Best Savings Accounts

Don’t miss out on easy money by letting your rainy-day money languish in a transaction account at your bank. Use Canstar’s savings account comparison tool to discover NZ’s best savings accounts.

Interest rates are up across the board. Back in July 2021, the average base savings account rate on Canstar’s database was 0.20%, the average bonus savings account rate was 0.29%, and the best rate you could achieve on your savings was 0.75%.

Now, the average base savings account rate is 2.88%, the average bonus savings account rate is 4.50% and, at time of writing, the savings account with the highest return offers total interest (including bonus) of 5.25% per annum.

So if you don’t want to tie up your money in a term deposit or a PIE fund, but still want it to earn a great rate, read on to discover the best savings accounts in NZ.

Best savings accounts

If you’re currently considering a savings account, the table below displays some of the regular saver accounts on our database (some may have links to lenders’ websites).

This table is sorted by total interest (including bonus) (highest to lowest), followed by company name (alphabetical). Products shown are for savings of $10,000. Before committing to a particular savings account product, check upfront with your financial institution and read the applicable documentation to confirm whether the terms of the account meet your needs. Use Canstar’s savings account selector to view a wider range of savings account products. Canstar may earn a fee for referrals.

Compare savings accounts for free with Canstar!

Best savings accounts: the accounts on offer:

Here is a quick rundown of the different savings accounts on offer from the banks and lenders on Canstar’s Savings Account database, at time of writing:

Most of the accounts offer either unlimited access to your funds for a lower rate, or limited access and/or monthly savings goals to achieve a higher rate.

ANZ has two savings accounts:

Serious Saver

Offers a low base interest rate, but you can earn a substantially better bonus rate if you make no withdrawals and deposit $20 or more (not including credit interest) on or before the last business day of the month.

Online Account

ANZ’s online account offers one base interest rate. It’s higher than the base rate of the Serious Saver Account, but doesn’t offer bonus rates. And you are not penalised for making withdrawals.

Savings Plus

Offers a low base interest rate, but you can earn a lot better bonus rate if you make no more than one withdrawal per month, which must be during the first five days of the calendar quarter.

If you make more than one withdrawal, you only earn a very small partial bonus rate.

Savings On-call

Offers one base interest rate. It’s higher than the base rate of the Savings Plus account, but doesn’t offer bonus rates. And you are not penalised for making withdrawals.

Rapid Save

A nice and simple account, offering one high base rate. You can make as many withdrawals as you want without affecting the rate of interest you earn. However, if you make more than one, you’ll be hit with a $3 fee per withdrawal.

Direct Call Account

Another straightforward savings account, it offers one high base rate, with no penalties or fees for withdrawals, no matter how many you make each month.

YouChoose

This is more like a transaction account that pays a small amount of interest. The YouChoose account comes with a debit card, but a very small rate of interest.

Notice Saver

It’s worth noting that Heartland Bank also offers two savings accounts that work like term deposit accounts: one that requires a 32-day notice period to withdraw your funds, and one with a 90-day notice period. These accounts offer rates of interest in line with the bank’s six-month term deposit accounts.

Online Call

Offers unlimited access to your money, with no fees or penalties, and one base interest rate.

Notice Saver

Kiwibank also offers two Notice Saver accounts. These offer two higher rates of interest but require you to give either 32 days’ or 90 days’ notice of a withdrawal. If you request an early withdrawal of part or all of your money, you’ll be hit with a withdrawal charge. The amount of the charge will vary depending on the amount being withdrawn, your interest rate and notice period.

PremiumSaver

Has a low base level of interest, but allows you to earn a bonus level of interest by increasing your month-end balance by at least $50 (excluding paid interest). Unlimited withdrawals allowed with no interest penalties or fees.

RaboSaver

Standard savings account with one base level of interest that allows unlimited withdrawals with no interest penalties or fees.

Notice Saver

Rabobank also offers a NoticeSaver account, offering a higher rate of interest, that requires you to provide 60 days’ notice each time you wish to make a withdrawal.

Incentive Saver

Earn bonus interest on a low base rate by making at least one monthly deposit and not withdrawing any money during three-month, quarterly periods.

i-save

Online savings account that offers a low base rate of interest in return for unlimited access to your funds.

Online Account

Straightforward savings account with one low base rate and unlimited withdrawals through a linked Everyday Account.

Prize Draw Saver

Offers an even lower interest rate than the Online Account, but all account holders go in to a monthly prize draw for a Mini Cooper. For every $100 of your average daily account balance, you get one entry into the draw.

Step Saver

Has a low base level of interest, but allows you to earn a bonus level of interest by increasing your month-end balance (excluding paid interest). You can make one withdrawal each month and not lose the bonus interest rate, as long as your balance has increased by the end of the month.

Horizon Account

Offers one base rate of interest on account balances. There are no fees if you transfer money from the account to another of your TSB accounts using online or mobile banking, but you’ll be charged a $1 fee if you withdraw funds directly.

Websaver Account

Offers the same base rate as the Horizon Account, but a minimum balance of $1000 to achieve rate applies. No withdrawal fees, with the exception of manual transactions at a branch. Plus for every $1000 you have in your Websaver Account, you get one entry into a monthly draw to win $25,000.

Everyday Saver

Low, four-step interest rate levels apply on balances: <$4,999 | $5000 to $19,999 | $20,000 to $99,999 | $100,000+

ATM and EFTPOS withdrawal fees apply.

Online Saver

On balances over $1000, low, two-step interest rate levels apply: $1000 to $19,999 | $20,000+

EFTPOS withdrawal fees apply.

Bonus Saver

Has a low base level of interest, but allows you to earn a bonus level of interest by increasing your month-end balance by at least $20 (excluding paid interest). Unlimited withdrawals allowed with no interest penalties or fees.

Simple Saver

Standard savings account with one base level of interest that allows unlimited withdrawals with no interest penalties or fees.

Notice Saver

Westpac also offers a Notice Saver account that requires you to provide 32 days’ notice each time you wish to make a withdrawal, but which earns a higher interest rate.

About the author of this page

This report was written by Canstar’s Editor, Bruce Pitchers. Bruce has three decades’ experience as a journalist and has worked for major media companies in the UK and Australasia, including ACP, Bauer Media Group, Fairfax, Pacific Magazines, News Corp and TVNZ. Prior to Canstar, he worked as a freelancer, including for The Australian Financial Review, the NZ Financial Markets Authority, and for real estate companies on both sides of the Tasman.