Macquarie Bank has launched a new nationwide advertising campaign to underline its role in driving greater competition and transparency in the savings market, highlighting its rejection of the complex but all-too-common account conditions holding many Australians back.
The ‘Your savings game changer’ campaign will feature on television screens across Australia and has been launched in response to growing public awareness of the challenges presented by the conditional or ‘bonus’ interest rates offered on many savings accounts across the market. The campaign challenges the ‘hoops’ and ‘catches’ that act as a barrier to many Australians earning a decent return on their hard-earned savings while underlining how Macquarie has benefitted customers by shaking up competition.
Many banks require customers meet certain conditions – such as minimum deposits and transactions or restrictions on withdrawals – to unlock their headline ‘bonus’ interest rate each month. If these conditions aren’t met, the ongoing variable interest rate paid on their savings can drop to 0.19% p.a. on average.1 The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission found around 70% of Australian savers are regularly unable to meet these conditions on bonus interest accounts.2
Macquarie is rejecting this industry trend, offering customers a high-interest savings account with no Macquarie fees, no deposit requirements, no restrictions on withdrawals and no minimum transactions. Macquarie Savings Account customers currently earn an ongoing variable rate of 4.25% p.a. on balances held in their Savings Account up to $2 million. New customers can open an account online within minutes and also receive a variable welcome rate of 4.60% p.a. on balances up to $250,000 for four months on their first account. In addition, Macquarie continues to pay a leading rate on its linked Transaction Account, with customers currently receiving 2.00% p.a. while many such accounts in market pay no interest at all.
Ben Perham, Head of Personal Banking at Macquarie Bank, said: “With a Macquarie transaction or savings account, what you see is what you get. That sounds like a simple proposition, but unfortunately today many savers are being lured into opening accounts advertised with high headline rates only to be tripped up by complex monthly conditions and miss out on the opportunity to receive the return they deserve on their savings. With household savings growing at their fastest pace on record to reach an all-time high of $1.64 trillion, it is critical that Australians check they aren’t being caught out by their bank.”
“This campaign is designed to show that we’re not here to play the game, but to change it. We don’t think that savings should be hard work, and we certainly don’t agree that accessing your own savings may mean you lose out on the rate you deserve. We’re introducing much needed competition in the savings market and here to show Australians what better banking looks like.”