Some top stand-out products have been released throughout the year, with many bank accounts, home loans and credit cards receiving a big thumbs up. However, with every great product, a not so great product slips its way into the market. And for those that don’t make the grade, the Mozo team has our wooden spoon ready!

Best Bank Account
We love anything fee-free! Launched this year, the Citibank Plus Transaction Account ticks all the boxes for a great everyday banking account. The account has no monthly account fees, and fee free ATM withdrawals within the Citibank network in Australia which includes Citibank, Westpac and St George ATMs. But the real game changer is that this bank account has no overseas ATM or purchase fees (these can be as high as $5 per transaction with some accounts) which makes this a great bank account for jetsetters and homebodies alike!

Some banking providers missed the fee-free memo this year! The Wooden Spoon Award goes to HSBC for its Savings Cheque Account. Not only are customers charged a $7.50 account fee (waived if the balance is always over $1000), the account only has six free ATM and Eftpos transactions a month, after which you are charged $2 for every other transaction. Ouch!

Best High Interest Savings Account
And the best savings account goes to… RaboDirect! Unlike other banks who only offer high interest rates for the first few months to new customers, RaboDirect’s High Interest Savings Account rewards savers with a competitive ongoing interest rate of 5.75% (with balances of up to $200,000). The savings account has other great features such as no minimum balances and no account fees.

The normally fantastic Bankwest has landed itself a Wooden Spoon Award for its Regular Saver Account. The savings account has a high interest rate of 6.50%, but the fine print reveals that you can only get this rate by depositing between $50 and $500 each month. What’s more, after a year the entire balance is swept to a nominated account so you have to start building your balance again!

Best Rewards Credit Card
This year our vote goes to the Qantas Amex Discovery Card for the best rewards credit card. It is one of the few cards that will earn you 1 Qantas Frequent Flyer point for every $1 you spend on the card and it has no limit on the number of points you can earn in a year.  But best of all the Qantas Amex Discovery Card has no annual fee. When you consider most rewards cards have annual fees of around $150 this is a great saving which you can put towards your holiday spending.

Best Credit Card
Aussies love to travel and with the increased popularity of online shopping, finding the best credit card for you can make a huge difference to your finances. The 28 Degrees MasterCard has some great features for savvy travelers and shoppers which puts it at the top of our list:

- 100% free to use in Australia and overseas
- No overseas transaction or foreign currency conversion fees
-You can put credit in it before you start your trip.

Not to its usual great standard, Macquarie Bank increased its RateSaver and Gold credit cards by 0.25% after the RBA cut in November earning it our Wooden Spoon Award.

Best Mortgages
Loans.com.au and State Custodians are small players offering big savings in the home loan market! By not using brokers they’re able to offer competitive rates direct to borrowers – up to 0.75% below the average standard variable rate . You’ll have to spend time filling out the paperwork but the savings you’ll make will be worth it.  For example, if your current home loan is with Westpac on the Rocket Repay Home Loan at 7.61% ($300,000 over 25 years), you can save over 70K by switching to these low rate providers.

The ‘fixed rate revert rort’ is a sneaky tactic by banks. They provide low fixed rates for the first few years and then revert to high variable rates once the fixed period is over. Citibank gets our wooden spoon for its fixed rate loans. For instance its 3 year fixed rate of 5.94% reverts to 7.77% for the rest of the loan.

Finding the right product in 2012
With so many products in the market, the search for the right credit card, bank account or home loan may seem daunting but Mozo has all the tools you need to tease out the “gotcha’s” and find the best deal! Head to Mozo now >>>

This represents the largest financial conversation in the country, and importantly provides Mozo with unique insights into customer satisfaction in personal banking in Australia. These insights are available in our Mozo Customer Barometer reports.

So, what has 12 months as a fly on the wall revealed?

Big 4 vs other banks versus mutuals

Mutual organisations rated significantly better than other groups of providers. Smaller banks were preferred over the Big 4. No surprises there!

The average overall rating of Mutuals was 8.18 compared with 6.87 for the Big 4 Banks and 7.49 for other banks.

