Compare bank interest rates in September 2026

Check out current bank interest rates for loans, savings accounts and more. Spoiler alert: the best rates don't always come from the biggest banks.

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Richard Whitten

Edited by

Rebecca Pike

Updated

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Key takeaways

  • The lowest variable home loan rates often come from smaller lenders rather than well-known Big Four banks.
  • You can maximise savings with high interest rates on offer, but check conditions like age or deposit requirements; around 70% of bonus account interest isn't paid every year due to ineligibility.
  • Term deposits offer competitive rates, varying by provider, but keep in mind your money is locked away for a set period.

The Reserve Bank of Australia increased the official cash twice in the first half of 2026, taking it to 4.35%, and has held it there since. Home loan interest rates and savings accounts rates are going up in line with these changes.

Interest rates at a glance: September 2026

  • Home loan rates. The lowest variable owner-occupier interest rate in Finder's database in September 2026 is 5.69%.
  • High interest savings accounts. You can earn as much as 6% interest (as part of a limited time, introductory offer).
  • Term deposits. The top term deposit rates are currently around 3.8% to 5.15% for 6 month rates.
  • Cash rate. The official cash rate, set by the RBA, is 4.35%. The central bank last met on 12 August 2026 and held the rate steady.

Bank home loan rates

Home loan interest rates from the Big Four Banks

Australia's Big Four banks are the Commonwealth Bank, NAB, Westpac and ANZ. Together these big institutions dominate the market for loans, savings accounts and other consumer finance products.

Which banks offer the lowest home loan rates?

The lowest home loan rates on the market typically come from smaller online lenders or customer-owned institutions like credit unions.

But the Big Four banks are not that far behind, and sometimes have rates that are almost as competitive.

Here's a graph charting the lowest rates for different loan types each month.

Finder's lowest home loan rates

A graph showing 4 lines, for fixed and variable interest rates for investor and owner-occupier loans.

Finder's lowest home loan rates
MonthVariable (owner occupier)Fixed (owner occupier)Variable (investment)Fixed (investment)
May-20183.49%3.69%3.79%3.89%
Jun-20183.52%3.69%3.79%3.89%
Jul-20183.49%3.69%3.79%3.89%
Aug-20183.54%3.74%3.93%3.84%
Sep-20183.49%3.74%3.89%3.84%
Oct-20183.54%3.74%3.79%3.84%
Nov-20183.54%3.74%3.79%3.84%
Dec-20183.49%3.69%3.74%3.84%
Jan-20193.49%3.74%3.74%3.89%
Feb-20193.49%3.74%3.74%3.84%
Mar-20193.49%3.74%3.74%3.84%
Apr-20193.48%3.74%3.91%3.84%
May-20193.48%3.59%3.74%3.69%
Jun-20193.24%3.39%3.69%3.69%
Jul-20192.89%3.19%3.49%3.39%
Aug-20192.89%2.98%3.29%3.09%
Sep-20192.89%2.74%3.19%3.00%
Oct-20192.69%2.74%2.99%3.00%
Nov-20192.69%2.68%2.99%2.84%
Dec-20192.69%2.68%2.99%2.84%
Jan-20202.69%2.68%2.99%2.84%
Feb-20202.69%2.68%2.99%2.84%
Mar-20202.49%2.68%2.79%2.84%
Apr-20202.44%2.09%2.79%2.39%
May-20202.39%2.09%2.79%2.29%
Jun-20202.39%2.09%2.79%2.34%
Jul-20202.19%1.99%2.79%2.34%
Aug-20201.99%1.99%2.74%2.29%
Sep-20201.99%1.98%2.59%2.29%
Oct-20201.99%1.90%2.59%2.29%
Nov-20201.99%1.98%2.64%2.29%
Dec-20201.99%1.89%2.33%1.99%
Jan-20211.99%1.88%2.33%1.99%
Feb-20211.99%1.88%2.33%1.99%
Mar-20211.99%1.69%2.33%1.99%
Apr-20211.95%1.69%2.24%1.99%
May-20211.95%1.69%2.24%1.99%
Jun-20211.90%1.67%2.24%1.99%
Jul-20211.89%1.67%2.24%1.89%
Aug-20211.89%1.69%2.32%1.99%
Sep-20211.85%1.69%2.32%1.99%
Oct-20211.85%1.59%2.24%1.89%
Nov-20211.85%1.59%2.24%1.89%
Dec-20211.77%1.59%2.24%1.89%
Jan-20221.85%1.79%2.17%2.14%
Feb-20221.77%1.79%2.14%1.99%
Mar-20221.77%1.84%1.99%1.99%
Apr-20221.79%1.84%1.99%1.99%
May-20221.79%1.84%2.14%2.39%
Jun-20222.04%2.09%2.39%2.69%
Jul-20222.44%2.59%2.79%3.59%
Aug-20223.05%3.59%3.24%3.99%
Sep-20223.14%3.99%3.59%4.29%
Oct-20223.54%4.19%3.84%4.19%
Nov-20223.44%4.49%4.19%4.59%
Dec-20224.29%4.60%4.57%4.84%
Jan-20234.29%4.64%4.59%4.79%
Feb-20234.39%4.94%4.64%5.09%
Mar-20234.64%4.99%4.97%5.19%
Apr-20234.64%4.99%5.14%4.99%
May-20234.64%4.99%5.14%4.99%
Jun-20235.34%5.24%5.29%5.44%
Jul-20235.39%5.23%5.89%5.56%
Aug-20235.39%5.23%5.79%5.53%
Sep-20235.39%5.48%5.79%5.54%
Oct-20235.39%5.48%5.74%5.56%
Nov-20235.59%5.48%5.74%5.56%
Dec-20235.74%5.48%5.69%5.58%
Jan-20245.69%5.48%5.69%5.58%
Feb-20245.69%5.48%5.69%5.58%
Mar-20245.69%5.48%5.69%5.58%
Apr-20245.69%5.48%5.94%5.58%
May-20245.69%5.48%5.94%5.58%
Jun-20245.69%5.48%5.94%5.58%
Jul-20245.69%5.48%5.94%5.58%
Aug-20245.69%5.59%5.94%5.69%
Sep-20245.69%5.59%5.94%5.69%
Oct-20245.69%4.99%5.94%4.99%
Nov-20245.69%4.99%5.94%4.99%
Dec-20245.69%4.99%5.94%4.99%
Jan-20255.69%4.99%5.94%4.99%
Feb-20255.38%4.99%5.54%4.99%
Mar-20255.44%4.99%5.84%5.29%
Apr-20255.64%4.99%5.79%5.29%
May-20255.59%4.99%5.79%4.99%
Jun-20255.34%4.99%5.59%4.99%
Jul-20255.34%4.99%5.59%4.99%
Aug-20255.34%4.94%5.59%4.99%
Sep-20255.09%4.64%5.34%4.89%
Oct-20254.99%4.64%5.34%4.69%
Nov-20254.99%4.64%4.99%4.69%
Dec-20254.99%4.64%5.34%4.74%
Jan-20264.99%4.79%5.29%4.99%
Feb-20264.99%4.94%5.29%4.99%
Mar-20265.10%5.20%5.35%5.20%
Apr-20265.19%5.49%5.35%5.59%
May-20265.35%5.70%5.60%5.70%
Jun-20265.69%5.99%5.85%5.99%
Jul-20265.14%5.99%5.85%5.99%
Aug-20265.69%5.99%5.85%5.99%
Sep-20265.69%5.79%5.94%5.89%
Source: Finder

