Real Time Ratings^TM is a world-first rating system that ranks bank accounts based on features, perks and fees.

Unlike other bank accounts rating systems that grade their products once or twice a year, Real Time Ratings^TM results are calculated daily to capture product developments and specials as soon as they happen.

Bank accounts may be simple but choosing the right one for your needs can get tricky and time consuming. Real Time Ratings^TM does the work for you, so you have the most up-to-date information at your disposal.

Each bank account displayed on RateCity’s bank account comparison table has been assessed using an algorithm that compares the features (including some common fees) of all bank accounts considered relative to its peers. As most bank accounts designed for everyday transacting don’t include interest rates, they are not considered in this assessment.

The Real Time Rating of each bank account is equal to the the Flexibility Score achieved by the product, or simply:

Real Time RatingTM = Flexibility Score

Real Time RatingsTM uses discrete scoring (i.e. having a specific feature is worth a specific number of points) and the overall Flexibility Score is based on the aggregated total of all points scored across all features assessed.

The percentage of available points listed below are based on the total number of points achievable for each category as a percentage of the maximum possible number of points achievable in the Flexibility Score. Percentages have been rounded to assist with interpretation of the methodology.

The flexibility points scored by a product is then converted into the Flexibility Score using the following steps:

• Adding up all the flexibility points for each bank account being evaluated.
• All bank accounts are ranked based on their total flexibility points. This ranking is then changed into a percentile score. For example, the top 1% of accounts (those with the most flexibility points) are given a 99th percentile ranking.
• Each product is then given a score that fits a normal distribution. This score is based on where it sits within the distribution of all the products, considering that the 'average' product scores a 3 and with variability around that average.
• Finally, scores that naturally fall above 5 based on the distribution are adjusted to be capped at a maximum of 5.

This Flexibility Score out of 5 is then displayed as the Real Time RatingTM for the product in the comparison table for Bank Accounts.

Real Time RatingsTM are calculated on an hourly basis based on the information that is available in the RateCity database..

Does RateCity rate all products available in the market?

We endeavour to include the majority of product providers in the market and to compare the product features most relevant to consumers in our Real Time RatingsTM. However, this process is not always possible and it may be that not every product in the market is included in the rating nor every feature compared that is relevant to you.