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Great Southern Bank Savings Accounts

Name: Great Southern Bank Savings Accounts
Creator: Savvy
Published: 2022-06-06T14:18:52+09:30

Compare the different savings accounts offered by Great Southern Bank with Savvy to find the best one for your funds.

Written by , updated on October 4th, 2023

Formerly known as Credit Union Australia (CUA), the member-owned institution changed its name to Great Southern Bank in 2021. Now it’s the largest member-owned bank in Australia with over 40 branches, mainly located on the east coast. It has over 568,000 customers and offers a wide range of personal banking products, including transaction and savings accounts.

Savvy compares savings accounts from many different financial institutions to bring you up-to-the-minute account comparison information. If you’re looking to boost your savings, save fees and secure a great account, we can help give you the tools to choose the best one for your needs.

*Please note that Savvy does not represent Great Southern Bank for their savings accounts products. All product information and rates are correct as of May, 2022.

More about Great Southern Bank savings accounts

What savings account products does Great Southern Bank have?

Great Southern Bank has four different savings accounts for adults, a range of term deposits, plus a youth savings account. These are:

Goal Saver Account

This savings account is for 18 to 24-year-olds and is paired with an Everyday Edge transaction account. It offers a base interest rate of 0.05% p.a., but if you deposit $500 into your Everyday Edge account and make at least five card transactions on a linked credit or debit card, you’ll earn a total of 1.15% p.a. bonus interest rate on balances up to $50,000. There are no account-keeping fees and no loss of interest if you make withdrawals from your account.

Home Saver Account

This account is open to all ages and also offers a bonus interest rate if you pair it with an Everyday Edge account and a Visa debit card. With the same base rate of 0.05% p.a., you’ll score an additional 1.00% p.a. if you deposit at least $2,000 per month into your Everyday Edge account and make five purchases on your Visa debit card. This will result in a total interest rate of 1.05% p.a. for your Home Saver account, which also doesn’t restrict you from accessing your money.

eSaver Flexi Account

This online-only account offers a flat 0.45% p.a. interest rate with no conditions, no need to link it to another account and no fees. Access to open this type of account is via online banking, the Great Southern Bank mobile app and telebanking.

Youth e-Saver Account

This online savings account is open to kids and young people up to the age of 17. It offers a generous 2.40% p.a. interest rate for balances up to $5,000, with a rate of 1.00% p.a. for balances over that. A child under ten must have a parent or guardian open and operate the account and be a signatory to the account. However, once the child turns ten, it’s possible to remove the requirements to have an adult signatory and have the account solely in the child’s name.

Term deposits

Great Southern Bank offers a range of term deposits for amounts of $5,000 or more. They have no monthly fees and lock up your money for the length of the term you choose in return for a higher interest rate than achievable through a standard savings account. All the rates listed below are indicative of interest being paid annually or at the end of the deposit period. If you wish to have interest paid monthly, subtract 0.1% from the below rates (aside from a one-month term):

One month: 0.20% p.a.
Two months: 0.25% p.a.
Three months: 0.65% p.a.
Four or five months: 0.50% p.a.
Six months: 1.10% p.a.
Seven or eight months: 0.55% p.a.
Nine months: 1.30% p.a.
Ten or 11 months: 0.60% p.a.
12 to 23 months: 00% p.a.
Two years: 2.50% p.a.
Three to five years: 2.80% p.a.

What unique features do Great Southern Bank accounts have?

The bank has two unique features to encourage you to save, known as The Vault and The Boost. In addition, Great Southern Bank’s mobile banking app allows you to set up notifications for all accounts, so you can receive an SMS any time money comes into or goes out of your accounts. These notifications are highly customisable and are easily set up for any account you hold with the bank.

The Vault

This is a separate place where you can lock away or ‘hide’ your savings so you don’t see them day-to-day. You can create a motivational message to reduce the temptation to withdraw cash from your Vault, which will show up on your mobile banking screen if you choose to go to access your nest egg. The idea is that you choose an account or an amount to ‘hide’ in The Vault, and these funds are untouchable for everyday use. By not seeing your vault funds and locking them away, the temptation to spend is reduced. Of course, your funds aren’t really locked away and you can access them at any time (for example, in an emergency), but ‘hiding’ them so you don’t see them day-to-day can act as an incentive not to raid your savings.

The Boost

Another useful unique feature offered by Great Southern Bank is the Boost. This feature allows you to choose an amount to transfer from your everyday account to your savings account each time you use your Visa debit card. The amount you choose to boost your savings can be anywhere from one cent up to five dollars. This is touted as a way to gradually boost your savings throughout the month without you noticing or missing the saved amount. You can choose up to three accounts to boost each time you use your card. To work out how long it might take you to reach your savings goal, you can use Savvy’s savings goal calculator to calculate how all those extra payments may help you reach your goal faster.

What are the requirements to open a Great Southern Bank account?

The requirements to open an account with Great Southern Bank are:

provide 100 points of ID to verify your identity. This will usually be by providing your passport and driver’s licence or other ID showing your photo and a signature
be either a permanent resident or citizen of Australia
provide your residential and email address and phone number
be a member of Credit Union Australia and hold at least one share in CUA. This membership requirement will happen automatically when you fill in an application form to open an account.

All savings accounts can be opened online, at a branch or over the phone. The easiest way is to open an account online, which will take less than ten minutes. Make sure you have your identity documents handy before you start the online application process. If all of this is verified, you’ll be notified and will be able to open your account shortly thereafter.

Pros and cons of Great Southern Bank savings accounts

PROS

Smart mobile banking app

The bank’s award-winning mobile banking app allows easy access to your money and a slick user interface which makes banking simple and intuitive.

Useful additional features

The bank’s innovative mobile app features such as The Boost and The Vault can assist you to boost your savings and resist the temptation to raid your spare cash.

Competitive interest rates and no fees

As the bank is the largest in Australia owned by its customers, all business decisions are customer-focused, so the bank can offer highly competitive interest rates without fees.

CONS

Limited options for young people

Being a small institution, Great Southern Bank has a limited range of products; for example, if you’re aged under 18, there’s only one savings account to choose from.

Account linking requirements

To qualify for the higher bonus interest rate offered on several savings accounts, it’s necessary to have a linked transaction account with Great Southern Bank, which you may not want.

High minimum deposits

The Goal and Home Saver Accounts require minimum monthly deposits of $500 and $2,000, respectively, to receive bonus interest, which is higher than many institutions.