Looking deeper than just the averages scores, we divide individual customer ratings into three bands:
Fan = a score of 8 or more
Fair = a score between 5 – 7
Fail = a score 4 or less

Just on 75% of all Mutual customers are Fans; only 50% of Big 4 bank customers are Fans. That’s a big difference, but even so it does mean that half of the customers of the Big 4 still rate their overall satisfaction at 8 out of 10 or more.

But the damage is done in the “Fail” ratings. Big Banks are three times more likely to receive a “Fail” score compared with Mutuals.

The Big 4 break-up

There has been a distinct shift in Big 4 ratings over the past 12 months.

On Valentines day this year, NAB officially broke up with the other Big Banks and is now pulling out in front as the only Big bank to rate an average above 7. One year ago, ANZ was the highest rated of the four.

The overall ratings for the big 4 are: NAB 7.09, Westpac 6.91, ANZ 6.84, Commonwealth Bank 6.78.

Customer Chatter

In addition to ratings out of 10, we also collect written reviews from bank customers. The following word clouds highlight the most commonly used words for customers who gave their provider a Fan or Fail rating. There are some very interesting differences between the two.

Like to know more?

If you’d like a free copy of our Mozo Customer Barometer (Personal Banking Overview) report, send an email to barometer@mozo.com.au.

We also offer Mozo Customer Barometer reports focusing on satisfaction within individual product areas, and can provide customised reports or data.

In home loans, fixed rates led the way down. At the end of September, the average 1 year rate was 6.62%, 28 basis points below where it was in August, and the average 3 year fixed rate 43 basis points lower to 6.59% over the same period. All of the major banks reduced their fixed rates in September – the biggest 1 year fixed movement was Westpac slashing its rate by half a percent to 6.69%, and NAB cut its three year rate by 45 basis points to 6.64%.

The best 1 year fixed rate for home loans of $300,000 is Greater Building Society’s 5.89%, 40 basis points lower than a month ago (which was then the lowest 1 year fixed). loans.com.au took the title of cheapest variable rate loan in the market with its dream catcher home loan, dropping from 6.69% to 6.58%.

Term Deposit rates are also on their way down, with both the market average and the best 1 year rate down by about 15 basis points. At the end of September the average 1 year rate was 5.54% and the best in the market was Beirut Hellenic Bank at 6.10%. The major banks are pulling their rates back too.  ANZ had the biggest drop in any of the big four 1 year rates over the month, a 42 basis point reduction to 5.18% .

Competition in the online savings account area has been running hot for the last year, and over the 12 months to the end of September the average Savings Account rate increased by 35 basis points, 10 basis points more than last November’s RBA cash rate increase. Going against the trend, and perhaps a sign of things to come, Westpac cut the rate on its eSaver by 50 basis points to 4.80%.

The only positive online savings rate movement Mozo saw in September was RaboDirect increasing its bonus rate offer on its High Interest Savings Account by 0.01% so it could claim equal best rate in the market (with UBank and Virgin Money) at 6.51%.

For those who live under a rock, the People’s Choice Awards are like parent-teacher night for bankers, with a dash of ‘financial Logies’ glamour. A massive 23,000 votes were cast (in the form of ratings from banking and insurance customers around Australia) to determine the best performing providers. Mozo’s election officials counted the beans and certified the results.

And the big winners?

The Greater Building Society achieved a record average rating of 9.2 out of 10, and scooped the Awards of Best Building Society, Best Home Loans and Best Savings Accounts.

ING Direct was voted Australia’s Best Bank for the second year running for its consistently competitive products, and also scooped Best Bank Accounts and Most Trusted Bank.

Victoria Teachers Credit Union was again voted Best Credit Union with a towering rating of 9.1 out of 10, and earned the extra credit of being the only provider not to receive a rating less than 5.

The top 18 providers all scored an average rating above Mozo’s ‘Fan’ score of ‘8 and above’, while the next 24 managed the ‘Fair’ score of ‘5 to 7’.

As for the losers, well, not everybody’s going to be happy with their report card. The Big Four as a group performed rather averagely, although there were winners and losers amongst them. Westpac scooped the awards for Best Term Deposits and Best Personal Loans,while the Commonwealth Bank copped a caning for its super sized home loan rate rise last November, being rated Australia’s worst home loan provider and worst Big 4 bank.

