The market leaders in savings rates, ING and AMP, have both confirmed they will pass on the RBA's latest 0.25 cash rate hike to their savings customers.
ING has announced it will increase the rate on its market-leading bonus saver, the Savings Maximiser, to 6.00% from Friday, November 13. This is set to be the new highest ongoing savings rate for all adults.
However, this account is only accepting new customers until the end of this month.
AMP has also announced it will pass on the full 0.25 hike to its GO Save account lifting to 5.75% for balances up to $50,000, from Monday, November 9.
This is expected to be the highest unconditional savings rate.
Banks’ savings announcements and their new maximum ongoing rates | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Adult accounts | Max ongoing rate | Date effective | Monthly conditions? |
ING | 6.00% | 13 Nov | Yes |
St George, BankSA, BOM | 5.65% | 13 Nov | Yes |
UBank | 5.60% | 10 Nov | Yes |
ANZ | 5.60% | 13 Nov | Yes |
Bank Australia | 5.60% | 19 Nov | Yes |
Qudos Bank | 5.60% | 19 Nov | Yes |
Teachers Mutual | 5.60% | 1 Dec | Yes |
AMP | 5.50% | 9 Nov | No |
MyState | 5.50% | 12 Nov | No |
Westpac | 5.50% | 13 Nov | Yes |
Macquarie | 5.50% | 19 Nov | No |
Bank of Sydney | 5.40% | 17 Nov | No |
Beyond Bank | 5.15% | 17 Nov | Yes |
Police Bank | 5.05% | 1 Dec | Yes |
Young adult accounts | Max ongoing rate | Date effective | Monthly conditions? |
Westpac (18-40 yrs) | 6.20% | 13 Nov | Yes |
Teachers Mutual Bank (18-29 yrs) | 5.75% | 1 Dec | No |
Police Bank (under 30) | 5.75% | 12 Nov | Yes |
Source: Canstar. Notes: conditions and balance caps apply for max rate. Introductory rate offers not listed.
Banks nit-picking over savings rate hikes
When it comes to mortgages, lenders have, by and large, passed on the rate hikes in full to their variable home loan customers.
However, when it comes to savers, banks get quite picky about which accounts get a boost, and which miss out.
In fact, even within some savings accounts, banks typically apply the hike to the bonus portion of a rate, which is contingent on a saver meeting certain conditions.
Our analysis of the last hike shows across all the bonus saver accounts, the bonus rate rose by an average of 0.20, while the base rate rose by an average of just 0.01.
Av. change in bonus saver rates: Sept cash rate hike | |
|---|---|
Maximum ongoing rate | 0.20%-pts |
Base rate (if conditions not met) | 0.01%-pts |
RBA cash rate | 0.25%-pts |
Source: Canstar. Savings account interest rates are taken on 28 September and 30 October 2026 for a deposit amount of $10,000.
However, as the cash rate has climbed, the amount passed on, even to the bonus portion of savings accounts, is starting to slip. Our analysis shows that banks passed on more in the February, March and May hikes compared to what happened in September.
Banks find new strings to trip up savers
It’s not just the bonus saver accounts banks are being strategic with. In this high-rate environment, a handful of institutions have quietly adjusted their savings rate tiers and terms and conditions in a bid to pay less interest to some customers.
For example, after the last hike, Macquarie Bank – a leader in the unconditional savings space – passed on the 0.25 percentage point increase to customers with balances of up to $250,000. However, those with between $250,000 and $2 million received just a 0.05 increase.
AMP has also been reshaping its relatively new AMP Go Save account, which previously offered its maximum rate on balances up to $500,000, but now only offers it on balances up to $50,000.
Australians continue to put record savings in the banks
Australians added another $22.5 billion to their deposits in September as the country remained focused on building up a savings buffer in term deposits, savings accounts and mortgage offsets.
The latest APRA statistics, released last Friday, show household deposits among authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) reached a record $1.79 trillion in September, up $130 billion over the past year.
APRA total deposits by households
Amount | Monthly change | Year-on-year change |
|---|---|---|
$1.79 trillion Record high | +$22.5 billion +1.3% | +$130.0 billion +7.8% |
Source: APRA Monthly Authorised Deposit-taking Institution Statistics for September 2026, released 30 October 2026, prepared by Canstar. Deposits include term deposits, transaction accounts, mortgage offsets and savings accounts on the books of ADIs.
CBA recorded the biggest growth in its deposit book in dollar terms, at $6.6 billion, in just one month.
However, challenger bank, Macquarie, recorded the highest growth among the big five banks in September, in percentage terms, increasing its deposits by 2.6%.
Over the year, Macquarie’s household deposit book increased by $29.6 billion, or 32.3%.
Household deposits: APRA | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Bank | Amount | Monthly change | Year-on-year change | Market share |
CBA | $476.1 billion | +$6.6 billion +1.4% | +$34.0 billion +7.7% | 27% |
Westpac | $369.8 billion | +$5.5 billion +1.5% | +$25.9 billion +7.5% | 21% |
NAB | $246.9 billion | +$2.8 billion +1.2% | +$17.1 billion +7.5% | 14% |
ANZ | $201.5 billion | +$2.6 billion +1.3% | +$10.9 billion +5.7% | 11% |
Macquarie | $121.3 billion | +$3.1 billion +2.6% | +$29.6 billion +32.3% | 7% |
Source: APRA Monthly Authorised Deposit-taking Institution Statistics for September 2026, released 30 October 2026, prepared by Canstar. Deposits include term deposits, transaction accounts, mortgage offsets and savings accounts on the books of ADIs.
The savings rate game is full of rules to catch you out
Canstar’s Data Insights Director, Sally Tindall, says, “It has taken five cash rate hikes this year, but adults of any age will be able to earn an ongoing rate of 6 per cent by this time next week.
“However, the savings rate game, like so many sports, is littered with rules designed to catch you out.
“For the ING Savings Maximiser, not only must customers jump through multiple hoops to earn the bonus interest rate, but time to open an account is running out – the bank stops accepting new customers on 1 December.
“While a six in front of an ongoing savings rate is pretty impressive, savers should check they can clear the conditions attached to these rates. Some of the highest-rate deals come with more string than a set of Christmas tree lights.
“There’s a record $1.79 trillion sitting in household deposits, but banks aren’t necessarily prepared to pay a record price for them, with some finding new ways to ensure fewer of their customers’ dollars qualify for the very best rates.
“The market-leaders in the ‘unconditional’ savings rate category are also starting to add a few catches. Macquarie previously paid its top rate on balances of up to $2 million, but has reduced that threshold to $250,000. AMP has made a similar move, reducing the balance eligible for its top rate from $500,000 to just $50,000.
“Now is the time to give your savings account a health check. Look beyond the headline rate, check what you’re actually earning and if it’s no longer working for your nest egg then vote with your feet.”
