Lately I find it pretty hard to purchase any reasonably priced shares on ASX. Either the company does not comply with my stringent debt and earning levels or the current market price is simply way too high. As I may be staying in cash for some time, it prompted me to look around and compare the interest rates on high-yielding bank accounts.
Way back I opened ING Savings Maximiser account, which is one of those “no frills�? accounts where all the transaction need to be done over the Internet as ING does not even have any regular branches in Australia. I must say that I was pretty happy with them and never had any problems transferring the funds to and from my linked accounts in other banks. I also liked that, for most of the time, ING’s interest rate was always at the higher end of the range when compared to rates offered by different institutions. Recently however this seems to have changed by some agressive plays from BankWest, HSBC and the other players in this competitive market.
Therefore had a look around to see the parking options for my available cash. My requirements were:
- highest possible interest rate
- interest must be calculated daily and added to my savings monthly
- the funds need to be available to me at call
- none or minimum bank fees
- I don’t mind institution having no branches as I want to do all my transaction over the Internet anyway
The top 20 options where to park my cash I identified the following (ordered by the interest rate):
| # | Institution | Product | Amounts > $2000 | Amounts > $5000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BankWest | TeleNet Saver (intro rate for 12 mths) | 6.8% (6.25% after 12 mths) | |
| 2 | HSBC | HSBC Serious Saver | 6.4% | |
| 3 | Westpac | Westpac One | 6.3% | |
| 4 | Members Equity Bank | InterestME Savings Account | 0.25% | 6.25% |
| 5 | Select Credit Union | Direct Account | 0.25% | 6.25% |
| 6 | Bank of Queensland | WebSavings Account | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Easy Street Financial | EasySavings | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Members Equity Bank | ME Online Savings Account | 6.2% | |
| 9 | Austral Credit Union | Net Saver Account | n/a | 6.15% |
| 10 | CUA | eSaver | n/a | 6.15% |
| 11 | Suncorp | Everyday Options Sub-account (ex QLD) | 6.15% | |
| 12 | Encompass CU | Emoney Account | 6.1% | |
| 13 | NAB | National iSaver | 6.1% | |
| 14 | NSW Teachers CU | Edvest Cash Management Account | 6.1% | |
| 15 | AMP Banking | eASYSAVER Account | 6.05% | |
| 16 | St. George Bank | directsaver from dragondirect | 6.05% | |
| 17 | NSW Teachers CU | Cash Management Account | 0.1% | 6.05% |
| 18 | Citibank | Citibank Plus Linked Savings Account | 6% | |
| 19 | ING Direct | Savings Maximiser | 6% | |
| 20 | Commonwealth Bank | NetBank Saver | n/a | 6% |
Please note that above data is correct at the time of writing. As the interest rates and banking trickery are both subjects to constant adjustments, check the newest information directly with the institution of your choice before you commit.
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