Australians urged to shop around for better interest rates

Date Published : Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Australians have been urged to look around and compare savings accounts in order to get the best interest rates available for the money they would like to set aside, a newspaper has reported.

An analyst from financial research company Cannex has said it is important savers are alert to the fact that basic transaction accounts offer very low interest rates and that a much higher rate can be found for savings.

"They [basic transaction accounts] offer you somewhere between 0.01 per cent to at most one per cent, which is often eroded by charges," Jeremy Ooi said, according to the Daily Telegraph.

"With the top five highest-paying term deposit and online savings accounts, you should be getting an interest rate of at least seven per cent," he added.

The analyst pointed to the likes of instant access accounts available online as an "easy" alternative for those who find that they normally cannot be bothered to put the effort in to finding a better option.

Mr Ooi's comments came on the back of research highlighted in the newspaper from the Investment and Financial Services Association (IFSA) that suggested Australians were among the worst in the world when it came to saving.

According to the IFSA, Australian households owe $160 of every $100 of income, a figure that has tripled in 15 years.

Last week, the organisation welcomed plans from the government to consider measures to boost long-term saving among Australians by introducing a five-point plan that would also combat rising inflation.

Australian savings accounts compared and reviewed.
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