Transaction accounts

An Everyday Transaction Account from ME has no account keeping fees and no transaction fees.  Their linked Mastercard debit cards, called Buck cards, come in a range of five colours which you can choose from: pink, yellow, green, red and blue.

If you choose a pink debit ‘buck’ card, ME donates 1c to the National Breast Cancer Foundation every time you use your card.  This donation is made by the bank and does not come from the customer’s money.  Through this scheme, more than $1.3 million has been donated to breast cancer research via pink debit card holders.

There are no limits to the number of everyday transaction accounts you can open with ME, so you could order different coloured debit cards for different purposes.  The ME online and mobile banking app is simple to use and allows account holders to personalise their accounts by giving them nicknames and different icons. 

Concession card holders (such as a seniors health card, health care card or pensioner concession card) can access an everyday transaction account with no overdrawn account fee, no cheque dishonour fee and no payment dishonour fee.

As can be expected with a digital bank, its mobile app is fully compatible with all digital wallets including offering Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, plus Fitbit Pay and Garmin Pay for wearables.

Savings accounts

ME offers an online savings account with a base interest rate of 0.05% p.a. but a bonus rate of 0.75% p.a. if you have a linked transaction account and make four tap and go purchases a month. The full interest rate of 0.80% p.a. applies for balances up to $250,000, which makes it one of the highest interest rate savings accounts currently on offer in Australia.

There’s no limit to the number of online savings accounts you can open, so it’s possible to have multiple accounts for different purposes.  You’ll qualify for the bonus interest rate on each individual account as long as they all have an associated and linked transaction account and card which is used at least four times a month.  Even if you miss out on four transactions on one of these accounts, this won’t affect any others you have.  There are no withdrawal or deposit requirements but ME Bank imposes a minimum age limit of 16 years.

Term deposits

ME offers a range of term deposits with very competitive interest rates for lump sums starting from $5,000.  The interest you’ll receive will not only depend on the sum you have to deposit and the length of time you want to lock up your savings but also on whether you choose to receive your interest monthly, at the maturity of your deposit or annually.

The highest interest rate you’ll receive on your savings is for interest paid either at maturity or annually.  For example, for a deposit of two months, the interest rate is 0.15% p.a. for interest paid at maturity, but 0.10% for interest paid monthly. 

Other common terms for deposit (with interest paid at maturity) are:

• Four or five months: 40% p.a.
• Six to eight months: 0.75% p.a.
• Nine to 11 months: 1.0% p.a.
• 12 to 24 months: 1.4% p.a.
• 24 to 35 months: 1.5% p.a.
• 36 to 47 months: 2.0% p.a.
• 48 to 59 months: 2.25% p.a.
• 60 months: 2.50% p.a.

The 60-month interest paid at maturity rate is one of the highest term deposit interest rates available in Australia at present (mid-2022).  If you do need to withdraw your savings before the end of the term deposit, you’ll need to give 31 days’ notice and will lose a sliding percentage of your interest, depending on how long your term deposit still has to run.  Partial withdrawals are not permitted.