Joint savings accounts

What is a joint savings account?

A joint savings account is just a standard savings account that can be opened by more than one person. This means you will both be named on the account and have equal access to the account.

Joint accounts are often used by couples as a way to manage joint savings. For example, you and your partner might be saving towards a house deposit, wedding or simply saving for the future. Finder research found almost 80% of couples have their finances at least somewhat joined together.

"The best thing my partner and I did was open a joint savings account. This way, we can take turns managing our savings, and only one person needs to worry about where the money is being kept to earn the highest return."

Graham Cooke

Head of consumer research

How does a joint savings account work?

When you open a joint savings account with another person you'll both be named as account holders. This means you'll both have equal access to the account and you'll both be able to make deposits and withdrawals. You need to make sure you only open a joint savings account with someone you know very well and trust.

You can both transfer money into the joint savings account from your existing everyday bank account whenever you want to online. If you've got a specific savings goal you're aiming for, you might find that setting up regular, automatic transfers into the savings account can help you stick to your goal.

Savings accounts don't come with debit card access, so you'll usually need to link the account to a transaction account with the same bank. To withdraw cash from the account you'll need to transfer it into your transaction account first via mobile banking or Internet banking, then you can withdraw the money from an ATM. This is the same for any standard savings account, not just a joint savings account.

What's the best joint savings account?

The best joint savings account will depend on if you and the person you're sharing the account with are willing to meet an ongoing monthly deposit condition, or not. Here are a couple of options.

Best joint account if you're able to deposit money monthly

Ubank High Interest Save Account

Go to site Read our review

What we like about Ubank High Interest Save Account:

This account has a Finder Score of 9.7.

• High ongoing rate. Ubank has a very high ongoing variable interest rate of 5.5% p.a.
• Simple conditions. To get the maximum variable rate on this account each month you only need to deposit $500 between all account holders. That's a simpler requirement than most high interest savings accounts.
• Interest on balances up to $100,000. You can earn the maximum variable rate on balances up to $100,000.

Best joint account if you don't want any conditions to meet

Macquarie Savings Account

Go to site Read our review

What we like about Macquarie Savings Account:

This account has a Finder Score of 9.18.

• Great intro rate. This account offers a high rate of 5.35% p.a. for the first 4 months after opening the account.
• No conditions for bonus interest. You don't need to meet any monthly deposit conditions or spend requirements to earn the bonus intro rate.
• No ongoing conditions. After the 4-month intro period ends, you'll still earn an ongoing variable rate of 5% p.a. with no conditions to meet.

Do you need to be married to open a joint savings account?

No, you don't need to be married to open a joint savings account. In fact, you don't even need to be in any formally recognised relationship at all.

You and a friend might be saving for a holiday together and find a joint savings account is a good way to track your progress and motivate each other to stay accountable. Or, you might be saving for something with a sibling and find that having one account to pool your money is more effective.

Do I need a joint savings account or joint bank account?

A joint savings account is different to a joint bank account.

A joint bank account is an everyday transaction account that you can use to make purchases with the linked debit card or online, or withdraw cash from an ATM. If you open a joint bank account with another person, you'll both have access to the money in the account and can make purchases from the account with your own debit card. A joint bank account is a good way to manage shared expenses like groceries, bills, rent or other regular costs you have together.

In comparison, a joint savings account is a good way to work together on a shared savings goal. It's not an account for day-to-day spending or regular purchases and doesn't have debit card access. Because it's designed to help you save money, not spend money, you'll also earn some interest on the money in your joint savings account. A joint bank account doesn't pay any interest on your balance.

Meeting the account conditions on a joint savings account

Savings accounts often come with account conditions in order to earn bonus interest, such as depositing a certain amount of money into the account each month. If you have a joint savings account, you only need to meet the account conditions one time for the account.

For example, let's say your joint savings account had the following account conditions to be eligible for bonus interest:

• You must deposit $250 a month into the account
• You must make five debit card purchases from the linked bank account with the same bank
• You can't make any withdrawals from the account during the month

This means you need to ensure that $250 is deposited into the joint savings account each month – not $250 per account holder. You might choose to split this up so you're each depositing half.

For the monthly spend condition, again, this means you need to make five debit card purchases from the everyday bank account that's linked to your joint savings account. You don't need to make five transactions each. This transaction account might also be a joint account in both your names or it might just be in one of your names.

If there's a withdrawal restriction, this applies to both account holders. So if you don't make a withdrawal during the month but the other account holder does, you won't have met this account condition and won't be eligible for bonus interest that month.

Pros and cons of a joint savings account

Pros

• Earn more interest. With multiple people adding money to the account you'll have a larger balance to earn interest on, meaning your savings will grow faster.
• Easier to meet deposit conditions. If the account has a monthly deposit condition it'll be easier to meet if it's split between 2 or more people.
• Motivation. Sharing the account with someone else can keep you motivated and on track to your savings goal. Plus, it'll keep you accountable too.
• Easy visibility. If you're sharing an account with a partner, it can make managing your finances a lot easier as you're not having to manage multiple accounts.

Cons

• Less privacy. You'll both be able to see if the other person spends money, how much they're spending and where.
• Maximum balance limit. Many accounts will only pay bonus interest up to a maximum blalance amount, which you may reach more quickly.
• The other person may withdraw money. Your co-owner is able to withdraw money even if you don't consent. Some accounts allow you to require both parties to sign on withdrawals.

How to open a joint savings account

Follow these steps to open an account:

1. Compare joint savings accounts. Use our comparison table above to compare a range of joint savings accounts. If you find one that's right for you, click the "Go to site" button where you can complete the online application process.
2. Complete the online application. Select the joint account option when beginning the application and provide names and personal details of both account holders. You might need to provide details of your linked bank account if you're already a customer of that bank.
3. Verify your identities. You'll both need to verify your identity using a driver's licence, passport or Medicare card.
4. Select how many debit cards you need. You'll often get a new bank account with the same bank at the same time that you open a savings account. This is so you can access the money in your savings account, as savings accounts don't come with debit card access. You can request both account holders to receive their own debit card this during the application process, if you'd like one each. When your account is approved, you'll each receive a debit card in the mail.

Written by

Alison Banney

Editor

Alison Banney is the money editorial manager at Finder. She covers all areas of personal finance, and her areas of expertise are superannuation, banking and saving. She has written about finance for 10 years, having previously worked at Westpac and written for several other major banks and super funds. See full bio

Alison's expertise

Alison has written 625 Finder guides across topics including:

• Superannuation
• Savings accounts, bank accounts and term deposits
• Budgeting and money-saving hacks
• Managing the cost of living