Instant Access Saving Accounts

If your comparing online saving accounts you’ll find there are different types of accounts on the market with varying amounts of flexability and features. The most common account types are high interest savings, term deposits and instant access saving accounts.

A term deposit offers a fixed rate of interest for an agreed term, typically ranging from a few months to several years. In additional a substantial minimum deposit is required to open such an account. High interest savings accounts earn higher rates of interest but commonly use a variable rate, and are also very accessible mainly by linking it to a transaction account or a separate savings account. Although accessible, it is not unusual for high interest savings to place restrictions on the number of withdrawals or to require a minimum amount of deposit during the month in order to qualify for the higher rate.

In contrast, instant access savings accounts give you the convenience of access at any time to your deposit with the use of an ATM card. You will have to maintain a minimum balance on your instant access account and this may range from a low of $50 to a high of $5000. As a savings account, it will earn interest income, but the rate will depend on the balance you keep in the account; it will generally be lower than the rate you may expect of a high interest savings account.

It’s common for instant access savings accounts to be used as an everyday transaction account. If you’ve got a high interest savings account then you can link that account to your instant access account as your linked transaction account.

These two accounts may be linked even if you maintain them in different banks. It can be a smart move to have the two savings accoutns at the same institution as this way you can instantly tranfer funds from your high interest saving account into the instant access account and make withdrawals via that account.

Your instant access to the savings account is facilitated mainly by an ATM card, which allows you to have 24 hour access and maximum convenience. Other benefits beyonf the ATM and EFTPOS access include phone banking and 24/7 online banking.