Best Bank Accounts

There’s no general bank account that will suit all people at all times.  Finding the most appropriate bank account is a matter of narrowing down your choice by deciding which features are most important to your personal financial needs.

Banks and financial institutions bundle together features which appeal to one certain demographic.  For example, a student account may offer fee-free international transfers and reduced fees for using international ATMs.  This is because the banks know that students tend to travel and that there are thousands of international students in Australia who need bank accounts to carry out international transfers.  For this reason, when you’re searching for a bank account, start by clarifying what type of bank customer you are, because this will determine which type of bank account is best for your needs. Options include:

• Young people under 25 – look for kids, junior or youth accounts which offer no fees and bonus interest to children if they meet certain savings conditions
• Students – select student accounts which make banking cheaper internationally, with reduced or no fees for using ATMs overseas
• Businesses – specific bank accounts for small businesses feature accounting tools and more frequent statements to make a high volume of transactions easier to reconcile.  The best bank account for your business will depend to a large extent on how big your company is. 
• Pensioners – savings bonuses, reduced fees and free ATM access are some of the specific features available with pensioner accounts
• Couples – joint bank accounts can be a great way of combining finances with your partner or spouse – and you can choose between one to sign, or both to sign options. Compare joint bank accounts with Savvy to find a joint account that suits all of your needs.

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Next, decide if you need a transaction account or a savings account. This is a relatively simple choice; it's just a matter of whether you want an account to manage your everyday banking needs such as shopping and paying bills, or somewhere to park your funds as you save up for larger financial goals such as a new car or an overseas holiday.

Features to compare with transaction accounts:

• Fees – look for the lowest fees and be aware that account-keeping monthly fees are becoming a thing of the past. Fee-free accounts are offered to kids, students, pensioners and others with special deals, so choose a low or no-fee account option
• Access – does your bank or building society have a mobile app which is compatible with your phone and smart watch? Can you include any existing linked credit or debit cards into your digital wallet for tap and go pay options? Are there sufficient ATMs in your neighbourhood for you to use?
• Conditions – make sure there are no hidden limits or restrictions on the number or dollar value of transactions you’re able to make per month. Check out any fees for using overseas ATMs if you travel frequently.
• Automation – does your account offer a round up option, automatic transfers to your savings or offset account if your everyday account reaches a certain limit (called account sweeping) and direct debits to pay your utility bills automatically?
• Ease of use – does your transaction account have a super simple online interface and intuitive software to make your online banking easy and fun? Gone are the days when online bank accounts were hard to use and complex

Features to compare with savings accounts:

• Interest rate – first and foremost, compare the interest that your savings will generate. Some accounts offer a bonus interest rate if a certain deposit condition is met, such as an additional 1.5% if at least $1,000 is deposited into the account each month
• Compounding frequency – this means how often the interest earned on your savings is paid to you, with the more frequent compounding the better. Standard savings accounts usually award interest monthly, but term deposits may only pay it at the end of the deposit period, or every three or six months
• Fees – the lower the better, of course. Look for special conditions such as no fees charged if the account balance is higher than the previous month.  Beware of fine print traps such as a $5 fee charged for each withdrawal over three withdrawals per month from your savings account
• Offset linking – can your savings account be linked to your home loan so that any money you have in your savings accounts offsets the principal of your home loan? For example, if your home loan is $350,000, but you have $50,000 in your offset savings account, then you’re only charged interest on $300,000 of your home loan, reducing your interest bill.

Remember, all of these different features vary between accounts and the type of bank you choose, so the best way to find the bank account that’s just right for you is to use Savvy to compare bank accounts so you’ve got side-by-side account information to help you select and choose the one most suited to your needs.