Saving money is back in fashion, and banks are taking notice.

Since consumers are receiving little in the way of interest on their deposits and have become more conscious of meeting financial goals, banks are changing their tactics. Some, for instance, are using gift cards and other bonuses attached to savings accounts to reward customers for sticking to savings plans.

"We're trying to build features and benefits in the product that [are] going to make us stand out in the competition," said Theresa McLaughlin, group executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Citizens Bank, a unit of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC. "If it's just about rate, then the competition can match us."

For much of the previous decade, saving wasn't a priority for most Americans. The average annual personal savings rate fell to as low as 1.4% in 2005 — the lowest level since the Great Depression. There was no pressing need then for innovative savings products, but the savings rate has been rising the past two years as the financial crisis forced people to rethink how they manage their finances. The personal savings rate currently hovers around 4%, according to the latest data from the Department of Commerce.

The shift toward a more penny-wise society is driving banks to turn their focus to helping consumers save and, in the long run, be more profitable customers. To be sure, some banks are trying to deter new deposits as they lend less. But offering tools to build savings creates opportunities for banks to cross-sell other products and helps offset some of the revenue hit they're taking from new restrictions on overdraft fees and other practices.

"Many banks are rethinking their business models," said Mark Schwanhausser, a senior analyst at Javelin Strategy and Research. Previously, "they benefited from the mistake of the consumer," he said, referring to revenue generated by overdrafts and other penalty-type fees. "This idea about aligning yourself with the customer and giving them the tools to manage their finances is the way to grow."

Consumers have been receptive. "The days of just borrowing on credit and thinking that [the value of] your home is going to go up and up and up, and that your 401(k) is going to double every seven years, are over," McLaughlin said. "Consumers are getting back to a place where borrowing is a part of their financial needs, but savings is becoming more and more of their need … and banks are responding."

Of course, with lending still down some banks have expressed concern over building up deposits too quickly. Margins can get squeezed if banks take in a lot more in deposits than they're able to lend. But savings accounts are generally seen as instrumental in attracting and retaining customers.

"Some institutions have kind of adopted an attitude that they're not quite as interested in more deposit funds at this time until lending picks up a bit," said Mary Beth Sullivan, managing partner at Capital Performance Group, a Washington consulting firm. "I think other banks are making loans and realize that there are opportunities to pick up additional customer relationships and the deposit side is where that's going to happen."

Jim Sinegal, an equity analyst at Morningstar, said that helping consumers save "is one way that the bank can get some of those deposits to stick around once the economy improves a little bit."

The appeal of a savings account has traditionally been the interest that could be earned. But with the Federal Reserve's benchmark interest rate (which savings rates tend to track) at a record low of near zero — and with no indication of it being raised anytime soon — making money on interest is tough to do.

"A high yield isn't all that high these days," Sullivan said. "I think Americans are, understandably, concerned about safety, security, and so, for most people, looking for yield in an interest rate environment like this isn't necessarily a priority."

U.S. Bancorp created a program called Savings Today and Rewards Tomorrow, or Start, because it "heard really clearly from customers [that] it's not about interest rates," said Trent Spurgeon, senior vice president of consumer products at the flagship unit U.S. Bank.

"It's about a meaningful reward, not as a reason to save, but as a pat on the back," he said.

Customers using the Start program have the option of scheduling the transfer of a specific amount of money at the same time every month from their checking to their savings account, or they can elect to have a specified amount, of up to $5, be transferred to their savings after every credit or debit card transaction. Account holders can also automatically sweep the cash-back rewards they earn on their credit card into their savings account.