How to open a Cash Management Account

You can apply for a Macquarie Cash Management Account (CMA) online.

At the start of your application you will need to:

  1. Select your account type (e.g. Individual, Joint, Company, Trust etc.)
  2. Specify if you would also like to apply for a Macquarie Cash Management Accelerator Account.

You will also need to provide an email address and mobile number so we can keep in contact with you for important updates and to make it simpler and safe for you to operate the account.

Why open a Cash Management Accelerator Account at the same time?

The Macquarie Cash Management Accelerator Account (Accelerator) is a high interest savings deposit account that links to your Macquarie CMA.

You can earn more on your cash funds while waiting for investment opportunities or simply get a higher return on your savings. The Accelerator offers you the convenience of having your investment cash hub and your surplus investment cash account in one place.

Benefits of an Accelerator

  • Higher interest rates
  • No fees
  • No minimum or maximum balances
  • Real-time transfers to and from your linked CMA during a business day
  • Covered by the Government Guarantee under the Financial Claims Scheme.

Most investors use an Accelerator as a place to keep their excess investment cash due to a higher interest rate than the standard CMA. Please note that interest rates are variable and subject to change. You can view the current Accelerator interest rates here.

You can open a CMA or CMA Accelerator if you are:

  • an individual (e.g. JOHN CITIZEN)
  • a joint (e.g. JOHN CITIZEN & JANE CITIZEN)
  • a trust or self managed super fund (SMSF) (e.g. JOHN CITIZEN ATF CITIZEN FAMILY TRUST or JANE CITIZEN PTY LTD ATF CITIZEN SUPER FUND)
  • company or business (e.g. JOHN CITIZEN PTY LTD)
  • sole trader (e.g. JANE CITIZEN T/AS JANE CITIZEN PLUMBING PTY LTD)
  • incorporated association or bodies (e.g. JOHN CITIZEN INC ASSOCIATION or JANE CITIZEN SPORTING CLUB)

How long it takes to open a CMA

We aim to open your Macquarie CMA within 24 hours of receiving your application, provided all required information and documents are provided.

You will receive a confirmation email as soon as your account is set up.

To help avoid delays, please follow the tips below.

Provide complete and correct information

Under our Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) regulatory requirements, we can’t open any account if there are discrepancies with the information you provide in the application.

We recommend you carefully check the information you provide to ensure it’s as complete and accurate as possible. If we do identify any discrepancies, we may need to contact you or your adviser to resolve the discrepancy which may delay the account opening process.

Common causes of discrepancies

Material discrepancies are relating to information that appears as suspicious or fraudulent, for example:

  • Information that appears on a regulatory body search that is different from what’s been provided on an application
  • Signatures not matching
  • Inconsistent address details
  • Photographs that don’t appear to be of the same person.

Immaterial discrepancies generally relate to minor spelling errors or abbreviations, for example:

  • A postcode provided in an application doesn’t match your driver licence
  • Spelling errors in a street name.

Immaterial discrepancies can normally be resolved through confirmation by yourself or your adviser, whereas we may require additional documentation to resolve material discrepancies.

Correctly certify verification documents

To certify a copy of an original verification document, please follow the standards below:

  • The certification must include the mandatory certification elements, which are listed below:
    • Certifier’s full name
    • Certifier’s qualification/capacity to certify documents, including their years of service where relevant. If you’ve certified a verification document yourself as an adviser, the capacity should be recorded as ‘Financial Adviser’ or as ‘Financial Planner’, in this instance the years of service is not required
    • Certifier’s signature (digital signature is not permitted)
    • Date; and
    • Certification statement – to the effect of “I certify this is a true copy of the original document which I have sighted.” (written or stamped)
  • The certifier must sight the original document in person (not over video conference)
  • A verification document must not be expired (unless it’s a passport in which case the expiration date must not be older than two years)
  • The copy of the document must be fresh (meaning it must not be certified on the same copy as a previously certified document)
  • If certified by an employee of an adviser firm and the adviser firm holds an Australian Financial Services Licence, the employee can certify the document providing they have been employed at the firm for at least two or more consecutive years.

For more information please visit our client identity verification FAQs.

Correctly determine beneficial owners (for non-individual entity applications)

To comply with the Anti‐Money Laundering/Counter‐Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) legislation, we need to collect and verify information about each beneficial owner.

A beneficial owner is an individual who ultimately ‘owns’ or ‘controls’ an entity.

This includes the individual, or individuals, who directly or indirectly, ‘owns’ 25% or more of the entity, or ‘controls’ the entity through decision making including an appointor, protector, trustee, director or a senior managing official.

A beneficial owner is always a natural person. Therefore, if another entity is a beneficial owner of the entity (including corporate trustees), the beneficial owner requirement (defined above) must be applied to that respective entity and so on until a natural person or persons can be identified.

Types of beneficial ownership

For the purpose of determining beneficial ownership:

  • ‘Owns’ means owning 25% or more of the entity. This can be directly (such as through shareholdings) or indirectly (such as through another company’s ownership) or a combination of both direct and indirect holdings
  • ‘Controls' includes control as a result of, or by means of, trusts, agreements, arrangements, understandings and practices, and includes exercising control through the capacity to determine decisions about financial and operating policies.

Experiencing financial difficulty?

Resolve a complaint

Help and support