NAB marketed ‘break-ups’ and ‘asterisk-killing’ instead of mega rate rises, and won fans as a result. NAB’s average customer rating climbed to 7.1 out of 10, vaulting it to pole position as Australia’s favourite Big 4 bank.

And at the bottom of the pack? American Express gained more than a point over last year’s rating but still only managed 5.6 out of 10, while HomeSide, Citibank and GE Money each ended up with a ‘Fail’ rating of below 5 points.

The average rating for the whole class fell from 7.4 in 2010 to 7.2 in 2011, which suggests that less empty marketing hype and more real actions that benefit customers are needed in 2012.

For the full run-down of winners and losers, check out Mozo’s People Choice Awards page.

But where should you stash your hard-earned cash in this tumultuous economic climate?

For those unfamiliar with this annual interstate stoush between the Blues and Maroons, here’s the playing field; using ‘Mozo Reviews’, Australia’s only customer review database for financial products, I’ve collated all the overall customer ratings for all banks from both QLD and NSW over the past 12 months and averaged them into one score for each state.

Having lost last year’s Rate of Origin and with their rugby-league playing companions on the receiving end of another defeat last night, can NSW banks bring home some much-needed silverware?

Let’s take a look at the lineups. With 26 providers and 6000 reviews in their squad, NSW once again came in as favourites on paper, particularly with heavy-hitters like Westpac and St. George among the Cockroach ranks. Despite coming in as defending champions, Queensland once again rank as Underdogs, owing largely to their numerical inferiority. Despite only putting 2142 reviews and 12 providers on the field, last year’s shock result means you should underestimate the proud cane toads at your peril.

In a result sure to get the xxxx’s cracking north of the Tweed Heads, Queensland has overcome adversity to take home the coveted title again (sorry Blues fans). Led superbly by stalwarts Suncorp and Bank of Queensland, and driven by outstanding individual efforts from Queenslanders Credit Union and Heritage Building Society, the banana benders won with a score of 7.65, a 0.31 increase on last year’s winning effort.

NSW did manage to lift their game, an 0.18 improvement boosting them to a score of 7.09. Despite their loss, there were several valiant efforts in a losing side, most notably from Greater Building Society, Newcastle Permanent and Teachers Credit Union. Once again, the post-match autopsy points to the performance of the senior players, namely Westpac and St. George, who once again let their state down. Interestingly, if you remove those two from the equation, NSW’s overall rating skyrockets to 8.1, making the defeat a bitter pill to swallow for the rest of the Blues side.

With Origin done and dusted for another year, it’s time for both teams to start rebuilding their sides. I implore everyone to do their part and get behind your state and rate your bank – it’s the only way to give your team a chance at Origin glory in 2012!

In quite the upset, this year’s winner was Azerbaijan, a fact that a former Mozo staffer (who was actually born in the capital, Baku) no doubt relished. Nonetheless, I thought it’d be a good idea to showcase some of the European financial providers we host here on Mozo and see how they’ve been represented in the contest in recent times.

I’ve used ‘Mozo Reviews’, Australia’s only customer review database for financial products, to rank the top providers of European heritage. The ranking is based on the provider’s overall customer rating, a figure calculated as an average of all reviewers’ submissions in the ‘overall rating’ field.

So, without further ado, welcome to Mozo’s Eurovision spectacular!

1. The Netherlands (ING Direct & Rabodirect)

With overall ratings of 8.8 (ING Direct) and 8.5 (Rabodirect) respectively, these Dutch powerhouses are Mozo royalty, both taking home coveted People’s Choice Awards last year on the back of popular and innovative savings and term deposit products. The Dutch Eurovision entrants however, failed to live up to their impressive brethren, coming dead last in the second semi-final. Nonetheless, the singer does manage to sport a nifty Tony Montana-inspired number…

2.  Greece (Beirut Hellenic Bank)

I know Beirut Hellenic Bank originally hails from Cyprus, but as we already have the Bank of Cyprus to come and Hellenic as a term covers Greece, I thought we could blur the geographic boundaries a little – blocs aren’t limited to voting you know! Formerly known as Laiki Bank, Beirut Hellenic bank’s savings and term deposits have gleaned them an overall rating of 7.5 on our site, putting them in second place. As for Greece’s Eurovision number this year, I found it to be a pretty alien combination of genres that didn’t really grab me. I’m clearly no harbinger for European taste however, as Greece managed to come in at 7th overall. Nonetheless, have a squiz at last year’s excellent ‘Opa!’ instead, a personal fave of mine.

