NAB says 3 in 4 home loan customers use offset accounts

Keeping money in an offset can cut around $74,000 in interest, the bank noted.

Nearly 3 in 4 of National Australia Bank’s (NAB) home loan customers now have an offset account, with the goal of cutting down on the interest they pay, the bank said.

On a $500,000 loan with a 5.42% interest rate to be paid over 30 years, keeping money in an offset account could cut around $74,000 in interest paid, NAB noted in an online post.

Offset account use is strongest across eastern Australia states, with New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland both at 77%, and Victoria at 68%.

The number of offset accounts held by customers under 35 has nearly doubled, rising 98% compared to a year earlier.

Homeowners aged 40 to 60 remained the biggest users of offset accounts, NAB said.

Around half of NAB customers with offset accounts have up to $20,000 set aside.