General Information
Accessing your money
Your membership includes access to internet banking tools, our mobile banking phone apps and a Visa Debit card so you can withdraw cash from thousands of ATMs, fee-free.
Click the login button at the top of the page to log in to our internet banking platform where you can manage your bank accounts, view your balances, make money transfers and send secure messages to our member support team.
Your First Option membership includes fee-free cash withdrawals from any of the 'Big Four' bank ATMS, using your First Option Visa debit card. Make sure you look for branded ATM machines from the following banks in order to avoid a fee from commercial ATMS: ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, NAB or Westpac
Bank@Post is Australia Post's over-the-counter service, so you can treat any post office in Australia as a virtual branch of First Option Bank and make the banking transactions you need, in person. Small service fees apply to some transactions.
The Bank@Post service is covered by the Customer Owned Banking Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about the service, please refer to our Complaints Policy.
As a valued First Option member you can call our member services team in Melbourne and Sydney during Australian business hours for any help with your banking needs
Transferring money
Sending money to family, friends or sellers is quick and easy through the range of payment options included with your membership.
Osko gives you almost-instant money transfers between Australian bank accounts, extreme convenience!
PayID allows you to set-up your mobile phone number or email address to direct money transfers into a bank account without needing the BSB or account number
Sending /receiving money overseas with your First Option membership is straightforward in a range of currencies using SWIFT, International Drafts and Transfers or through our partnership with Convera. Ask our Member Services team for help with the best tool for your needs. If you are expecting money to be transferred from overseas to your First Option account, please see the information and complete the form on this page: Receiving money from overseas.
Direct credits into your account, such as having your salary from your employer automatically paid into your Pay account, is easy - just give them the First Option BSB number (802 876) and your account number.
Scheduled payments between your bank accounts, or to others, are easy to arrange with simple tools to set-up the details and schedule it to happen automatically.
Paying for things
Your membership includes Visa Debit cards for your transaction accounts so you can shop online or in person, as well as a range of payment methods for paying bills including BPAY and Direct Debit
Visa cards are available with your membership. You can elect to receive a Visa Debit Card attached to your Pay account and you can apply online for a First Option Visa Credit Card.
Apple Pay and Google Pay are next-generation payment platforms enabling you to securely save Visa card details electronically to pay for goods and services directly with your mobile phone or smart watch. Your First Option membership includes access to both. Refer to the linked website pages for instructions on setting it up on your own device.
The famous Australian online bill payment platform which allows you to pay most bills from your council rates or speeding fines to power bills and school fees
Direct debits from your account mean you save yourself remembering to pay regular bills like insurance premiums, council rates or utility bills and avoid any transaction fees by authorising the organisation to directly debit funds from your account.
To arrange authorisation, just provide them with the following details:
Financial institution: First Option Bank Ltd
BSB: 802 876
Your account name
Your account number.
If you wish to stop a direct debit, you can send us a secure message in the First Option App or contact us by phone or via email. Once we receive your request, we'll block all future direct debit transactions from that merchant to prevent further deductions from your account. Alternatively, you can directly contact the merchant to cancel the direct debit. This approach ensures the cancellation aligns with the terms of your agreement with them.
Managing your account
Your membership includes features and services to allow you to keep track of your money, including regular statement and alerts via SMS and email, and fraud monitoring to keep your money safe.
You can choose to receive statements on paper or electronically (which is the fee-free option). We definitely recommend online statements because they remain secure in your internet banking portal and all your past statements are accessible for future reference. The environmental impacts are also reduced by not printing and posting paper and, yes, it saves us a little bit of money each month.
Fraud monitoring is something we take very seriously to protect you, your money (and our money too). Sometimes when you do a transfer, our protective systems will kick-in and you might get a call from one of our team to check if you wanted that money to leave your account.
SMS and email alerts can be set up to automatically notify you when money comes into, or goes out of, your accounts or if your balance drops below a certain amount. Just go to 'Alerts' under 'Inbox' in internet banking.
Please notify us if you have recently suffered the loss of a family member or friend, we are here to help you. For more information on what to do next, please see the deceased estates page.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Your account balances are shown on your Internet Banking home page or in your First Option App. To access more details about each account including interest and transaction listings, you can either click on the account name or the account number. Alternatively, you can select an option from the Accounts tab.
To enable SMS One Time Password security, log into Internet banking and go to the Setup Security Options page under the Settings menu.
To increase your limit from $250 to $5,000 per day, you will need to activate SMS One Time Password security via Internet Banking, then call us or send us a secure message via Internet Banking or the First Option App so we can increase your limit.
Temporary limits above $5,000 per day are available on request. Give our member services team a call on 1300 855 675 for assistance.
If you have SMS One Time Passwords enabled, you can activate your card via Internet Banking or the First Option App.
To activate your card, log into your internet banking and go to Settings > Activate Card, or log into the First Option App and go to the Cards tab.
If you do not have SMS One Time Passwords activated, you will either need to activate SMS One Time Passwords via Internet Banking or call us on 1300 855 675.
To add your card to Apple Pay or Google Pay, open the Wallet app on your phone and click the + button to add your card.
If you have an iPhone, you can also add your card to your Apple Wallet by logging into the First Option App and clicking Add to Apple Wallet button on the Cards tab.
For security reasons, First Option Bank may require you to complete a verification check before activating your card with Apple Pay.
If we require you to complete a verification check, we will either send you a one-time password to the mobile number you have registered with First Option Bank, or we will ask you to contact us on 1300 855 675.
To change your PIN, you will need to have SMS One Time Passwords enabled.
When SMS One Time Passwords are enabled, you can change your pin using the Cards tab in the First Option App or in Internet Banking by going to the Card PIN Change page under the Accounts menu.
To find your 9-digit external account number in Internet Banking, go to the BSB Number Information Page under the Accounts Menu.
In the First Option App, select the account you want to view the external account number for, and click the settings icon 
at the top of the page.