Low-fee savings accounts essential to combat excessive banking fees

Progressive think-tank Per Capita has called on Julia Gillard to make low-cost no-frills savings and transactions accounts available through the Reserve Bank.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Per Capita urges the Government to reduce the high fee burden placed on many Australians by their financial institution.

Per Capita executive director David Hetherington says “In the same way that a low cost default superannuation account would raise the average retirement savings of Australians by around $40,000, a low-cost savings account could further increase valuable savings, instead of passing hard earned dollars to already very profitable banking institutions.”

Australia still has some way to go when compared to the UK and US, where most consumers would not expect to pay for account keeping,

The low-cost no-frills account proposal is part of a series of market design recommendations put to the Prime Minister to strengthen Australia and its future.

To read the whole letter to the PM, click here.