Jamesons migration to Macquarie
Why did Jamesons change their trust account relationship to Macquarie Bank?
- Having worked with the strata industry for over 30 years, Macquarie has built a deep understanding of the industry and long term relationships with key players and industry bodies.
- Macquarie is one of the only banks in the country that has invested, and is continuing to invest significantly to develop long-term solutions specifically designed for the strata industry.
- Macquarie supports strata businesses with thought leadership, benchmarking, events, roundtables and sponsorships.
- Macquarie provides services and products like credit card payments and the DEFT facility for our clients that the Commonwealth Bank did not have the capacity to provide.
Does Macquarie look after other major Strata companies in NSW?
- Servicing over 70% of strata management businesses across the country, including many of the largest operators, Macquarie is the preferred bank to the industry.
- Macquarie Business Banking has been working with the strata industry for over 30 years and is one of the platinum sponsors of the industry body, SCA
Have there ever been issues where Macquarie has lost an owner’s or strata plan’s funds?
- No. Macquarie have never lost an owner or Strata Plans funds.
- Macquarie’s strong business position is built on a long history of financial success. Founded in Australia in 1969, Macquarie boasts a 44 year history of unbroken profitability and 22 years of a consecutive “A” rating with Standard & Poor’s.
- Macquarie’s deposit accounts are covered by the Australian Government Deposit Guarantee.* This includes all types of retail deposits such as cheque accounts, at call investment accounts, multi-investment accounts, term deposits and trust accounts.
- The DEFT payment system is safe and secure and ensures that funds are allocated to individual owners.
What does this transition mean for me when I want to pay my levies?
- With DEFT, Macquarie’s proprietary payment collection system, designed specifically for the strata industry, you have more options to make payments, as well as specific receipting, which can be used as evidence of payment.
- Your levy notice will contain a new BPAY Biller code and DEFT reference number. The full range of payment options will be detailed on the levy notice.
- Current Levy Balance
- If your levies are up to date then there is no action for you to take – your next levy statement will contain the new Macquarie Trust Account details and payment options.
- If your levies are not up to date then we will issue you with a new levy statement which will contain the new Macquarie Trust Account details and payment options at the time of change over.
Will this change incur any additional costs for me personally or the strata scheme?
- Macquarie offers a range of payment options to lot owners, including phone and internet payments by credit and debit cards, direct debit, and BPAY®.
- The accounts at Macquarie have been set up to mirror the interest and fee structure currently in place at Commonwealth Bank, wherever possible. In some instances, there are additional services or payment channels at Macquarie that were not available at CBA that may come with a fee (ie surcharge on Credit Card payments).
What options do I have to make payments that I didn’t have before?
- Credit card – phone or internet
- Customer initiated direct debit – phone or internet
- Australia Post – cash, cheque, or EFTPOS
- Locked bag – cheque
Now that I can pay via credit card, what are the additional charges to do so, if any?
- The following surcharges may apply for credit card payments:
- Visa/Mastercard -1.50% of the transaction amount
- Diners Club – 3.773% of the transaction amount
- o American Express – 3.30% of the transaction amount
The amount of the surcharge will be fully disclosed to the payer before finalising the transaction.
What happens to my current BPay biller code when you come on board?
- At the time of transition, all BPAY biller codes at Commonwealth Bank will be cancelled to help minimise payments made in error to old trust accounts. Commonwealth Bank biller codes will become invalid, so payments will not be processed.
Does Jamesons benefit financially in any way from changing to Macquarie Bank?
- Jamesons will not be receiving any financial benefit from Macquarie. In accordance with the strata schemes legislation, any commissions Jamesons would be entitled to receive would have to be fully disclosed in the strata management agency agreement.
Is it easy to contact Macquarie If I have any issues with paying levies or other items?
- DEFT online (https://www.deft.com.au) is available 24 hrs a day; owners can pay their levies via credit card or registered bank account at any time online. The website has FAQs to support owners as well as an online enquiry form to lodge queries at any time of day. Additionally, the DEFT support hotline is available business days between 8:30am to 5:00pm.