This page goes over some of the most competitive savings account products. It should be noted that stable coin savings with cryptocurrency fintech companies tend to give more than 10x more interest per annum than traditional banks however you run the risk of not having government backed insurance though this is really only relevant when banks collapse and in that case, the world and you personally will have far more issues than just losing the balance of your savings account.
Bank Savings Accounts
The Whirlpool community has created a fantastic spreadsheet which shows the interest rates of most bank savings accounts including any bonus rates and requirements to meet the rates. There’s not much else to say about any account in particular as the page will show the best one (if updated recently) The rates are subject to frequent change and many banks give you no indication of the change whatsoever.
A few things to note before using the savings accounts:
- All accounts will have the interest rate apply up to a maximum balance. If you have more than this balance then it’s recommended that you open another (or more) account(s) somewhere else and put the rest in the new account(s).
- It’s always good to have a way of instantly withdrawing from the account when you need to (see page on Liquidity (Transferring Money) such as with OSKO or a Beemit linked card and transactions account
- Some bonus rates are set up to be annoying to meet so make sure you understand what they are and how to meet them (see page on Meeting Bonus Requirements)
Youth Saver Accounts
There are two particular accounts offered for youths of Australia where the rates are above the competition but have relatively low maximum balances. It’s also important to double check the requirements to qualify for the bonus interest.
| Account | Age Eligibility | Rate (p.a.) | Max Balance | Monthly Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westpac Choice + Life Account | 18 – 29 | 4.35% | $30,000 | – $2000+ deposit (to avoid fee) – 5+ card purchases – Account balance must increase from the start of the month to the end of the last business day – Account balance must never be 0 throughout the entire month |
| Bank of Queensland Future Saver Account | 14 – 35 | 4.75% | $50,000 | – $1000 deposit into transactions account – 5+ card purchases |
Cryptocurrency Savings Accounts
Typical interest rates on AUD and USD (as stablecoins) from cryptocurrency companies are far higher than those offered by traditional banks, however, capital on such platforms could be considered higher risk. This section outlines how you can use these companies to earn interest on your AUD using cryptocurrency, without exposing yourself to typical cryptocurrency price volatility.
Stablecoins
When it comes to savings and yield on the blockchain, it is important to understand the concept of stablecoins. These are coins which are issued on the blockchain and designed to track exactly the value of some real world asset (usually a fiat currency such as USD, AUD, EUR etc.).
They are usually issued by central organisations who allow you to send fiat currency to their account and then they “mint” the equivalent they received and send it to you on the blockchain. The blockchain tokens can then be used as desired without incurring any bank fees which would have been inflicted by banks had the tokens stayed as regular fiat. Eventually, the stablecoins can be sent back to the minting organisation where they are destroyed and the fiat currency is redeemed to a bank account as fiat currency. The most reputable stablecoin issuing organisations are regularly audited to confirm that they do indeed have all of the funds required to backup the tokens they issued on the blockchain.
Examples of stablecoins include USDC, USDT, TUSD, TAUD etc. where essentially, 1 USD = 1 USDC = 1 USDT and 1 AUD = 1 TAUD as they can be redeemed or minted at those exchange rates.
TAUD
TAUD seems to be the only AUD stablecoin that is widely available however it isn’t used by many organisations except for Crypto.com and Celsius. The tokens are issued by TrustToken.
TAUD can be directly minted at TrustToken fee-free by using an AUD wire transfer. Most banks charge fees for this, however the Citibank transactions accounts do not. As far as I know, there is no fee-free way of redeeming TAUD to AUD from TrustToken as their bank charges a fee for sending wire transfers.
Another way to get TAUD is through Crypto.com as it can be bought directly with AUD at 1:1. The AUD can be transferred instantly with PayID or with BPAY.
Interest on Stablecoins (e.g. TAUD, USDC, USDT)
Different companies have different bonus rewards structures which work in different ways. Also note that different companies will support different currencies.
| Company | Base Interest (p.a.) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Crypto.com | – 4.5% (USD stablecoin), 2% (TAUD) | – Interest calculated daily and paid weekly in same token – Additional interest in same token and CRO depending on CRO staking level - Reduced interest rates depending on balance |
| Hi Earn | 4% (USD stablecoin) | – Different options between lockup term, payout frequency and interest rates - Up to 12% with 1-year lockup |
| Nexo | 8% (USD stablecoin) | – Interest calculated and paid daily in same token – 1 free on-chain withdrawal per month (can be increased with NEXO loyalty) – Additional interest depending on NEXO loyalty level – Maximum interest 12% with platinum NEXO loyalty and earning in NEXO |
| Yield app | 5% (USD stablecoin) | – Different options between lockup term, payout frequency and interest rates – Additional interest depending on YLD loyalty tier – Maximum interest 9% with diamond loyalty tier |
Interest on Non-stablecoins
It should be noted that the above companies also allow you to earn interest on other cryptocurrency assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum and their websites should be visited for more details.
DeFi (Decentralised Finance) Yield
DeFi is a whole other can of worms but it’s the one where you might see things like 10000% interest… One thing DeFi allows is for you to use your own crypto and interact directly with the blockchain to earn yield (interest) by providing liquidity using “smart contracts” however this is far more complicated and risky, and the technical side of this is beyond the scope of this page however these websites are a good starting point if you want to have a dabble and read: