ALMOST a quarter of deposits made to Australian banks go into online accounts with no help from staff, a study said.

The study conducted by MISC for an association of banks with high-interest online accounts showed there were 2.4 million online banking accounts at the end of June — a 25 per cent jump since December.

Online accounts held 22 per cent of bank deposits, based on data from banks with online and traditional accounts.

The Australian Consumers' Association last year compared online accounts for a report in its Choice magazine, and still provides an online account savings calculator for its members.

Association spokeswoman Indira Naidoo said interest rate rises spurred members to investigate online accounts.

"What we do tend to find is when interest rates go up that there is more interest on our website generally for people looking how to save, and we do recommend that they look at cheaper bank accounts and credit cards," she said.

While interest rate rises cost those with variable-rate mortgages more, they also made savings more attractive.

Most institutions now have online savings accounts. In December 1995, Advance Bank using software from Australian developer Techway was the first Australian bank to offer online accounts. Many banks now offer online accounts for small businesses, the report found.