NAB-owed Ubank has boosted the four-month welcome bonus rate on its Save account to a market-leading 5.10% p.a., up from 5.00% p.a., for eligible new customers.
The move comes less than six weeks after Ubank imposed a new condition for receiving the top rate on its popular savings product.
Changes to Save's interest rate tier structure took effect in July, the same month the Save account introduced a new 5.00% p.a. welcome rate for new customers.
But there was a catch - at the same time, Ubank announced a new balance growth requirement to achieve its top bonus interest rate, which took effect on 1 October.
This replaced an existing condition requiring customers to deposit at least $500 into the Save account from an external source each month in order to receive bonus interest.
Ubank loses deposits
The change sparked reaction on various online forums and it seems at least some Ubank customers acted on their threats to take their savings elsewhere.
NAB's full-year results to September 2025, released last week, show Ubank's deposits had lost ground over the six months from March to September.
Ubank figures show its deposit book shed around $400 million, down to $21 billion at the end of September from $21.4 billion in March 2025.
It halts a period of robust growth in deposits for the online bank, although NAB preferred the narrative that Ubank's deposits had doubled to $21 billion in just five years.
It's also worth noting the recorded fall in deposits took place before the balance growth requirement kicked in on 1 October.
Savings earnings nobbled by conditions
Ubank is not alone in creating more hoops for its savings customers to jump through to earn the best interest rates.
In July, Up's popular online Saver product, also targetted at young people, introduced a 'no access' condition to achieving its top 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.
The trend of tying conditions to earning the best rate of interest on savings accounts has been playing out across Australia's deposit market for some time.
An ACCC report into savings products, released in December 2023, found 71% of savings accounts didn't receive the bonus interest rate during their study period.
'Crazy' conditions driving people to Macquarie
APRA data shows Macquarie's deposit book broke through the $90 billion mark for the first time in September, increasing the bank's deposit market share to 5.5%
It was the third month in a row the bank grew deposits by more than 3%.
The data shows Macquarie's deposits have increased 36.5% over the past 12 months - growth the bank attributes to the "crazy" savings account conditions being imposed by other banks.
Macquarie's head of personal banking Ben Perham told the Australian Financial Review both new and existing customers are consolidating their savings with the bank to avoid complexity.
"When bonus savings accounts were first introduced, the monthly conditions were tricky to meet but achievable with some focus," he said.
"Now they are, quite frankly, crazy."
Macquarie currently pays an ongoing variable rate of 4.25% p.a. on account balances up to $2 million after a variable welcome rate of 4.60% p.a. for the first four months on balances up to $250,000.
The bank doubled its old interest-earning account balance cut-off of $1 million in August, a move interpreted as a lure for higher-end customers to stash their cash in a single savings account and earn interest, pending other plans.
Macquarie also pays 2.00% p.a. interest on transaction account balances unlike many banks that pay negligible or no interest.
See also: What's the difference between savings accounts & transaction accounts?
Ubank fine print
Ubank's new Save welcome bonus rate of 5.10% p.a. applies to eligible new customers from 11 November on balances of $1 million and under for the first four months.
To be considered a new customer, account openers must not have held any Ubank-branded products in the previous 24 months.
To earn bonus interest, Ubank customers must also have a Spend account and grow their combined balance across all Save accounts by at least $1 each month (excluding offset accounts and interest credits).
Unlike some banks, withdrawals are permitted and bonus interest will be paid as long as the overall balance finishes the month at least $1 higher than the previous month.
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5.05% p.a. | 5.50% p.a. Intro rate for 3 months then 5.05% p.a. | $1,047 | 3 months | $0 | $99,999 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Promoted | 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 | ||||||||
5.05% p.a. | 5.05% p.a. | $1,034 | – | $0 | $99,999,999 | $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 |
