This week in banking news - more slashed interest rates, home loans and super funds

In this week’s banking recap, we take a look at the continued effects of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) October cut, changes to superfunds and TransferWise and Up Bank’s new partnership.

Aussies urged to sort out their super in preparation for changes on October 31st

If you have multiple superannuation accounts that you’ve been meaning to sort out and consolidate, now might be the time to get on top of that. As of October 31st, 2019 inactive or low-balance super funds (with a balance less than $6,000) will be rolled over to the Australian Tax Office (ATO).

These changes are part of the Federal Government’s Protecting Your Super scheme. Once rolled over, the ATO will try to reconnect the funds from the inactive/low-balance accounts with each individual’s current super fund account. However, if the ATO is unable to connect your old inactive super accounts with your new one, the money will just sit with the ATO and you may lose out on investment returns.

Neobank Up teams “up” with TransferWise to make overseas money transfers easier

In other news, TransferWise announced a new partnership that will make transferring money overseas even easier for customers. 

If you’re one of Up Bank’s 130,000 customers, you can send money overseas in a whopping 52 different currencies using your everyday transaction account. Plus you won’t have to worry about hidden exchange rate markups, because you can see exactly what you’ll be paying in fees, including how much the person you’re sending the money to will receive.

86 400 cuts interest rates to savings accounts

On the subject of neobanks, recently launched 86 400 cut interest rates to its Save Account, following the RBA’s decision to cut the official cash rate by 25 basis points on Tuesday October 1st, from 1% down to 0.75%. 

86 400 chose to pass on the full RBA cut, slashing the maximum interest to be earned on its bonus savings account down from 2.50% to 2.25%. The base rate remains the same at 0.40%, but the bonus interest rate has been reduced from 2.10% down to 1.85%.

All this said, 86 400 were certainly not alone in making interest rate cuts to savings accounts, with fellow neobank Up and online bank ME also slashing the bonus interest to be earned on their bonus savings accounts. Plus, 86 400’s Save Account is still one of the top bonus savings accounts in the Mozo database.

ME Bank slash home loan rates

But of course, not all cuts following the RBA’s decision have been bad. If you’re searching for a home loan or already have one, then you might have benefited from the cuts to home loan interest rates that numerous lenders have made in the past few weeks.

ME Bank is the latest provider to get on board, cutting its two year fixed rate on the ME Flexible Home Loan (Member Package) down to 2.88% (3.96% comparison rate*). Investors will also benefit from the new  two year fixed rate of 3.18% (4.16% comparison rate*). 

So if you’re looking to take out a home loan or thinking of switching, why not take a look at the deals below or head to Mozo’s home loan comparison page to see what other providers are now offering home loans starting with 2.

*WARNING: This comparison rate applies only to the example or examples given. Different amounts and terms will result in different comparison rates. Costs such as redraw fees or early repayment fees, and cost savings such as fee waivers, are not included in the comparison rate but may influence the cost of the loan. The comparison rate displayed is for a secured loan with monthly principal and interest repayments for $150,000 over 25 years.