Mozo Experts Choice Research Report. Product Category: DEPOSIT ACCOUNTS

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1 Mozo Experts Choice Research Report Product Category: DEPOSIT ACCOUNTS 15 January 2016

2 Who is Mozo? Mozo Pty Ltd ( Mozo ) provides a financial comparison service that was launched in 2008 by a team of passionate financial services enthusiasts with the goal of creating an online service that helped consumers to make their own financial decisions and save money. Mozo offers consumers a comprehensive product comparison service that covers the retail banking market, general insurance, life insurance, business banking and more. Currently around 300,000 Australians a month use Mozo s financial comparison service. Mozo s comparison technology and expertise is used by some of Australia s largest online publishers. Mozo holds an Australian Financial Services Licence and an Australian Credit Licence. Mozo s management team have experience in consumer credit and financial services in a variety of roles from executive management, marketing, and actuarial services to product development, and technology. Mozo s team are often called upon to provide expert media commentary in relation to retail financial services. Our Experts Choice Awards analysis is carried out by our Research & Insights Director and our Product Data Manager, who between them have over 50 years of experience in financial services and 21 years in online financial services comparison. Andrew Duncanson is our Research & Insights Director. Andrew has worked in financial services for over 21 years in Australia and the UK and is a qualified actuary. Andrew is a Responsible Manager for Mozo s Australian Financial Services Licence. Peter Marshall is our Product Data Manager. He has over 30 years experience in financial services, including managing product data at other financial comparison sites before Mozo. Peter is also a Responsible Manager for Mozo s Australian Financial Services Licence. Page 1 of 24

3 Mozo Experts Choice Awards The Mozo Experts Choice Awards are an initiative from Mozo that recognises Australia s best value financial products and helps Australians to save money by choosing better products. The Mozo Experts Choice Awards are designed to complement the popular Mozo People s Choice Awards, which are voted by customers and recognise banking and insurance institutions with the highest customer satisfaction levels. For the Mozo Experts Choice Awards Gold medals are awarded to the top 10% of products that meet the selection criteria in each awards category. A maximum of 10 individual products are awarded gold in each category. Award recipients are listed in alphabetical order, the Mozo Experts Choice Awards are awarded to each product equally and the list of winners is not ranked in any other way. Further information about our awards methodology can be found below. What Deposit Account products do we consider? Mozo considered at call savings accounts, transaction focused bank accounts, and fixed term deposits. Awards have been awarded for each of these product types. In carrying out the Mozo Experts Choice Deposit Awards research report we analysed 376 deposit products from 72 Australian providers based on data contained in Mozo s product database as at 31 December Rates, fees and features in Mozo s database have been confirmed as correct between 4th December 2015 and 31st December 2015 by contacting the relevant providers or from publically available sources. These awards take into account interest rates at 3 dates in 2015: 31 October, 30 November, and 31 December. Savings Account and Products must have been consistently available at each of those dates to be included in the awards. We aim to include most products in the market in each category of the Mozo Experts Choice Awards. However, not every product on the market will be included in our review, nor is every feature compared that may be relevant to you. Page 2 of 24

4 The Mozo Experts Choice Deposit Account Award Winners 2016 [ 1 ] PERSONAL SAVINGS ACCOUNT - BASE RATE AMP Arab Bank Australia Bank of Sydney Citibank Heritage Bank ING Direct Police Bank Queenslanders Credit Union RaboDirect Rural Bank ONE UBank PRODUCT Saver Account Online Savings Account SuperRate Account Online Saver Online Saver Savings Maximiser Online SuperSaver GoSaver Online Account High Interest Savings Account Saver USaver [ 2 ] PERSONAL SAVINGS ACCOUNT - INTRODUCTORY BONUS RATE AMP RaboDirect PRODUCT Saver Account High Interest Savings Account [ 3 ] PERSONAL SAVINGS ACCOUNT - ONGOING BONUS RATE CUA ING DIRECT RAMS UBank PRODUCT Hero Saver esaver Reward Savings Maximiser Online Savings Account Saver Account USaver with Ultra Transaction Page 3 of 24

