2026 Bank of the Year Awards

Canstar releases its
2026 Bank of the Year and Customer-Owned Bank of the Year Awards.

Released: 26 May, 2026

About the winners

(Winners are listed alphabetically)

ING
Bank of the Year Award

ING has taken home the Bank of the Year Award for the seventh year in a row, driven by its consistent value across the assessed retail banking categories. 

• Transactions and savings: ING’s Orange Everyday Account doesn’t charge monthly fees, international transaction fees, or overseas ATM withdrawal fees, and its savings accounts offer competitive conditional variable interest rates.
• Home loans: Its mortgage products pair competitive variable rates with flexible features, including the option to split your loan and a round-up feature that redirects spare change from everyday spending toward paying down your mortgage.
• Customer satisfaction: ING also achieved high customer satisfaction ratings, recording strong performance across key areas including customer service, interest rates, and meeting consumers’ banking needs. 

Heritage Bank
Customer-Owned Bank of the Year Award

Heritage Bank has taken the Customer-Owned Bank of the Year Award for the third consecutive year, maintaining strong performance across its product range, even while navigating its ongoing unification with People’s Choice.

• Home loans: Heritage’s home loans offer competitive variable and fixed rates, with features like offset accounts.
• Credit cards: Its credit card portfolio stands out in the low-cost segment, with low interest rates and minimal annual fees.
• Deposits and savings: Heritage’s deposit accounts also offer strong value, balancing day-to-day flexibility with reliable returns on savings accounts and term deposits.

Following the launch of the People First Bank digital platform in May, Heritage Bank and People’s Choice are making progress towards their goal to operate under a single banner. If you bank with either, your loans, deposits, and cards will continue to work throughout the transition.

About this year’s awards

The banking landscape has seen significant shifts over the past 12 months. Suncorp Bank, Auswide Bank, and BOQ all stopped accepting new credit card applications, while Bankwest exited the personal loans category and transitioned to a digital-only bank.

Meanwhile, banks’ focus continued to shift toward keeping their existing customers, with even more investment in digital experiences, security, financial support tools, and competitive pricing.

The customer-owned sector saw further consolidation. G&C Mutual and Unity Bank merged in March, aligning their home loan and credit card products. Illawarra Credit Union retired its brand in April and now operates as Community First Bank. Teachers Mutual Bank and Australian Mutual merged in May, with both brands maintaining business as usual for their members. Heritage Bank and People’s Choice also launched the People First Bank digital platform in May, the latest step towards their unification.

“Winning Bank of the Year isn’t about having the best rate on any one product, it’s about delivering strong value across the board. Most banking relationships start with one product and grow from there. Then, over time, rates change, fees get introduced, and before you know it, what was competitive when you signed up may not be anymore.”

How we assessed value

Do you prefer banking with a single provider–keeping your home loan, savings, everyday accounts, and credit cards all in one place? This award is designed with you in mind. It assesses banks and customer owned institutions across multiple product categories, with the winners found to be delivering consistent value across the spectrum. 

Because some products impact your wallet more than others, we weight each category differently to reflect a typical banking relationship:

• Home loans (40% of the total score in both awards)
• Deposit accounts (25% for banks, 30% for customer-owned banks) 
• Credit cards (15%)
• Personal and car loans (10% for banks, 15% for customer-owned banks)
• For the Bank of the Year award, customer satisfaction makes up an additional 10% of the score

To determine products’ relative value within each category, we evaluate pricing and features across every stage of the customer journey. This means a provider doesn’t need to offer every product type to be assessed, but the more categories it competes well in, the stronger its overall result.

Who we looked at

We recognise two winners, a Bank of the Year and a Customer-Owned Bank of the Year. The difference comes down to ownership. 

• We classify banks as direct providers operating in the Australian market that are an active Authorised Deposit-Taking Institution (ADI). 
• Customer-owned institutions include mutual banks, credit unions, and building societies, and are considered to be those owned by their members. 

We assess them separately so you’re comparing like-for-like.

To be eligible for the awards, providers must have offered both home loan and deposit products in the Australian market for a minimum of six months and all necessary data must be available.

While providers don’t need to offer every product type, the methodology also measures performance across credit cards, personal loans, and car loans, identifying those delivering competitive pricing and functionality across a broad range.

The Bank of the Year Award also uses data from independent research panels to measure customer satisfaction across categories including:

• Customer Service
• Banking Needs
• Value for Money
• Communication
• Digital Banking
• Fees and Charges 
• Interest Rates

What this award is and isn’t

What it is: 

• A comparison of how banks and customer-owned institutions perform across multiple product categories—home loans, deposit accounts, credit cards, personal loans—and customer satisfaction.
• A like-for-like assessment. Banks and customer-owned institutions are assessed separately, recognising that they operate under different structures.
• Focused on consistent value offered across the full banking relationship, not by just a single product.

What it isn’t:

• Personal financial advice. The award is based on general consumer profiles, not your individual circumstances.
• A guarantee of future performance. Rates, fees, and product features can change at any time.
• A list of every bank or customer-owned institution in Australia. Some don’t meet our eligibility criteria and may not be included.

Does Canstar rate other products?

About Canstar

Canstar also has insights and information about financial products and services generally. You can find out about topics such as: interest rates, buy now pay later (BNPL), business products and tax. You may also be interested in discovering more about calculators and resources, such as our rate checker and free credit score tool, to help you with your financial decision-making.

About: Jeremy Cooper-Williams, Research Analyst

Bachelor of Commerce (Economics) and a Bachelor of Property, University of Auckland

Jeremy Cooper-Williams joined Canstar’s Ratings Team as a Research Analyst in March 2026. With a natural curiosity for how the world works, Jeremy was drawn to economics and finance early on, and now channels that into evaluating banking and financial products to help determine Canstar’s Star Ratings and product awards.

He enjoys the collaborative nature of the Ratings Team and the opportunity to uncover insights that help everyday Australians make smarter financial decisions.

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