Help on the basics of banking and using this site. If your query is not addressed here, check out the Glossary for terms you don't understand or Contact Us

1. How do I activate cookies?
2. Why can't I get the Macromedia Flash calculators to work?
3. Why can't I get the Java calculators to work?
4. What happened to BankChoice?
5. How do I use this site?
6. How do I get a loan from InfoChoice?
7. Where do I start finding a home loan?
8. What is a 'comparison rate'?
9. Confused by banking jargon?
10. How can I contact a financial institution?
11. Can I print information from this site?

You will need "cookies" turned on in your web browser to use the Infochoice website successfully and easily. Cookies are small files of information about your user profile stored on your computer by many websites. They allow website servers to recognise you on return visitsfor easy and customised access. Infochoice uses cookies to tailor the site content to your needs, eg. deliver banking data relevant to your state. We also use cookies so you can access the site without being asked to complete our Banking site user questionnaire more than once. At all times we adhere to privacy laws governing use of personal information. Read our privacy policy for more.

• How to activate cookies in Internet Explorer 5 or earlier
• How to activate cookies in Internet Explorer 6/XP
• How to activate cookies in Netscape

How to activate cookies in Internet Explorer 5 or earlier

1. On the desktop of your computer, go to the Control Panel. Find the Internet Options icon and double click it. If you are not sure how to get to your Control Panel you can click your Windows start button, go to settings and choose Control Panel.
2. A new screen will appear. Click on the Security tab then click on the Custom Level button.
3. Another new screen will appear. Scroll down until you see the area which says Cookies. Make sure you have both sections set to Enable cookies.

How to activate cookies in Internet Explorer 6/XP

1. On the desktop of your computer, go to the Control Panel. Find the Internet Options icon and double click it. If you are not sure how to get to your Control Panel you can click your Windows start button, go to settings and choose Control Panel.
2. A new screen will appear. Click the Privacy tab. You should either see a slider similar to the one pictured below, or the word custom (if you see the word custom, follow the instructions for advanced users instead).
3. By default, this should be set to medium, if it is all the way at the top, move it down until the word medium is displayed, as this is the highest level which will allow the Infochoice cookie to work properly. Click OK, close all your open IE6 windows, and restart IE.

Instructions for advanced Users

1. If you have not followed steps 1-2 above, do so now. Click the Advanced... button.
2. Check Override automatic cookie handling and select Accept under both "First party Cookies" and "Third party Cookies." Also, Check "Always allow session cookies."
3. Click OK out of internet options - close all your open IE6 windows, and restart IE.

Alternate instructions for those who require the medium-high or high privacy options

1. In the Privacy tab, click Edit... in the Web Sites section.
2. In The Address of Web Site box, type in http://www.infochoice.com.au then click Allow. This will enable all servers in the ezboard.com domain to set and read cookies unless you have the privacy settings explicitly set to block or allow all cookies.
3. Click OK out of Internet Options – close all your open IE6 windows, and restart IE.

How to activate cookies in Netscape

1. Launch your Netscape program. On the toolbar go to Edit then choose Preferences.
2. A new screen will appear. Click on the Advanced tab, then look under the Cookies area to make sure you have Accept all Cookies enabled.

Most of our new home loan and savings calculators require Macromedia Flash and and can only be viewed on machines that have the Flash plug-in installed. The Stamp Duty, Amortising and Income Tax calculators are based on JavaScript and will only work with Netscape 2.0 or above or Internet Explorer 3.0 or above. The Macromedia Flash plug-in is available for most popular browsers and can be downloaded from http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer. Some combinations of browsers and Flash plug-in versions may have conflict problems which prevent viewing of the Flash calculators. If you have installed the Flash plug-in and still cannot view the calculators, we suggest you use our Java-based calculators which are available if you CLICK HERE, and which offer equivalent functionality. On all calculators, make sure you enter numbers only, no commas, dollar signs or percent signs, eg. 100000 not $100,000.

Most of our older home loan and savings calculators use the Java language and can only be viewed through Java-enabled browsers. These are Netscape Navigator 2.0 or above (4.0 or above recommended) or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or above (5.0 or above recommended). The Stamp Duty and Income Tax calculators are based on JavaScript and will only work with Netscape 2.0 or above or Internet Explorer 3.0 or above. However, if you're using the Windows XP operating system, the Java calculators still may not work for you, regardless of what browser you use. This is because not all Windows XP versions come Java-enabled. If you think this may affect you, click on the following link to automatically retrieve the required XP plug in: http://www.java.com/en/download/windows_automatic.jsp On all calculators, make sure you enter numbers only, no commas, dollar signs or percent signs, eg. 100000 not $100,000.

