St.George Bank has long been known as an innovator in the Australian market. It was the first Australian building society (before it became a bank in 1992) to computerise its operations and was the first to introduce ultraviolet signature verification to improve security. St.George continues to innovate and its online presence reflects that notion. Even if its merger with Westpac goes ahead, it should keep its identity and unique features, so we’re still considering it as a separate entity in this roundup.

Right off the bat it’s clear that St.George is still on the frontier of security. Not only do you login with your customer number and password, but also a special security number used only for online and phone banking. While it’s still vulnerable to keyloggers and phishing, its presence means it takes more than guessing your password to access your account. Another layer is provided by Secure Code, which sends a message to your mobile – or even a nominated landline – when performing certain transactions online. And on top of that, if you do become the victim of fraud, St.George offers a refund guarantee. All up, one of the better showings in terms of security in this roundup.

The interface to the site is also pleasantly accessible, with plenty of helpful information provided every step of the way. Little things like rollovers that provide extra information, the ability to rename and reorder accounts or the ability to print any page are welcome features. As is the impressive number of calculators on offer, not just covering interest and budget planning, but foreign currency conversion, stamp duty calculators and even delving into margin lending. And if you want some help getting the hang of the site, there’s a comprehensive Flash demo to guide you through.

St.George also offers just about all the features you’d expect in terms of transfers and bill payments. However there’s no facility for viewing digital statements; printed statements must be ordered online for a cost of $4 a pop.
Mobile transactions aren’t supported, but you can get balance updates as well as establish alerts for specific deposits, withdrawals or balance limits.

Mobile alerts cost 25c each, although their email analogues are free.

St.George continues its tradition of innovation in banking, with a well designed site that is both accessible and easy to use and offers some of the best security on offer in this comparison of online banking.