Current figures
| Series | Rate | Change | Struck |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online savings account (avg advertised) | 3.10% | unchanged | 10:00 AEST · WED 30 SEP |
| RBA cash rate target (context) | 4.36% | +0.01 pts | 10:00 AEST · WED 30 SEP |
Average advertised rate across institutions, $10,000 balance benchmark · RBA statistical table F4, updated monthly. These are official averages and benchmarks - not product offers, and not a comparison of providers.
What these figures are
The savings figure is the average advertised rate on online savings accounts, from the RBA’s retail deposit rates table (F4). It tracks the cash rate closely - banks reprice savings products within weeks of a cash-rate move - so both are shown together.
What the savings rates table leaves out
An advertised savings rate is usually two numbers presented as one. There is a base rate, paid on the balance whatever the account holder does, and a bonus rate paid on top only in a month where conditions are met. ASIC’s Moneysmart service describes the common conditions as a regular deposit of a set amount each month, a minimum balance, or in some cases the account holder being under a certain age. Miss the condition in a given month and only the base rate is paid for that month. Two people with the same account can therefore receive very different rates.
A second structure sits alongside it. A honeymoon or introductory rate is a higher rate that applies for a short opening period and then reverts to the standard rate for that account. The rate that applies for most of a year is the standard rate that follows the introductory period, and that is a separate figure in the terms.
What moves the series as a whole is the cash rate, but not evenly across accounts. Looking at the tightening phase that began in 2022, the Reserve Bank found that deposit rates did not all move together. Banks raised rates most on the savings accounts that carry conditions, and raised term deposit rates by more than rates on at-call money. The accounts with conditions attached are where the competition concentrated.
Deposits at an authorised deposit-taking institution are covered by the Australian Government’s Financial Claims Scheme, which guarantees up to $250,000 per person, per institution, if that institution fails.
Longer read: Why a bank values a locked deposit more than an at-call one. The regulator requires a bank to assume that some of its deposits will walk out during a crisis, and it scores each deposit for how likely that is. The features that score worst are exactly the features of a rate-shopped online savings account.
Compare terms with the term deposit tables, and see the RBA cash rate these rates follow.