ING has cut the highest variable rate on its Savings Maximiser product by 0.05% p.a. to 4.75% p.a.
At the same time, it's increased the "kick starter" Savings Accelerator rate for new ING savings customers, boosting the top rate to 5.00% p.a. for the first four months.
But there are multiple conditions and catches that apply to both savings products to achieving their top rates.
See also: The different types of savings account interest rates explained
Conditions, conditions
To earn the bonus interest rate on the Savings Maximiser account, customers need to:
- have an Orange Everyday bank account
- deposit $1,000 or more from an external source to any personal ING account in their name (excluding a Living Super or Orange One account)
- make five or more card purchases in a month (settled not pending)
- grow their nominated Savings Maximiser balance (not counting interest)
The bonus interest is payable on account on balances up to $100,000 in the next calendar month if the criteria is met.
If the conditions aren't met, customers get the standard variable rate of 0.01% p.a.
At one stage, the base was 0.55% p.a. before falling to 0.05% p.a. - it's 0.01% p.a. with this latest tweak.
Introductory rate boost
The jump in the Savings Accelerator's kick starter rate follows hot on the heels of Ubank's new market-leading 5.10% p.a. welcome bonus rate, increased by 0.10% on Tuesday.
ING's top variable starter rate of 5.00% p.a. is a 0.30% boost on the old top rate of 4.70% p.a. - but the rate with a '5' in front applies only to those with higher account balances.
Savings Accelerator has a tiered interest rate structure that pays higher interest to higher account balances.
The 1.05% p.a. variable kick starter rate for the first four months applies to all balances up to $500,000.
Here is how the rates apply to customers with varying account balances:
| Balance | Variable kick starter interest rate (for 4 months) | Ongoing variable interest rate |
| $150,000-$500,000 | 5.00% p.a. | 3.95% p.a. |
| $50,000-$149,999 | 4.05% p.a. | 3.00% p.a. |
| $0-$49,999 | 3.15% p.a. | 2.10% p.a. |
The new rates are available to "new to ING savings customers" opening a Savings Accelerator account from 14 November.
Account balances over $500,000 will get the ongoing variable interest rate.
Interest is paid on combined total deposits in all Savings Accelerator accounts which are not to exceed $5 million, ING stipulates.
Savings Maximiser interest is only payable on one Savings Maximiser account.
What's going on with savings accounts?
In recent years, savings accounts have been increasingly bound by conditions to achieving their top interest rates.
Ubank's move to boost its welcome rate to 5.10% p.a. comes in the wake of it imposing a new balance growth requirement on its Save account from 1 October.
The move may have contributed to some Ubank customers taking their savings elsewhere with the latest financial results of its parent company NAB showing Ubank's deposit book had lost $400 million in the six months to September.
It halts a period of robust deposit growth for the online bank.
In July, Up's popular online Saver product introduced a ' no access' condition to achieving its top interest rate.
Last month, Westpac's Life account flagged a requirement for account holders to make 20 or more transactions to achieve its bonus Spend&Save rate for those aged between 18-34.
ANZ Plus's new balance growth requirement on its savings account also took effect last month.
An ACCC report into savings products, released in December 2023, found 71% of savings accounts didn't receive bonus interest during its study period.
Dutch-owned digital bank ING is a major player in Australia's deposit market, holding almost $54 billion dollars in household deposits, ranking it in sixth-place behind the big four banks and Macquarie Bank.
See also: What are the biggest banks in Australia?
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Need somewhere to store cash and earn interest? The table below features savings accounts with some of the highest interest rates on the market.
| Bank | Savings Account | Base Interest Rate | Max Interest Rate | Total Interest Earned | Introductory Term | Minimum Amount | Maximum Amount | Linked Account Required | Minimum Monthly Deposit | Minimum Opening Deposit | Account Keeping Fee | ATM Access | Joint Application | Tags | Features | Link | Compare | Promoted Product | Disclosure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0.05% p.a. Bonus rate of 5.30% Rate varies on savings amount. | 5.35% p.a. | $1,097 | – | $0 | $249,999 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Promoted | Disclosure | ||||||||
2.25% p.a. Bonus rate of 3.15% Rate varies on savings amount. | 6.00% p.a. Intro rate for 4 months then 5.40% p.a. | $1,134 | 4 months | $0 | $499,999 | $0 | $0 | $0 | Promoted | Disclosure | |||||||||
4.00% p.a. | 5.90% p.a. Intro rate for 4 months then 4.00% p.a. | $936 | 4 months | $0 | $249,999 | $0 | $1 | $0 | Disclosure |
