Are your everyday bank accounts giving you 5-Star value?

After assessing more than 400 products, Canstar has revealed the savings and transaction accounts on its database offering 5-Star value to Australians in 2020.

At times of financial uncertainty, many consumers turn their attention to how they can keep their money safe, while making sure it’s still working for them. If you’re looking to maximise what you’re getting from your everyday bank accounts, you might decide it’s time to scan the market to see if there’s batter value out there – whether that’s in the form of a better interest rate, lower fees or extra features to help you reach your savings goals. Or, of course, you could look to Canstar’s Star Ratings to see which products on our database were deemed to offer outstanding value across a range of factors.

This year, Canstar Research rated 273 savings accounts and 178 transaction accounts from 71 providers. It identified 75 savings and transaction accounts as offering 5-Star value.

All providers included in these Star Ratings are authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs), meaning that amounts up to $250,000 held on deposit with them are covered by the government’s Deposit Guarantee.

What makes for a 5-Star everyday account?

This year’s eligible savings and transaction accounts were all rated against one or more of the following profiles:

Savings accounts

• Flexible Saver – for those looking to maximise their savings with no restrictions
• Junior Saver – designed to help those aged under 12 learn about money and get into the habit of saving regularly
• Regular Saver – for active savers who are willing to meet stricter conditions in order to earn a higher interest rate
• Senior Saver – for retirees who want restriction-free savings they can access at will
• SMSF Saver – for those wanting to earn a competitive interest rate on the cash component within their self-managed super fund

Transaction accounts

• High Transactor – for those conducting an average of 60 transactions per month
• Low Transactor – for those conducting an average of 10 transactions per month
• Senior Transactor – for retirees conducting an average of 10 transactions per month
• Youth Transactor – for those aged between 13 and 18 looking to save, access, and manage their money

Products were rated based on a combination of price and features, and the weighting of each varied across different consumer profiles. However, price was the more important of the two for all saver and transactor profiles, determining 70%-85% of a product’s score.

Price considerations included transaction and account-keeping fees, as well as any interest earned on the account. Features considered included ease of application, ease of account operation, access to customer service and support, and ease of account closure.

5-Star Rated savings accounts for 2020

Flexible Saver

Junior Saver

Regular Saver

Senior Saver

SMSF Saver

5-Star Rated transaction accounts for 2020

High Transactor

Low Transactor

Senior Transactor

Youth Transactor

For more information on how savings and transaction accounts were rated, read the methodology document.