After seven years of valuable service, BankChoice has been updated to better reflect the banking scene in the 21st Century and the latest web technology. The new site has been integrated into the main Infochoice website along with our investment and rural categories. But rest easy. All the features available on the old BankChoice are still there on the new site – calculators, news & views, tips & tricks and RateWatch - plus a host of extra features: --NEW AND UPDATED SELECTORS Quickly narrow down your search to just those banking products that suit your requirements with our smart selectors. Alternatively, you can still 'Browse all' the products available in a particular category for a full market overview. --USER-FRIENDLY TABLES Because banking products and services are becoming ever more complex, we've made it easier to read and use our comparative tables with a range of new features: -Row highlights Move your cursor to a particular product in any table and a yellow highlight separates this row from the others, making it easier to read the data and information across the row. -Table 'sortability' Many tables now allow you to customise the information to focus on a particular feature, eg. the interest rate or fees. Click on a blue column heading to re-sort the table so that the data in that column is in order of lowest to highest. Click again to reverse that order. -Compare in detail Our tables now allow you to choose up to three products for a more detailed side-by-side comparison of all their features, not just what's in the table. Check the tick boxes on the far right of the table and click the 'Compare' button. --MARKET SNAPSHOTS On any main category page, eg. Home Loans or Credit cards, look to the right hand column for a quick check of the highest and lowest interest rates in the market for particular types of products. A handy reference point for consumers and industry professionals before beginning a search. Read more on how to use this site below, or, go to the Banking homepage

The easiest way to use this site if you know the type of banking product you're looking for is to choose the relevant category (eg. Home loans, savings accounts, credit cards) from the left-hand menu on the homepage. The main page for each category then offers links to all the comparison tables, calculator tools news and help information relevant to that category. Alternatively, the site is also divided into different sections according to the type of content:

COMPARE Holds all the core content of the site; the tables and selectors allowing you to make comparisons between all the banking products on the market.

CALCULATE Contains all our leading-edge calculator tools to help you do your sums on your own personal borrowing or saving circumstances.

LEARN Offers all our help information on how to get the best banking solution; tips & tricks, guide articles and the glossary.

NEWS & VIEWS Keeps you up to date with news affecting your use of banking services as well as Infochoice's own analysis of product developments and market conditions. 

Also, the homepage has a number of 'quick find' options for users. The common banking issues consumers come to this site for help on are listed in the 'Where do I start?' menu on the homepage, providing direct links to the relevant section.

For further help on using the site, read the other frequently asked questions in this section.

InfoChoice is not a financial institution and does not offer loans nor facilitate loans directly. We are an independent comparison service collecting information on loans and other financial services of the various providers in the market. To maintain this independence, Infochoice does not recommend or advise on individual products or institutions. You can, however, contact your choice of provider via this website. Click here for our financial institution contact list, or click on the 'apply' links in any of our comparative tables.

There are so many home loans on the market these days with an increasing variety of rates, fees and features that it really pays to shop around. It may appear a bewildering prospect but somewhere there is a loan that best suits your circumstances and InfoChoice is here to help. The main challenge is to look beyond interest rates to the features that a home loan offers. Often there is a trade off between interest rate and flexibility. Make sure the loan suits your circumstances and the way you want to pay it off:

• Will you want to make extra repayments?
• Do you want to have redraw access to any extra payments made?
• Will you need to move within five years?
• Can you benefit from having your salary directly credited to your loan account?
• Is it better to just look for the lowest rate?
• Should you avoid a home loan with ongoing fees?
• Which lenders should you consider?
• Should you use a mortgage broker?
• How do you get the first homebuyers grant?

All these questions and more are answered on this site: Read our quick list of tips and tricks and be well prepared for your search. Read up on how to make the choice between fixed and variable rates. Read other guide articles on choosing a home loan. Our home loan selector is designed to make comparing what's on offer much easier.

Read our banking glossary explaining many banking terms in use today. click here.

Click here for a list of telephone numbers and website links.

Feel free to print out our tables and editorial information as long as it's for your own personal use. Commercial users should heed the copyright notice on this site. For tables, choose File->Print, or File->Print Frame (depending on the browser you are using) and set your paper orientation to Landscape.