5 [ 4 ] KIDS SAVINGS ACCOUNT - BASE RATE Bank of Sydney Beyond Bank Gateway Credit Union PRODUCT Student Savings Account Junior Savers Club Account Dollaroo Savings [ 5 ] KIDS SAVINGS ACCOUNT - ONGOING BONUS RATE BCU Greater Building Society Hume Bank PRODUCT Scoot s Super Saver Life Saver Clancy Koala Junior Saver [ 6 ] SMSF SAVINGS ACCOUNT - BASE RATE Arab Bank Australia RaboDirect PRODUCT Online Savings Account Business Online Savings Account DIY Super High Interest Savings Account [ 7 ] SMSF SAVINGS ACCOUNT - INTRODUCTORY BONUS RATE RaboDirect PRODUCT DIY Super High Interest Savings Account [ 8 ] SMSF SAVINGS ACCOUNT - ONGOING BONUS RATE CUA PRODUCT esaver Reward Page 4 of 24

6 [ 9 ] PERSONAL TERM DEPOSIT - SHORT TERM Bank of Sydney Citibank ING DIRECT P&N Bank UBank Victoria Teachers Mutual Bank [ 10 ] PERSONAL TERM DEPOSIT - DIUM TERM Big Sky firstmac ING DIRECT P&N Bank People s Choice Credit Union Rural Bank ONE Teachers Mutual Bank/Unibank [ 11 ] PERSONAL TERM DEPOSIT - LONG TERM Arab Bank Australia BOQ Specialist Greater Building Society Maitland Mutual Building Society People s Choice Credit Union RaboDirect Page 5 of 24

7 [ 12 ] SMSF TERM DEPOSIT - SHORT TERM Citibank Victoria Teachers Mutual Bank [ 13 ] SMSF TERM DEPOSIT - DIUM TERM Big Sky ING DIRECT QANTAS Credit Union Rural Bank ONE [ 14 ] SMSF TERM DEPOSIT - LONG TERM Greater Building Society RaboDirect [ 15 ] FEE FREE BANK ACCOUNT AMP BOQ Specialist Citibank Gateway Credit Union HSBC Macquarie Macquarie PRODUCT Access Account One Account Plus Transaction Account Edge Account Day to Day Account Platinum Transaction Account Transaction Account Everyday Transaction Account Page 6 of 24

8 NAB RAMS Suncorp Classic Banking Account Action Account Everyday Basics [ 16 ] SAVINGS BANK OF THE YEAR Page 7 of 24

9 How the Mozo Experts Choice Awards are determined Mozo Experts Choice Awards for Deposit Accounts are awarded in the following categories and based on the following methodology: PERSONAL SAVINGS ACCOUNT CATEGORIES [ 1, 2, 3 ] Aim: To identify the savings accounts for personal customers that have the best interest rates. Method: To qualify for these awards the savings account must: be available for adults; have no monthly service fee; allow unlimited free internet transactions; accounts requiring a linked account to transfer funds must be able to nominate a bank account at any institution ; and have no notice period to withdraw funds. Base, Introductory Bonus, and Ongoing Bonus rates that apply for each account for a deposit amount of $10,000 were extracted at the end of October, November and December For the Base and Ongoing Bonus categories the rates relevant to each category at each of the 3 dates were averaged. For the Introductory rate category the effective annual rate that would apply in the first year was calculated at each of the 3 dates and these were averaged. Where different interest rates apply for different portions of the account balance the effective rate for $10,000 was calculated to determine ranking. While conditions for earning Ongoing Bonus rates vary, we assumed that those conditions were met for each account. Conditional Ongoing Bonus rates were not taken into account in the Introductory rate category. The top 10 products, to a maximum of 10% of all products considered, were given awards in each category. Page 8 of 24

