fbpx

Heritage Bank Savings Accounts

Compare Heritage Bank savings accounts with Savvy to find the best account for your savings.

Written by 
Savvy Editorial Team
Savvy's content writing team are professionals with a wide and diverse range of industry experience and topic knowledge. We write across a broad spectrum of finance-related topics to provide our readers with informative resources to help them learn more about a certain area or enable them to decide on which product is best for their needs with careful comparison. Meet the team behind the operation here. Visit our authors page to meet Savvy's expert writing team, committed to delivering informative and engaging content to help you make informed financial decisions.
Our authors
, updated on October 4th, 2023       

Fact checked

At Savvy, we are committed to providing accurate information. Our content undergoes a rigorous process of fact-checking before it is published. Learn more about our editorial policy.

Heritage Bank is one of Australia’s oldest financial institutions, being created in 1875 with the establishment of the Toowoomba Permanent Building Society.  After mergers with other building societies, the institution became a bank in 2011 and is now one of the largest customer-owned banks in Australia.   

It offers a wide range of personal banking products including savings accounts, term deposits, credit cards and business and investment banking.  By comparing Heritage Bank savings accounts with Savvy, you can find out how their rates stack up compared to their competitors and find the best place to stash your spare cash.  Start the comparison process today. 

*Please note that Savvy does not represent Heritage Bank for their savings accounts products. All product information and rates are correct as of June, 2022.

Heritage Bank logo

More about Heritage Bank savings accounts

What savings account products does Heritage Bank offer?

Target Bonus Account

This account has no account-keeping or transaction fees, with a base interest rate of 0.01% p.a.  However, this is boosted to 0.45% p.a. with bonus interest if you make a deposit but no withdrawals during the month.  Interest is paid monthly.  It’s also possible for a couple to open a joint Target Bonus savings account.

 Online Saver

The Online Saver account comes with a 0.40% p.a. basic interest rate and a bonus rate of 0.10% p.a. for the first four months of your new account.  After the initial four-month period has ended, your interest returns to the basic 0.40% p.a. rate for the remainder of the life of the account.  However, there aren’t any restrictions or withdrawal limits on this account, unlike the Target Bonus account.

 Christmas Club

The Christmas Club account is an unusual savings account which offers a 0.60% p.a. interest rate, but withdrawals are only permitted from 1 November until 31 January each year.  This means the savings account is locked to withdrawals for the remaining months of the year, February through to October.

The idea of Christmas savings accounts is, of course, to encourage you to make deposits throughout the year whenever you have a little spare cash until it’s nearly time to buy presents.  There are no monthly fees or deposit conditions attached to this account. Such accounts can be a useful way to regularly save towards a Christmas goal throughout the year.  You can use Savvy’s savings goal calculator to work out how much you need to deposit each month to reach your savings goal to buy presents in December.

Term Deposits

Like all of the medium to larger banks, Heritage Bank offers a wide variety of term deposits.  Their minimum deposit amount is $1,000, with terms ranging from one month up to five years.  The interest rates on offer as of June 2022 are as follows:

  • One month: 0.20% p.a.
  • Two months: 0.30% p.a.
  • Three months: 0.35% p.a.
  • Four to eight months: 0.40% p.a.
  • Nine months: 0.90% p.a.
  • Ten and 11 months: 0.40% p.a.
  • 12 months: 1.00% p.a.
  • 24 months: 1.20% p.a.
  • 36 months: 2.00% p.a.
  • 48 months: 2.25% p.a.
  • 60 months: 2.50% p.a.

However, these rates only apply if interest is either paid at the maturity of the term or annually for terms over one year.  If you require your interest to be paid more frequently, there’s a 0.05% p.a. reduction from the advertised interest rate.

Farm Management Deposits

Farm management deposits (FMDs) are an Australian government scheme designed to allow primary producers to deposit funds in a good year interest-free and use those funds to help tide them over the lean years.

Any deposits into a registered farm management deposit scheme up to $800,000 per year reduce the farmer’s taxable income that year on a dollar-for-dollar basis.  These funds can be withdrawn in later years when required and the income tax due on that income can be paid every year, as the money is withdrawn and used in leaner years.

 Heritage Bank offers two FMD savings options:

  • an At Call Savings Account, with a current variable interest rate for up to $50,000 of 0.45% p.a., or 0.50% p.a. for balances over $50,000 up to $800,000, which is the maximum operating balance.
  • a Fixed Term Investment for either 12 or 24 months. The one-year fixed term interest rate is currently 1.00% p.a. and the two-year option has an interest rate of 1.20% p.a.

The eligibility for a FMD is regulated by Federal Government; you have to be a registered primary producer under Australian taxation law.

SMSF Account

ATO-registered self-managed super funds (SMSF) with either a company, individual or trust structure can open a SMSF Account with Heritage Bank. There are no monthly account-keeping fees and interest rates are the same as those offered for an Online Saver account at 0.4% p.a.

How do I open a Heritage Bank account?

Heritage Bank only has branches in Queensland and NSW to visit to open a savings account in person, but its online savings products can be accessed anywhere 24/7.  Its savings account application process is quick and simple and can be completed within about two minutes. It also has a mobile banking app which can be downloaded from your favourite app store.

To open a Heritage Bank savings account, you must:

  • be over 18 years of age
  • be an Australian citizen or resident
  • provide your phone number and residential and email addresses
  • provide 100 points of ID, including ID documents with your signature and photograph

When you’ve followed all the prompts and successfully applied for your account you can start using it immediately.  You’ll also be able to link all your Heritage Bank accounts together to allow seamless transfer between your accounts.

Pros and cons of Heritage Bank savings accounts

PROS

Wide variety of accounts for adults

Heritage Bank offers accounts for a wide variety of different banking needs, from standard savings accounts to those for SMSFs and Farm Management Deposits.

Christmas Club account

This account could encourage those who need a little extra boost in motivation to save up for the expensive Christmas period, with finds being locked away until shortly before Santa season starts.

No fees or charges

Heritage Bank does not charge account-keeping or transactional fees on its savings accounts, so it’s possible to open more than one savings account without being stung by fees. However, the bank does charge $0.25 per SMS alert you choose to program.

CONS

No withdrawals permitted

With the Target Bonus Account, no withdrawals are permitted from the account without loss of interest resulting. This means the account is effectively a ‘locked’ savings account with no access to your money if you wish to retain the bonus interest.

Low term deposit rates

Heritage Bank’s term deposit interest rates don’t shine. For example, it offers 0.4% p.a. for a six-month term deposit, whereas AMP Bank and Macquarie Bank both offer up to 1.9% p.a.

No children’s savings account

There aren’t any dedicated savings accounts for kids (or special terms for those aged over 55). The minimum age limit for online savings accounts is 18 years, meaning you can’t open an account for your kids at all with Heritage Bank.

More savings account reviews

Compare savings accounts today

Compare Australian savings accounts with Savvy and find the right one for your personal needs
Heritage Bank logo

We'd love to chat, how can we help?

By clicking "Submit", you agree to be contacted by a Savvy Agency Owner and to receive communications from Savvy which you can unsubscribe from at any time. Read our Privacy Policy.