Online Savings Accounts Comparison and Application

Online savings accounts are offered by a number of banks and financial institutions to allow them to provide you with a fee free savings account. Often you can sign up for the account, receive statements and correspond with the bank entirely online and the reduced contact required by the bank allows them to pass on those time and staff savings to you.

Online Savings Account Comparison

Savings Account	Account Details	Intro Rate p.a.	Variable Rate p.a.	Intro Period p.a.	Fees	Min Balance and Min Deposit
ING Direct Saver	5.85% p.a. for the first 4 months of opening the account	5.85%	4.50%	1.35%	FREE	$1
St.George Direct Saver	5.75% p.a. 4 months if you open account before 30 June 2010	5.75%	4.20%	1.55%	FREE	$0
Citibank Online Saver	5.71% p.a. for 6 months, highest promo rate on the market.	5.71%	4.25%	1.46% for 6 months.	FREE	$0 – $1.99m max investment
Bankwest TeleNet Saver	5.62% p.a. for 12 months, longest promo rate on the market.	5.62%	4.00%	1.62% for 12 months.	FREE	$0 – $5m maximum investment
ANZ Online Saver	5.50% p.a. until 30 June 2010, Apply online before 30 Mar 2010.	5.50%	4.25%	1.25%	FREE	$0
NAB iSaver	5.40% p.a. opened before 13th April 2010	5.40%	3.75%	1.65% for 4 months	FREE	$1
Members Equity Savings Account	4.85% p.a. high ongoing rate	4.85%	4.85%	-	FREE	$0
Suncorp eOptions Saver	4.25% p.a. variable rate	4.25%	4.25%	0.00%	FREE	$0

An online savings account would suit you and your banking needs:

• If you are technologically savvy and prefer to conduct all business, correspondence, shopping and bill paying online to save time.
• You want to become more technologically savvy.
• You want to teach your children about online banking and show them how to use and identify secure websites.
• You don’t need personal contact or branch access.
• You want to save on bank fees.
• You want to boost your savings.

Benefits of an Online Savings Account

Just about anyone can benefit from an online savings account as they are so easy to setup and use, are usually fee free and can help you reach your savings goals faster.<

Learn about the benefits of an online savings account:

• An online savings account can be fee free. This means that once you transfer your savings into your online savings account, you know they are only going to grow, and not be eaten away by fees.
• You can save faster with an online savings account by directly transferring funds. Setting up a direct transfer to most online savings accounts is as simple as logging into online banking. You can then choose the amount, the frequency and often the start and end date of your transfers to help you meet your savings goals. Some online savings applications will even allow you to fill out this information when you sign up for the account.
• You can apply online and start saving right away. This means you don’t have to worry about getting distracted on the way to the branch to open a savings account, nor do you have to wait until business hours (or bank hours) to call and open an account. No matter when you have a spare five or ten minutes you can open an online savings account entirely online and start earning interest on your savings in a matter of days.
• You can set up targeted savings accounts for different savings goals. This means you don’t have to be daunted by saving for a house deposit, a wedding, a holiday and Christmas all at the same time. You can easily create multiple online savings accounts and name each one with a savings goal to keep your plans on track.
• You can teach your children about financial responsibility and online security. Most online savings accounts are open to anyone over the age of 12 so you can start teaching your children about savings, banking and online security by setting up an online savings account. The flexibility of the account means they can name their savings goal and have access to the funds easily when they reach the target amount required for a new bike or their dream formal dress. Allowing your children to have an online savings account also means you can teach them what to look for to determine a secure banking site, and how to safely access and logout of internet banking.
• Your savings are out of sight, out of mind and out of danger of being spent. Online savings accounts typically don’t come with an access card, so you are not tempted to make ATM withdrawals or EFTPOS purchases from your hard earned savings. Also, having an online account with a direct transfer of funds from your everyday account means you don’t have to manage the funds, but can put them out of your mind and let them grow.

Compare Online Savings Account Features

Online savings accounts are specifically designed to be used online to avoid fees and maximise interest so make sure you know about the included features of an online savings account before you open one, and decide whether you can use the account within those features.

Compare online savings account features:

• Online savings accounts can only be accessed online. Most online savings accounts simply don’t offer any branch access and can only be accessed online, while others will allow you to access your account in a branch, but may penalise you with high fees.
• Does the account stand alone, can it be linked to any personal account or do you have to open a linked account. Where an online savings account will be fee free, to transfer funds in and out you may need to link or open a linked personal bank account. Therefore, you need to find out if this account attracts any transfer fees.
• Choose an interest rate which matches your savings goals. Online savings accounts often offer promotional or introductory interest rates. Therefore, if you intend to meet your savings target within the introductory period you can take advantage of the higher rate, but if you are looking for a longer investment, you will benefit from a higher standard rate.

Is an Online Savings Account the Best Choice For You?

Just because you are not technologically savvy, doesn’t automatically mean you should avoid opening an online savings account. An online savings account can benefit you and meet your financial needs in a number of ways.

Who can benefit from an online savings account:

• If you are not technologically savvy an online savings account is a great place to learn. Banking websites and internet banking features are specifically designed to be easy to use as the banks want to encourage more and more people to do their banking online. As well as a specifically user-friendly website to cut your tech-teeth on, you also have phone support available when you open an online savings account, so even if you do get stuck the bank is only a phone call away.
• If you don’t want to manage your savings you don’t have to. Once you have compared the features and benefits of all the online savings accounts to find the one which best suits your needs, then you can sit back and let your savings grow. You don’t have to pay an accountant or financial advisor to manage your investment and you don’t have to worry about the share market or property prices affecting your funds. Plus, if you don’t have the time to manage your savings, once set up they will continue to grow while you manage your other commitments.
• Online savings accounts can help you out in an emergency. Therefore, even if you have savings goals in mind and set up your direct transfers from a linked account as part of your financial plan, you don’t have to worry if an emergency arises. Unlike a term deposit investment, you have access to the funds in your online savings account at any time and there are often no penalties to withdraw your funds to cover an emergency car repair or a surprise school excursion.
• Anyone with a short, medium or long term savings goal can use an online savings account. Not only are online savings accounts easy to use, but because of competitive interest rates and low fees, with interest calculated daily, the returns can meet your savings goal whether it is as big as a house or just as big as that pergola extension.

Anyone with access to a computer and a spare ten minutes can open an online savings account and start achieving their financial dreams. With an easy to follow comparison table and comprehensive and unbiased reviews of the online savings accounts offered by all major Australian banks and financial institutions you can apply securely online right now with the help of Savings Account Finder.

Online Savings Account resources

• Government Guaranteed Online Savings Accounts
• Best Online Savings Accounts Compared for the Australian market