On Thursday Judo Bank boosted its one-year term deposit rate by 20 basis points to 4.10% p.a. making it the market leader.
On Wednesday afternoon, Bank of Queensland announced it would lift its under-35s savings account by 10 basis points to 4.10% p.a. effective Thursday.
This was in response to the Reserve Bank's cash rate increase, but was less than the 25 basis point movement.
This makes it the top savings account rate in InfoChoice's database, but there are a few hoops to jump through to get there.
Savers must be aged 14-35, and each month must deposit $1,000 in the linked transaction account and make five settled card transactions with the transaction account.
The 4.10% p.a. rate only applies to balances up to $50,000 - amounts over this get 2.50% p.a.
There are now five savings accounts with rates 4.00% p.a. or higher, while there are three one-year term deposit rates starting with a 4.
Savings account rates from banks such as Bank of Queensland, ING, RaboBank, Macquarie, and Australian Mutual Bank have all breached the 4% barrier.
This is contrasted with the one-year term deposit space, where Community First, People's Choice, and now Judo Bank have broken the barrier.
The difference is that with all of these savings accounts there are a few considerations such as deposit limits, age limits, transaction requirements, and honeymoon periods with which to contend.
With term deposits, users lock their cash away for a year and can't touch it, but can 'set and forget'.
There are usually interest rate sacrifices and penalties associated with withdrawing from a term deposit early.
Term deposit interest also doesn't compound, and the top rates are usually only paid at maturity, with some interest rate reductions should savers opt for interest payable monthly, quarterly, or every six months.
As the interest rate on a term deposit is fixed, locking your funds in a term deposit is essentially a bet that interest rates won't rise further.
4% Savings Account Rates
| Bank | % Rate Per Annum | Conditions |
| BOQ | 4.10 | Ages 14-35, max balance $50k, deposit $1,000/mo, 5 card transactions |
| ING | 4.05 | Max balance $100k, deposit $1,000/mo, 5 card transactions, higher balance at end of month |
| RaboBank | 4.00 | 4 month intro rate, reverts to 2.75% p.a. max balance $250k |
| Macquarie | 4.00 | 4 month intro rate, reverts to 3.20% p.a. max balance $250k |
| Australian Mutual Bank | 4.00 | Ages 0-18, max balance $5k |
4% One-Year Term Deposit Rates
| Bank | % Rate Per Annum | Min Deposit |
| Judo Bank | 4.10 | $1,000 |
| Community First | 4.00 | $50,000 |
| People's Choice | 4.00 | $5,000 |