3. Germany (Allianz)

A customer rating of 7.4 for heavyweights Allianz has driven Germany into 3rd place on our countdown. Their 2011 Eurovision entry didn’t lack pedigree either – Germany actually came into this year’s Eurovision as reigning champions and hosts and for only the 3rd time in history last winner’s came back to defend her title. Her subdued number this year left her languishing in 10th place, so let’s take a look at the catchy ditty that won her the gong back in 2010.

4. Cyprus (Bank of Cyprus)

With a rating of 6.8, Bank of Cyprus comes in at number 4 this year, despite strong support for their term deposit and bank accounts. Cyprus’ Eurovision entrant was of similar stock, coming in at second-last in semi-final two. It’s well worth watching mind you, if only for the general gravity-defying and the big change-up at 1:17…

5. United Kingdom (Virgin Money)

The big shock comes from the UK. Surprisingly, Branson’s boy’s come in last on our list with a rating of 5.7. Despite Virgin Money’s customer-friendly image, customers seem to be savaging them across the board on both their savings and credit card offerings. It’s a lowly position that’s been shared by their Eurovision counterparts in recent times. The UK came in at 11th this year after coaxing former boy-band superstars, ‘Blue’, to front up. It’s an improvement on last year’s embarrassing last place, but still well short of expectations. Whinging about bloc-voting to no doubt ensue.

Finally, for those curious about the winner’s performance, here’s this year’s winner. Not my cup of tea, but hey, who am I to judge? This one’s for you Nijat.

Inspired to make your voice heard? Go on and review your bank here!

Let me set the scene. It’s just another sunny, Summer day when suddenly ATMs all over Sydney and Melbourne start spouting free money. A tech glitch has allowed Commonwealth Bank customers to significantly over-withdraw their accounts at Commonwealth ATMs. The glitch was fixed within a few hours, but in that time hundreds had profited from this fortuitous malfunction.

What does the bank that is “determined to be different” do?

For starters, Commonwealth issued a forceful statement, making it sound as though Sydney had all of a sudden morphed into a scene reminiscent of German hyperinflation post WW1, with hordes of desperate punters strolling around Sydney with cash-filled wheelbarrows in tow; “Commonwealth Bank ATMs were not issuing free cash – some customers deliberately and systematically set out to withdraw money that wasn’t theirs.”

The reality is that whilst there were ‘opportunists’ (who really think they can get away with over-withdrawing their own account in front of an ATM security camera?) who knowingly attempted to rip off Commbank, a significant portion of people affected seem to be misguided Commonwealth Bank customers unaware they were committing a crime.

Commbank has since come after them with real gusto. Letters were sent out to affected customers, asking them to make lump sum payments in a very short space of time and threatening them with court action. The ABC reportedly saw a letter to a welfare recipient threatening court action unless a debt of more than $700 was paid within 10 days.

What the Commonwealth seems to be forgetting is that these people aren’t just random street hoodlums – these people are their customers. You’d think in the current era of fierce banking competition (not to mention their current ad campaign) that would count for something. Is taking customers, some of whom are pensioners and welfare recipients, to court a good look for the Commonwealth Bank?

Either way, Ralph Norris and co. seem hellbent on getting the money back ASAP. In my opinion, if Commbank really are determined to be different, they need to reassess their approach. Does the recovery of a few thousand dollars now as opposed to over a few months outweigh the damage to the brand’s image?

That being said, maybe they have succeeded in being different after all. I mean, only Commonwealth could manage to come out of this whole mess looking like the bad guys even though they’re the original victims!