Rental prices through the roof, cash no longer king & Amaysim lockdown deal: This week’s best banking news

Rental prices through the roof, cash no longer king & Amaysim lockdown deal: This week’s best banking news
  • Big banks expand COVID support during 2021 lockdowns
  • Rental prices through the roof
  • Digital homelife dictates Australian energy use
  • Cash is no longer king
  • Get 200GB of mobile data for $20 with Amaysim’s lockdown deal
  • Tic:Toc leads the way with investor mortgage rates

All in this week’s best banking news recap: editor’s pick.

Big banks expand COVID support during 2021 lockdowns

This week we’ve seen many Aussie banks starting to roll out new support options for customers affected by the latest COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.

As Australian Banking Association (ABA) chief executive Anna Bligh put it, “customers can rest assured that their bank will have their back” throughout this challenging time.

The organisation has compiled a list of recommended assistance measures that Aussie banks can choose to offer to their customers. These include mortgage holidays, account fee waivers and business banking loan repayment deferrals.

Read full article: CommBank, Westpac, ANZ & NAB expand COVID support during 2021 lockdowns to get a rundown on all the latest big bank COVID support options.

Rental prices through the roof

CoreLogic’s Rental Review for the June 2021 quarter has revealed that over the past year (up to June), rental prices have gone up by a whopping 6.6% - the highest growth rate since January 2009.

The growth follows a dip in rental performance during the 2010s, said CoreLogic’s head of research in Australia, Eliza Owens. 

Factors that may have contributed to the rent rise include “increased government stimulus through COVID-19, accumulated household savings through lockdown periods, the swift economic recovery seen as restrictions eased.” 

Not to mention the “lack of rental supply in some markets”, which has “also exacerbated rental price increases, particularly in major centres of regional Australia,” says Owens. 

Read the full article: Rental prices rise at highest rate since 2009, says CoreLogic to get the full story.

Digital homelife dictates Australian energy use

How your digital homelife dictates your energy use

With the progression of new technology and a global pandemic, it seems that the traditional role of the home has evolved almost overnight. 

What was once a haven after a busy day at the office has now become the office. Until 5pm, that is, at which point it turns into a fully-fledged digital entertainment hub/virtual social meetup point. 

Which begs the question: How does your digital homelife dictate your energy use? Apparently, quite a bit, according to Monash University’s recent Future Home Life report.

Read the full article: How your digital homelife dictates your energy use to learn more.

Cash is no longer king

It appears that cash has been dethroned, with numerous countries around the globe interested in establishing a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

This likely comes following the natural rise in digital payments over the past few years, as well as the decline in cash throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read the full article: What is CBDC and why are countries considering it now? to find out more.

Get 200GB of mobile data for $20 with Amaysim’s lockdown deal

Amaysim lockdown deal- 200GB of mobile data for $20

In light of the lockdowns, telco Amaysim is offering an exciting new offer to both new and existing customers. 

With Amaysim’s $50 plan, you can score a massive 120GB worth of extra data (on top of the standard 80GB) for just $20 up until the 31st of July 2021 (for the first renewal). That’s 200GB of mobile data!

The renewal period for this plan is 28 days. After the first renewal, it reverts to the usual $50 for 80GB. However, it’s a no-contract plan, so you can cancel or swap to a cheaper plan at any time.

Read the full article: Amaysim lockdown deal: 200GB of mobile data for $20 to get all the details.

Tic:Toc leads the way investor mortgage rates

Investor home loan rates are lower than they’ve been in years, and it’s the online lenders that are driving them down.

Aussie fintech Tic:Toc currently offers the lowest variable rates (at 80% LVR) for both owner-occupiers and investors in the Mozo database with its Variable Home Loan offer.

“By comparison, the average Big Four variable rate for an investor is currently 4.01% - a whopping 182 basis points above the Tic:Toc rate,” said Mozo Money Writer, Tom Watson.

Read the full article: Tic:Toc leads online lender charge on investor mortgage rates to get the full scoop.

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