(28 May 2012 – Australia) Westpac subsidiary, mortgage lender RAMS has launched an online savings account.The home loan specialist said it would offer online savings accounts to new customers in a move that would help provide funding for its mortgage business.
It comes three weeks after Westpac chief Gail Kelly said the group would push more assertively into the deposit market, describing it as a ‘war zone’.
RAMS chief Melos Sulicich said the initiative was in response to customer requests to improve its services.
‘We have listened to our customers, who have told us online savings accounts, transaction accounts and offset accounts are a big priority to help them to save money and pay off their home loan faster,’ Sulicich said.
The savings accounts are expected to attract first-home buyers and others saving for a mortgage deposit, who could then become borrowers.
Sulicich said about 70 percent of RAMS home loans were generated online, with more and more Australians conducting financial transactions on the internet.