10 KIDS SAVING ACCOUNT CATEGORIES [ 4, 5 ] Aim: To identify the savings accounts for children that have the best interest rates. Method: To qualify for these awards the savings account must: be available for a child aged 8 years; have no monthly service fee; allow unlimited free internet transactions; have no automatic sweep of funds from the account; accounts requiring a linked account to transfer funds must be able to nominate a bank account at any institution ; and have no notice period to withdraw funds. Base and Ongoing Bonus rates that apply for each account for a deposit amount of $10,000 were extracted at the end of October, November and December For the Base and Ongoing Bonus categories the rates relevant to each category at each of the 3 dates were averaged. Where different interest rates apply for different portions of the account balance the effective rate for $10,000 was calculated to determine ranking. While conditions for earning Ongoing Bonus rates vary, we assumed that those conditions were met for each account. SMSF SAVING ACCOUNT CATEGORIES [ 6, 7, 8 ] Aim: To identify the savings accounts for self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) customers that have the best interest rates. Method: To qualify for these awards the savings account must: be available for SMSF customers; have no monthly service fee; allow unlimited free internet transactions; accounts requiring a linked account to transfer funds must be able to nominate a bank account at any institution ; and have no notice period to withdraw funds. Page 9 of 24

11 Base, Introductory Bonus, and Ongoing Bonus rates that apply for each account for a deposit amount of $10,000 were extracted at the end of October, November and December For the Base and Ongoing Bonus categories the rates relevant to each category at each of the 3 dates were averaged. For the Introductory rate category the effective annual rate that would apply in the first year was calculated at each of the 3 dates and these were averaged. Where different interest rates apply for different portions of the account balance the effective rate for $10,000 was calculated to determine ranking. While conditions for earning Ongoing Bonus rates vary, we assumed that those conditions were met for each account. Conditional Ongoing Bonus rates were not taken into account in the Introductory rate category. The top 10 products, to a maximum of 10% of all products considered, were given awards in each category. PERSONAL TERM DEPOSIT CATEGORIES [ 9, 10, 11 ] Aim: To identify the providers offering personal customers the best interest rate for each of short, medium or long term investments. Method: Rates were considered that apply to term deposits with: interest paid at the end of the term, for investments of up to 12 months, and annually for longer investment terms; a deposit of $25,000. Short term was defined as the following investment periods: 1 month 2 months 3 months 4 months 5 months 6 months 7 months Medium term was defined as the following investment periods: 8 months 9 months 10 months 11 months 12 months 13 months Page 10 of 24

12 Long term was defined as the following investment periods: 2 years 3 years 4 years 5 years The relevant interest rates for the above terms were extracted at the end of October, November and December For each term deposit account the one best rate for any of the terms within each investment time-frame category was identified at each of the three dates, and those three rates were averaged. Early withdrawal penalties were not considered. The top 10 products, to a maximum of 10% of all products considered, were given awards in each category. SMSF TERM DEPOSIT CATEGORIES [ 12, 13, 14 ] The SMSF categories were judged using the same criteria and process as for the Personal categories, but only considering those term deposit products that are available to SMSF customers. FEE FREE BANK ACCOUNT [ 15 ] Aim: To identify the bank accounts that do not charge an account keeping fee, or fees for the most common transaction types. Method: To qualify for this award the bank account must: be available for adult personal customers; have no monthly service fee; have no fee for withdrawals at own-network ATM s have no fee for EFTPOS transactions have no fee for internet transfers offer a scheme debit card without a fee have no minimum balance requirement have no age restrictions In this category, all accounts that meet the qualifying criteria are given an award. Page 11 of 24

