Australia's best savings accounts revealed

Do you still keep your rainy day fund in a jar under the bed? You could be missing out on tonnes of perks and some great returns on your money by not parking it in a competitive savings account.

But which account? How do you choose? Well, at Mozo, our experts have taken the head scratching out of savings, by rating and crowning Australia’s best in the Mozo Experts Choice Deposit Awards.

We’re seeing a trend this year toward small providers, with none of the big four banks appearing in our top picks. So if you’re looking for a great rate to plump up your stash, it may be time to look further afield and try an online bank or a smaller credit union.

To qualify for the experts choice award for personal savings accounts, the account listed must be available to adults, have no monthly service fee or notice period to withdraw funds, allow free, unlimited online transactions and if you require a linked transaction account, it should be able to be an account at any banking institution.

With all this in mind, our experts analysed each entry, and here’s what they came up with. Drum roll please…

Savings Bank of the Year - ME

Congratulations to ME Bank, who took out the title this year with the most award winning products across the categories of best value base rate, best value introductory rate and best value ongoing bonus rate, in personal and kids savings accounts, term deposits and bank accounts.

Take a look at some of our other gold medalists for personal savings accounts:

Best value savings accounts - base rate

• Police Bank Online SuperSaver

• ING Direct Savings Maximiser

• Bank of Sydney SuperRate Account

Best value savings account - introductory rate

• RaboDirect High Interest Savings Account

• AMP Saver Account

Best value savings account - ongoing bonus rate

• Bankwest Hero Saver

• ME Online Savings Account

• UBank USaver with Ultra Transaction Account

Kids savings accounts - best ongoing bonus rate

• Greater Building Society Life Saver

• Hume Bank Clancy Koala Junior Saver

• BCU Scoot’s Super Saver

To see the full list of winners in all categories, head on over to our Experts Choice Deposits Awards page.

Finding the best savings account

Thinking about stashing your cash in one of these award winning savings accounts? Great! But remember that every account has its pros and cons, and you need to put some time into working out which one’s your perfect match. So, here are some things to think about when choosing a savings account:

1. Look at your interest rate. The higher the interest rate, the harder your savings are working for you. Keep an eye on interest rates in the market, and if your account isn’t measuring up, it might be time for a switch.

2. Set up automatic deposits. Make it easy on yourself by setting up an automatic payment into your savings account each time your pay cheque comes in. This is a great way to make sure you’re keeping up with the conditions of ongoing bonus rates.

3. Consider your savings goals. If you’re saving up to buy a new laptop or pay for an Easter break vacay in the next few months, a great introductory rate might give your savings the boost they need. On the other hand, if you’re in it for the long haul and have your eyes set on saving for your home deposit or going on a great adventure overseas at the end of the year, a competitive ongoing rate might be more your style.