And here's how big the difference is between the average interest rates on the market and the lowest rates available on Finder.

Average Australian interest rates versus the market's lowest rates

Australian interest rates Sep 2026Data
Average variable mortgage interest rate6.90%
Lowest variable rate available on Finder*5.69%
Average fixed mortgage inter

est rate

6.69%
Lowest fixed rate available on Finder*5.79%

*The lowest rates are from Finder's database of loans with at least 80% LVR.

Bank savings account rates

Interest rates on savings accounts are still fairly competitive compared to a few years ago. But as the cash rate has risen through 2026 these rates have started climbing too.

Which banks offer the highest savings account interest rates?

For high interest savings accounts, the Big Four tend to be less competitive than the highest rates on the market. And the highest rates from other banks tend to be limited to borrowers under 35 years of age and require you to deposit a certain amount each month.

Top 5 savings account rates

Maximum Variable Rate p.a.
Ubank Save5.85% p.a. (4 month offer)
Rabobank High Interest Savings Account5.90% p.a. (4 month offer)
Westpac Life (18-29 year olds)5.75% p.a.
ING Savings Accelerator4.80% p.a. (4 month offer)
Bankwest Easy Saver5.75% p.a.

Bank term deposit rates

Term deposits are a safe way to lock up some of your cash for a certain period of time and earn a relatively high rate.

As with savings accounts, these rates fall when the cash rate falls.

The term deposit rate you can get depends on:

  • Which bank you choose. Term deposit rates vary widely between banks.
  • How long you lock your money up for. Longer terms have higher rates.
  • How much you put in the term deposit. You get a bigger return on a larger amount of money.