13 SAVINGS BANK OF THE YEAR [ 16 ] Aim: To identify the provider with the most award winning deposit accounts across the categories judged for these awards. Method: The number of awards received by each provider across all categories was counted and the provider with the most awards identified. How we manage conflicts of interest Mozo Experts Choice awards are based on objective verifiable facts and analysis. Mozo s research team analyses product data and determines the winners in each Mozo Experts Choice category without reference to Mozo s sales or commercial functions. Our internal structures help to avoid conflicts of interest arising between our research team and other areas of the business in the generation of our research reports. Details of how we are paid are contained in our Financial Services and Credit Guide. A provider can participate in the Mozo Experts Choice Awards free of charge. Mozo charges a licence fee to deposit account providers to allow them to use the Mozo Experts Choice Awards badges in their own marketing activities, and offers promotional packages that may be purchased. A financial product provider that receives a Mozo Experts Choice Award may choose to list its products on the Mozo website in a way that may generate revenue for Mozo. Mozo Experts Choice DISCLAIR: Any advice included in any document published by Mozo Pty Ltd (AFSL/ACL ) is general in nature and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on the advice, you should consider whether it s appropriate to you and seek professional advice from a suitably qualified adviser. If a product we recommend has a Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), you should obtain a copy from the indicated provider and read it before making a decision about whether to acquire the product. Page 12 of 24

14 Appendix List of all issuers and names of products considered in the awards. Savings Accounts: Provider AMP ANZ ANZ ANZ ANZ ANZ Arab Bank Australia Arab Bank Australia Australian Military Bank Australian Military Bank Auswide Bank Auswide Bank Auswide Bank Auswide Bank B&E Personal Banking B&E Personal Banking B&E Personal Banking Bank Australia Bank Australia Bank Australia Bank of Melbourne Bank of Melbourne Bank of Melbourne Bank of Melbourne Bank of Melbourne Bank of Queensland Bank of Queensland Bank of Queensland Bank of Queensland Product Saver Account Business Online Saver Online Saver Premium Cash Management Progress Saver Progress Saver (Kids) Online Savings Account Online Saver Star Saver Direct Bonus Plus Saver Online Saver Ziggy Kids Saver icash Serious Saver Youth Advantage mysaver Online Saver DIY Super Saver Incentive Saver Account Investment Cash Account Maxi Saver SENSE Savings Account Bonus Interest Savings Account Cash Management Superannuation Savings Account WebSavings Account Page 13 of 24

15 Bank of Sydney Bank of Sydney Bank of Sydney BankSA BankSA BankSA BankSA BankVic BankVic BankVic BCU BCU BCU Bendigo Bank Bendigo Bank Bendigo Bank Beyond Bank Beyond Bank Beyond Bank Beyond Bank Beyond Bank Big Sky Big Sky Catalyst Money Catalyst Money Catalyst Money Catalyst Money Citibank Citibank Smart Net Account Student Savings Account SuperRate Account Incentive Saver Account Investment Cash Account Maxi Saver SENSE Account EzePac Little Copper Club Account Business TeleNet Saver Childrens Savings Account Hero Saver Kids Smart esaver TeleNet Saver isaver Saver Scoot s Super Saver CommunitySaver Account EasySaver Account PiggySaver Account Account BU Savings Account Junior Savers Club Account monesaver Internet Savings Account Cash Management Net Invest Everyday Lite Saver Online Saver Ultimate Business Saver Page 14 of 24

16 Citibank Coastline Credit Union Commonwealth Bank Commonwealth Bank Commonwealth Bank Commonwealth Bank Commonwealth Bank CommSec Community First Credit Union Community First Credit Union Community First Credit Union Community Mutual Group Community Mutual Group Credit Union SA Credit Union SA CUA CUA CUA CUA Defence Bank Defence Bank Delphi Bank Delphi Bank Easy Street Easy Street G&C Mutual Bank Gateway Credit Union Gateway Credit Union Greater Building Society Greater Building Society Greater Building Society Greater Building Society Heritage Bank Heritage Bank Heritage Bank Ultimate Saver esaver Business Online Saver Direct Investment Account GoalSaver NetBank Saver Youthsaver Direct Investment Account Junior Saver Money Market Account Internet Maximiser Savings Booster Bonus Savings Account Netsave Account esaver Plus esaver Reward Youth esaver Youth esaver Reward isaver Max esaver Midas Account Easy Savings Dollaroo Savings emax Saver Life Saver Little Bucks Account Cash Management Online Saver Target Bonus Page 15 of 24

