Australians’ saving levels are the lowest they’ve been since the late 2000s, with a household savings ratio of 8.3% in June 2015, according to ABS data. So it’s no surprise that savers have been looking for ways to boost their savings accounts this year.
Bonus saver accounts
With the official cash rate remaining in the doldrums at a dreary 1.75% since May 2016, looking for a higher interest rate will probably require looking for a bonus saver account. At the time of writing, CANSTAR data shows that nearly half the visitors to our site who are comparing at-call savings accounts are looking for a bonus saver account with higher interest rates.
What is a bonus saver account?
A bonus saver account is an account that gives you bonus interest whenever you make no withdrawals within the month and you also deposit a certain amount of money into the account.
Online e-saver accounts
At the same time, flexibility in how we manage our money is important to us, and some people don’t want to be tied down to an account where you must deposit a certain amount each month. So more than 1 in 3 visitors to our site are looking for an online e-saver account.
According to Westpac, their online savings account will usually offer a higher rate than their other types of savings accounts.
What is an online savings account?
An online savings account or “e-saver” account is a savings account that is primarily managed on the internet.
How we want our interest paid
Our data shows that people typically want to see their interest calculated daily and paid monthly. This makes it easier to keep track of, and it increases the amount we actually receive because of the wonders of compound interest.
Other types of savings accounts Australians are looking for
When it comes to our star ratings and awards for savings accounts, CANSTAR assesses the savings and deposit offerings for the needs of 5 different types of customer profile:
- Flexible / Online Saver
- Regular / Bonus Saver
- Cash Manager
- Junior Saver
- SMSF Saver
Our data shows that the majority of Australians looking for a savings account are currently sitting in the Flexible/Online Saver or Regular/Bonus Saver customer profiles.
But that’s not all – many Australians on our site are also in the Cash Manager profile looking for a cash management account, the SMSF Saver profile looking for an SMSF savings account and fewer, but still a reasonable number, looking for a junior savings account.
Visit our website for more information on cash management accounts, SMSF accounts, or junior saver accounts, or to compare what’s currently on offer from savings account providers.
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