Australians are missing out on more than $4 billion in unpaid interest annually by placing their money in low-interest bearing accounts, according to new data released today.

Research conducted by TNS, commissioned by RaboDirect, the online savings and investments bank, shows the figure could be as high as $6 billion.

RaboDirect general manager Greg McAweeney says the $4 billion plus in lost savings is the potential money Australians could have made if they had their surplus savings in a high interest account. Instead, many people’s savings are sitting in their everyday transaction accounts.

According to Mr McAweeney, the issue fundamentally comes down to a lack of transparency amongst many banking products. “Customers every day are at risk of being misled with ‘savings’ labels that are applied to products which are simply zero or low-interest everyday transaction accounts,” he said.

“There are a number of examples of transaction accounts being dressed up and sold as ’savings’ accounts. But the problem isn’t just with product names. Think about electronic transactions – they are everywhere and consumers are asked to choose ‘savings, credit or cheque’ as their options for payment.

“This language is misleading. It promotes the belief that all non-cheque accounts are savings accounts, when in fact, that is incorrect! Only true savings accounts, that offer high interest rates, should be referred to as ‘savings‘ accounts. And you normally can’t access these accounts through an ATM.

“We realise that the fault doesn’t only lie with the major banks, although they can and should do more to alert their customers to the difference between high and low interest accounts. Aussies need to demand ‘true to label’ banking products and better service from banks.”