17 HSBC HSBC Hume Bank Hume Bank Hume Bank Hume Bank Illawarra Credit Union Illawarra Credit Union Illawarra Credit Union Illawarra Credit Union IMB Bank IMB Bank IMB Bank IMB Bank ING DIRECT ING DIRECT ING DIRECT Macquarie Macquarie Maitland Mutual Building Society Maitland Mutual Building Society Maritime, Mining & Power Credit Union Maritime, Mining & Power Credit Union MyState MyState NAB NAB NAB NAB nabtrade Newcastle Permanent Newcastle Permanent Flexi Saver Serious Saver Clancy Koala Junior Saver isave Reward Saver Saver Wildlife Saver Reward Saver Account Reward Saver Kick Start Account Zoo Account Business Optimiser Savings Accelerator Savings Maximiser Savings Account Internet Saver Power-up esaver Business Online Savings Account Interest Savings Account Online Savings Account Online Savings Account Saver Account Business Cash Maximiser Cash Manager isaver Reward Saver High Interest Account Money Management Account Online Savings Account Page 16 of 24

18 Newcastle Permanent P&N Bank P&N Bank People s Choice Credit Union People s Choice Credit Union People s Choice Credit Union Police Bank Police Credit Union QANTAS Credit Union QANTAS Credit Union QANTAS Credit Union QANTAS Credit Union QPCU QPCU QPCU QT Mutual Bank QT Mutual Bank QT Mutual Bank Queensland Country Credit Union Queensland Country Credit Union Queensland Country Credit Union Queenslanders Credit Union Queenslanders Credit Union RaboDirect RaboDirect RaboDirect RaboDirect RAMS Rural Bank Rural Bank ONE Rural Bank ONE SCU SCU SCU SCU Rapid Saver Account Hi Saver SwiftSaver Account Online Saver Young Saver Online SuperSaver isavings Account Cash Management Acount Qantas Points Saver Qsaver NetLink Direct esave Account Online Saver GoSaver Online Account MoneyMaker Account DIY Super High Interest Savings Account DIY Super PremiumSaver High Interest Savings Account PremiumSaver Saver Account Gold Cash Management DIY Super Saver Saver BU Account inetsaver Account Money Market Account Motivator Savings Account Page 17 of 24

19 SCU St.George St.George St.George St.George St.George Summerland Credit Union Summerland Credit Union Suncorp Suncorp Suncorp Suncorp Suncorp Teachers Mutual Bank Teachers Mutual Bank Teachers Mutual Bank The Rock UBank UBank UBank UniBank UniBank UniBank Victoria Teachers Mutual Bank Victoria Teachers Mutual Bank Victoria Teachers Mutual Bank Victoria Teachers Mutual Bank Victoria Teachers Mutual Bank Victoria Teachers Mutual Bank Westpac Westpac Westpac Super Saver Club DIY Super Saver Incentive Saver Account Investment Cash Account Maxi Saver SENSE Savings Account isave Online Business Saver eoptions Everyday Options Sub-account Kids Savings Account Online Savings Account Reward Saver Account Online Saver USaver USaver SMSF USaver with Ultra Transaction Account Online Savings Account Reward Saver Account Cash Management First Home First Saver Account Online Saver Promo DIY Super esaver Reward Saver Page 18 of 24

20 s: Provider AMP ANZ ANZ Arab Bank Australia Australian Military Bank Auswide Bank B&E Personal Banking Bank Australia Bank of Melbourne Bank of Queensland Bank of Sydney BankSA BankVic BCU Bendigo Bank Beyond Bank Big Sky Big Sky BOQ Specialist Citibank Coastline Credit Union Commonwealth Bank Commonwealth Bank Community First Credit Union Community Mutual Group Credit Union SA CUA Defence Bank Delphi Bank firstmac G&C Mutual Bank Product Advance Notice Premier Investment Business TD Direct Gold Online SMSF New Deposit Special Page 19 of 24

