Compare savings and notice-saver accounts
Base rate, bonus rate and the condition that unlocks the bonus are separate columns and are never blended. A total achievable rate is carried only where the issuer publishes one as a single figure. Notice savers state both notice terms and both rates. 18 savings and notice-saver accounts from 9 issuers.
Read from each issuer's own pages · The oldest figure here was read 17 days ago.The oldest figure here was read 17 days ago. Providers change fees without telling us, so check the provider's page, linked on every row, before acting on it.How we compare 18 of 18 accounts
Not checked: we have not read this figure yet. None: the issuer publishes that there is no such fee. Not published: the issuer does not publish this figure. Not offered: the provider does not offer that market or product. * Details and conditions are in the expanded row.
How to choose a savings account
A savings account can advertise more than one rate, and only one of them is paid without a condition. The base rate is what the account pays on its own. A bonus rate is added only while the condition in the next column holds. Where the issuer publishes a single total, it is carried in the total column; where it does not, the row says so, and we never add the base and the bonus ourselves.
A notice saver is a different shape. The rate is set by the notice period chosen for each withdrawal, so a row carries both terms and both rates rather than one blended number. The money is not locked away, but taking it sooner than the notice allows is a separate transaction with its own terms.
Three things a rate column hides
The advertised rate is the bonus rate
Serious Saver (No withdrawals; deposit $20 or more) and Savings Plus Monthly (No withdrawal, or one on day one) both pay a 2.00% bonus. That account's base rate is 0.05% p.a., which is what it pays otherwise.
The base rate can sit far below the bonus
Across the 4 accounts here that carry a bonus, the gap between the base rate and the bonus reaches 1.95 percentage points. A headline rate is the top of that range, not the rate the account pays by default.
A notice saver's rate depends on the notice you give
3 accounts here set the rate by the notice period. On 32 days' notice the same list pays from 2.20% p.a., and on 90 days up to 3.25%. A rate that carries two notice terms is two rates, and the row keeps them apart.
Common questions
What is the difference between a base rate and a bonus rate?
The base rate is paid whatever you do. The bonus rate is paid on top only while the condition beside it holds, and the condition can be a deposit, a balance that rises, or a limit on withdrawals. The two are never blended into one figure.
Where do these numbers come from?
Each issuer's own published pages. We copy the figure, record the date, and show that date at the top of the table.
Does paying you move an account up the table?
No. Nothing on this page is paid for, and the order is whichever column you sorted on.
Is this every savings account in New Zealand?
No. It is every account we track, and the count is stated above the table. Accounts closed to new customers are excluded, and if one is missing, tell us and we will add it.
Run the numbers
Compound interest calculator
Enter a base or a bonus rate and see what it pays over a year.