Deposit $1,000 into a personal ING account, make 5 eligible transactions with a linked Orange Everyday account and grow the balance each month.
Deposit at least $20 each month and make 5 Visa Debit transactions with a linked Glide account.
Increase account balance by any amount and make no more than two withdrawals
Repayment terms from 2 years to 7 years. Representative example: a 5 year $30,000 loan at 6.75% would cost $35,430.23 including fees.
Repayment terms from 1 year to 7 years. Representative example: a 5 year $30,000 loan at 6.57% would cost $35,528.12 including fees.
Repayment terms from 1 year to 7 years. Representative example: a 5 year $30,000 loan at 6.56% would cost $35,768.68 including fees.
Repayment terms from 1 year to 7 years. Representative example: a 5 year $30,000 loan at 6.57% would cost $35,278.12 including fees.
Repayment terms from 2 years to 3 years. Representative example: a 3 year $10,000 loan at 16.95% would cost $14,952.03 including fees.
^See information about the Mozo Experts Choice Awards
Official interest rates, also referred to as the cash rate, are set by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), which is the country’s central bank and primary decision-maker when it comes to monetary policy.
The RBA meets on the first Tuesday of every month to discuss the state of the national economy, including things like consumer confidence, inflation, economic growth and rates of employment. Based on these factors (and more), the official cash rate is either decreased, increased or left unchanged.
The idea behind monetary policy is that changes to interest rates will flow through to the economy and affect the behaviour of businesses and consumers. Lower interest rates, it’s claimed, help boost the economy by encouraging Australians to spend, borrow and invest. Meanwhile, higher interest rates might be deployed tp rein in inflation by encouraging Australians to save their money instead.
For the most recent information on the RBA cash rate, read our monthly reserve bank interest rate summary or check out our page on Australian Home Loan Statistics.
Are you buying a new home, setting up a business or searching for a new car? Then you’re probably looking for a loan to help kick things off.
It’s important to do some research before you go ahead and choose a lender, because the current interest rate will not only affect your monthly repayments, but how much you’ll have paid by the time your loan term reaches its end.
The goal is to secure a low interest rate on your loan to minimise the amount of interest you’ll need to pay, but that isn’t all you need to consider. Fees, charges, penalties and extra features are all things you need to take into account when choosing the best loan.
It might seem like a hard task, but it’s made easier by using the comparison rate. This is a rate that providers are required by the National Credit Code to show, and it factors in interest, fees and charges for a clearer picture of the real cost of a loan. That’s why when you’re comparing products on Mozo, whether it’s home loans, car loans or personal loans, you’ll see an interest rate and a comparison interest rate.
Handy right? But there is one thing to keep in mind when using the comparison rate — it is a guide based on a specified loan amount and time frame (which is shown on Mozo’s comparison pages). Different loans will mean different comparison rates, so to find out exactly what you’ll be paying in interest, be sure to talk to your lender.
The best place to keep your savings will depend on your goals. If you’re saving for a short term goal, a savings account with a high introductory interest rate might be just the boost your savings stash needs. Or, if you’ve got a decent chunk of funds but don’t need to access them, a term deposit might be a better space to park it for a while.
No matter how long you’re putting your savings away, the goal is to get a high return on your money, which means securing a high interest rate.
You should also consider special promotions like introductory interest rates or bonus interest rates, and be wary of account or transaction fees. Things like savings accounts or term deposits don’t show a comparison rate to keep track of these extra considerations, but here at Mozo, we’ll show them to you on our comparison pages.
Official interest rates are set by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), the country’s central bank. Each month, it examines the state of the economy and decides whether to move the cash rate up or down, or keep it unchanged. Lenders will then set their own home loan and deposit interest rates based on the RBA’s decision.
The cash rate is more than just a benchmark rate for home loans, it’s an important tool used to steer the Australian economy in the right direction. Let’s say the economy is underperforming. The RBA might lower interest rates to help boost spending, borrowing and investment. If, on the other hand, the economy is booming and the cost of goods is being driven up, the RBA might raise interest rates to help stave off inflation.
While banks’ own interest rates move in line with the cash rate, it’s just one of many factors they have to consider when pricing their home loans, deposits, and other products. That’s why when the RBA reduces official interest rates, banks aren’t guaranteed to cut their own home loan rates in kind.
While online banks can typically afford to charge less on their home loans (and offer better returns on their savings accounts), many larger banks have much higher overhead costs which prevent them from doing the same. Chances are they’ll have also prioritised other areas over their interest rates, like technology, staff and customer service.
There’s no real limit to how low interest rates will go, at least in theory. A number of countries have adopted negative interest rates in the past — most notably Japan, Sweden, Switzerland and Denmark. For his part, Reserve Bank Governor, Philip Lowe has expressed that interest rates in Australia are unlikely to cross over into negative territory.
We can’t stress enough the importance of comparing interest rates before you make a decision about your finances. At Mozo, that’s what we’re all about, but we know it can sometimes be hard, because not only do you need to consider the best interest rate available, but also any extras fees and charges that you might get hit with. So we’ve made it easier with some tools and resources that will guide you through securing yourself a great interest rate.
Check out our comparison pages! This is the first stop when looking for a great interest rate. You can see a side-by-side comparison of all the best offers on the market.
Home loans
Personal loans
Car loans
Savings accounts
Term deposits
Take a look at our easy to use calculators. Whether you’re working out what your loan repayments will be or planning your savings goals, we’ve got a calculator ready to crunch those numbers!
Home loans calculators
Personal loans calculators
Car loans calculators
Savings accounts calculators
Term deposits calculators
Read our dedicated guides. For a more in depth explanation check out our guides which cover everything from working out how much you can afford to borrow on your home loan, to how to make the most out of your savings account.
Home loan guides
Personal loan guides
Car loan guides
Savings account guides
Term deposit guides