21 Gateway Credit Union Greater Building Society Heritage Bank HSBC Hume Bank Illawarra Credit Union IMB Bank ING DIRECT ING DIRECT Intech Credit Union Macquarie Maitland Mutual Building Society Maritime, Mining & Power Credit Union MyState MyState MyState NAB Newcastle Permanent Newcastle Permanent P&N Bank People s Choice Credit Union Police Bank Police Credit Union QANTAS Credit Union QANTAS Credit Union QPCU QT Mutual Bank Queensland Country Credit Union Queenslanders Credit Union RaboDirect Rural Bank ONE Rural Bank SCU Business Business Income Deposit Account Online Gold Money Maker Qwealth Page 20 of 24

22 St.George Summerland Credit Union Suncorp Suncorp Teachers Mutual Bank The Rock UBank UBank UniBank Victoria Teachers Mutual Bank flexirate SMSF Bank Accounts: Provider AMP ANZ Arab Bank Australia Australian Military Bank Australian Military Bank Auswide Bank Auswide Bank B&E Personal Banking B&E Personal Banking Bank Australia Bank of Melbourne Bank of Melbourne Bank of Melbourne Bank of Queensland Bank of Queensland Bank of Sydney BankSA BankSA BankSA BankVic Product Access Account Access Advantage Statement Account Access Savings Military Rewards Account Everyday Access Account Everyday Choice Account Everyday Advantage iadvantage Everyday Access Complete Freedom Account Express Freedom Account SENSE Account Day2Day Plus Account Reverse Charges Account Everyday Saver Account Complete Freedom Account Express Freedom Account SENSE Account EzePac Page 21 of 24

23 BCU BCU Bendigo Bank Beyond Bank Big Sky BOQ Specialist Catalyst Money Citibank Commonwealth Bank Commonwealth Bank Community First Credit Union Community Mutual Group Community Mutual Group Credit Union SA CUA Defence Bank Defence Bank G&C Mutual Bank G&C Mutual Bank Gateway Credit Union Gateway Credit Union Greater Building Society Greater Building Society Heritage Bank Heritage Bank HSBC Hume Bank Illawarra Credit Union IMB Bank Easy Transaction Account Hero Transaction Account Lite Direct Transaction Account Lite Transaction Account Qantas Transaction Account Rewards Transaction Account Access Account Basic Access Account Ultimate Everyday Account Access Savings Account Everyday Banking Account One Account Everyday Plus Transaction Account Complete Access Smart Access Access Access Savings Account efree Access Account Everyday Account National Access Salary Saver Access Account Reward Me Saver Edge Account Everyday Savings Access Account Ultimate Access Account Money Manager Simply Access Day to Day Account All Purpose Everyday Everyday Account Page 22 of 24

24 IMB Bank ING DIRECT Macquarie Macquarie Maritime, Mining & Power Credit Union MyState NAB Newcastle Permanent Newcastle Permanent P&N Bank P&N Bank People s Choice Credit Union People s Choice Credit Union Police Bank QANTAS Credit Union QPCU QT Mutual Bank QT Mutual Bank Queensland Country Credit Union Queensland Country Credit Union Queenslanders Credit Union Queenslanders Credit Union Queenslanders Credit Union RAMS Rural Bank SCU St.George St.George St.George Suncorp Suncorp Teachers Mutual Bank The Rock Everyday Unlimited Account Orange Everyday Platinum Transaction Account Transaction Account Access Saving Account Everyday Transaction Account Interest Savings Account Access Account Classic Banking Account Everyday Account Statement Savings Account Budgeting Account Easypay Access Account Everyday Account Zip Account Easy Access Account General Savings Account On Call Current Account Everyday Account All Access Options Action Account Basic Account LiveFree Account Action Account Everyday Account Access Savings Complete Freedom Account Express Freedom Account SENSE Account Everyday Basics Everyday Options Everyday Direct Account Fee Cruncher Account Page 23 of 24

25 The Rock UBank UniBank Victoria Teachers Mutual Bank Westpac Only Account USaver Ultra Transaction Account Everyday Direct Account Everyday Choice Page 24 of 24