ANZ has announced changes to its ANZ Plus savings accounts, slashing the rate payable to just 0.5% p.a. unless account holders grow their balances by $100 or more each month.
If account holders meet the requirement, they'll get a bonus 4.5% p.a., taking the total interest rate paid to 5% for eligible accounts.
The changes will come into effect from 1 October, usurping the product's previous no monthly deposit conditions.
The bank's fine print says it will use the account balance of ANZ Save accounts on the last business day of the month to determine if account holder meets the monthly savings target.
ANZ Plus account holders are also required to have an ANZ Save account.
From 1 October, the bank is also introducing a new savings product to holders of both accounts, ANZ Plus Flex Saver.
It will pay 5% p.a. interest on balances up to $5,000 and 2% p.a. for every dollar after that.
Latest high interest savings account changes
In July, ubank introduced tiered interest rates and cut external payments from its high interest Save accounts.
The NAB-owned digital bank currently pays :
- 5.5% p.a. interest on amounts up to $100,000
- 5% p.a. interest for amounts $100,000 - $250,000
- 0% interest for amounts over $250,000
It also hiked the monthly deposit requirement to qualify for bonus interest to $500 to $200, with customers also required to save a ubank Spend account.
In June, Bank Australia also announced changes to its Bonus Saver account, significantly cutting its interest rates for deposits over $250,000.
Consumer backlash?
One ANZ plus customer took to Reddit's AusFinance, seeking advice on alternative high interest savings accounts that pay interest on daily balances.
Some suggested Macquarie Bank's unconditional savings account, earning 4.75% p.a. on balances up to $1 million after a 5.35% welcome rate for four months.
Others said they had stuck with ubank but observed the $500 a month deposit requirement to get a 5.5% p.a. rate for amounts up to $100,000.
There was discussion of what constituted account "growth", with some users noting the account balance would need to be at least $100 higher than the previous month (excluding interest payments) rather than an amount of $100 deposited with a lower account balance by the end of the month.
One Reddit user noted the ACCC's finding that 71% of bonus interest accounts did not receive bonus interest in any given month during the first half of 2023.
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Need somewhere to store cash and earn interest? The table below features savings accounts with some of the highest interest rates on the market.
| Bank | Savings Account | Base Interest Rate | Max Interest Rate | Total Interest Earned | Introductory Term | Minimum Amount | Maximum Amount | Linked Account Required | Minimum Monthly Deposit | Minimum Opening Deposit | Account Keeping Fee | ATM Access | Joint Application | Tags | Features | Link | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.40% p.a. | 5.75% p.a. Intro rate for 4 months then 4.40% p.a. | $980 | 4 months | $0 | $250,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | Featured |
| |||||||
4.75% p.a. | 5.35% p.a. Intro rate for 4 months then 4.75% p.a. | $1,001 | 4 months | $0 | $249,999 | $0 | $0 | $0 | Featured |
| |||||||
2.85% p.a. | 3.55% p.a. Intro rate for 4 months then 2.85% p.a. | $621 | 4 months | $0 | $49,999 | $0 | $0 | $0 | Featured |
| |||||||
– Bonus rate of 5.50% Rate varies on savings amount. | 5.50% p.a. | $1,128 | – | $0 | $100,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | Featured *Rate varies on savings amount |
| |||||||
0.55% p.a. Bonus rate of 4.95% Rate varies on savings amount. | 5.50% p.a. | $1,128 | – | $0 | $100,000 | $1,000 | $0 | $0 |
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Image by Daria Nepriakhina on Unsplash
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