Compare term deposit rates

4 of 136 results
Checked 22 September 2026
Finder Score 3 Mths p.a. 6 Mths p.a. 10 Mths p.a. 12 Mths p.a. 24 Mths p.a.
8.6 Great
3 Mths p.a.
4.50%
6 Mths p.a.
5.10%
10 Mths p.a.
3.60%
12 Mths p.a.
5.25%
24 Mths p.a.
4.25%
Lock in a rate as high as 5.1% for 6 months with a minimum $1,000 deposit.
Go to siteView details
Compare product selection
AMP Bank Go logo
9.3 Excellent
AMP Bank GO Term Deposit
$5,000 min. deposit
$10,000,000 max. deposit
9.3 Excellent
3 Mths p.a.
-
6 Mths p.a.
5.05%
10 Mths p.a.
-
12 Mths p.a.
5.30%
24 Mths p.a.
-
View details
Compare product selection
Unity Bank logo
9.6 Excellent
Unity Bank Term Deposit Accounts
$1,000 min. deposit
9.6 Excellent
3 Mths p.a.
4.95%
6 Mths p.a.
5.15%
10 Mths p.a.
-
12 Mths p.a.
5.30%
24 Mths p.a.
5.55%
View details
Compare product selection
Judo Bank logo
9.7 Excellent
Judo Bank Term Deposit
Finder Award
$1,000 min. deposit
$2,000,000 max. deposit
9.7 Excellent
3 Mths p.a.
4.90%
6 Mths p.a.
4.95%
10 Mths p.a.
5.05%
12 Mths p.a.
5.45%
24 Mths p.a.
5.45%
You can get competitive interest rates on all term lengths. This term deposit has a low minimum deposit amount and is a 2026 Finder Award winner.
View details
Compare product selection
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Showing 4 of 136 results

Finder Score for term deposits

Finder Score assigns Term Deposit products a score out of 10, comparing interest rates and features, to make comparison easier. We assess over 150 products from more than 90 providers, assessing products across different terms to determine an average score per product.

Read the full methodology

How do interest rates impact me financially?

The interest rate on a financial product determines how much interest is charged or generated on an amount of money.

📌 For borrowers a higher interest rate means you're charged more for the money you borrow. A lower rate makes money cheaper to borrow.

📌 For savers, a higher interest rate means you can earn more interest on the money you've saved. A lower rate means you earn less interest.

Here are some simple examples:

Home loan repayments

  • You borrow $600,000 over 30 years to buy a house. Your loan's interest rate is 6.00%.
  • Your monthly repayments = $3,598.

This includes the interest charged, plus some of the loan principal.

Now if your rate increased to 6.50%, your monthly repayments would rise to $3,793.

Savings account interest

  • You put $10,000 into a savings account with an interest rate of 4.5%.
  • You leave the money in the account for 3 years and add an extra $100 a month to your savings.
  • After 3 years you'll have $15,289 in the account, earning $1,689 in interest

Use one of Finder's calculators to work out how interest rates affect your loans and savings.

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Our expert says: What's going to happen with interest rates?

"Most bank interest rates are determined by the official cash rate target and other factors. When the cash rate goes up, borrowers get charged more interest and savers earn more on their cash. When it falls, the opposite happens. The last couple of years have seen rates rise fast to combat rising inflation. Inflation remains stubbornly high, so the cash rate is likely to stay high, too. "

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Senior Money Editor

How the RBA cash rate affects bank interest rates

The Reserve Bank of Australia is the nation's central bank. One of the RBA's main roles is to conduct monetary policy, which includes influencing interest rates.

The RBA sets the official cash rate target, or the cash rate, which is an interest rate target that affects the cost of banks borrowing money from each other at short notice. This rate in turn affects interest rates on variable rate home loans and savings accounts.

🔼 When the cash rate rises

An increase to the cash rate means higher rates for Australian consumers. This means they can earn more through savings accounts and term deposits. But it means their home loan repayments get more expensive.

🔽 When the cash rate falls

A cut to the cash rate makes borrowing cheaper. It can mean lower repayments for borrowers with home loans. But it means your savings account interest rate will be lower too.

More helpful interest rate guides

Frequently asked questions

Sources

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To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Rebecca Pike as part of our fact-checking process.
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Senior Money Editor
Add to Preferred Sources

Richard Whitten is Finder’s Senior Money Editor, with over eight years of experience in home loans, property, credit cards and personal finance. His insights appear in top media outlets like Yahoo Finance, Money Magazine, and the Herald Sun, and he frequently offers expert commentary on television and radio, helping Australians navigate mortgages and property ownership. Richard started his career in education and textbook publishing in South Korea. He holds multiple industry certifications, including a Certificate IV in Mortgage Broking (RG 206) and Tier 1 and Tier 2 certifications (RG 146), as well as a Bachelor of Education from the University of Sydney and a Graduate Certificate in Communications from Deakin University. See full bio

Richard's expertise
Richard has written 794 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Home loans
  • Credit cards
  • Personal finance
  • Money-saving tips
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