfect credit score and service capability and they don’t give you a credit card with minimal limit without any reason. Never to be dealt Again!!

Yes, but the team is very cooperative and provides assistance directly without delay. I am very happy with them and thank them for their cooperation but I hope they answer the phone when finally calling them thank you

Bankwest as it is today may well be described as the worst in terms of customer service. I cannot see myself being with the bank in the next 2 weeks because this bank is floating in terms of customer service with no staff willing to take responsibility for any simple question about its operations or accounts with them. Their reputation is being drowned by its lack of staff to interface with in times of difficulties. The bank has lost its gloss and should probably consider ceasing its operations entirely.

They no longer have any branches, they do not answer their phones, I was on hold for over an hour. I really feel like taking my home loan elsewhere.

Terrible experience with Bankwest. Despite multiple attempts to communicate directly with them about my account, they referred me to debt collectors instead of addressing the issue. Completely unprofessional and stressful—definitely not a bank you can rely on for support when things go wrong.

If I could give 0.5 stars, I would. The online support is passively aggressive and extremely unhelpful. There is no clear explanation and no real customer service when you need assistance. I’ve been with this bank for almost 7 years, but after this experience I’m seriously considering leaving. Very disappointing. Avoid if you can.

This would have to be the worst bank at the moment. They have the worst customer service in the industry. I'm moving all my banking from them as you have go through the post office to talk to anyone in person. This makes it hard as the post office don't care about your banking. I thought NAB had bad service but they 100% better than bankwest. If you are thinking about banking with bankwest Do Not!

Bankwest is inefficient, disorganised, and exhausting to deal with.

Communication is poor. You are passed around, forced to repeat yourself, and left waiting with no clear answers. No one takes ownership and nothing is resolved without constant chasing.

Simple issues are made unnecessarily complicated, with vague explanations and shifting timelines. There is no sense that the bank is working in your interests.

If something goes wrong, you are on your own. I would not recommend Bankwest to anyone who values competence or basic accountability.

Incompetent amitures. I had an account with Bankwest for roughly 6 months. After it was closed, I couldn't access the online portal for anything, most importantly for my bank statements. After calling to request my statements to be sent to me via email, I literally received just the last day it was still opened, showing that the remainder of my balance ($5)had been sent to me via cheque. No transactions at all, just that!
Really Bankwest?
What a bunch of morons!!!

I moved to Ireland and still wanted to keep my bank account as I have some deposits that go into the account. I also need to purchase things for my grandchildren. This I can't do as they won't post my new debit card. Other countries have no problem whatsoever.
My son and sister can't collect it for me unless there is a statdec or power of attorney. Its OK if they post it to me but the bank can't do it. I'd like to close the useless account.
This week Feb 2026 my sister has tried again. They want me to photo copy my story then write it out take a photo of it. I don't have a printer or any computer skills so will have to find my way to a library to print it out.
Such a load of b.s. I wonder if I paid for an air fare out to collect it would they compensate me for it.
There's not much in it, but enough to have bought christmas presents for the grandkids.
Had enough of this bank and some ridiculous things that take place in Australia.

On Friday 30th January 2026 I opened an Easy Transaction Account for when I go overseas because there are no fees and the app is much easier to use so I would highly recommend opening the account for overseas travel.

If you wish to speak to a human you will reliably receive the message ' we are experiencing more than usual inquiries and our operators are all dealing with other clients'. That is because insufficient people are employed. I have written to the CEO but he is sufficiently arrogant as to ignore my correspondence all together. The move to digital banking is a failure for the customers

A terrible service! and countless steps about verifications, authorisations, justifications... eventually I had to go to the Australian post office to verify my identity!! Even though BankWest gladly accepted a relatively big amount of transferred money from my personal account from another bank to my account in their bank, as they have a good saving interest rate. However, when I wanted to transfer back to the same linked account, it took me 2 days, a few hours and the visit of the Australian Post Office to be able to transfer money back to the same account I initially sent from. My slogan is ' I'm happier and wealthier if I dont have anything to do with BankWest.I highly recommend not using BankWest bank at all.

Customer service? Very hard to call them on phone!

Terrible bank....
Not helpful..... Took me whole day, and my problem not fixed

Terrible bank with terrible ethics and policies. I can change my address and order a new card but I can't change my phone number without sending them ID through the post office, despite being able to verify my identity over the phone. Useless does not begin to describe their customer service experience since closing all physical branches, and their new AI voiced ads are just insulting. Change banks. It's not worth sticking with them.
I'd been a customer for 21 years.

I have been texting on their app, and they have been deleting my info and making me repeat it again and again without a reply? I''m now officially declaring lack of help with them and will be recording everything on camera to prove this. Shame on your staff. You can't even offer service anymore.
Time for thecBank Ombudsman.
Banks shpuld be closed down if they cznt give service to their clients. What if someone had hacked us and taken oyr money and we coukdnt get a hold of you ?