[Charlesw25]

Can anyone recommend a bank in NZ? Anyone got any horror stories? Also - has anyone opened a bank account in NZ while living in the UK or other country to take advantage of the (at the moment) good exchange rate?

[sfordjasiri]

Can anyone recommend a bank in NZ? Anyone got any horror stories? Also - has anyone opened a bank account in NZ while living in the UK or other country to take advantage of the (at the moment) good exchange rate?

I opened a Bank of New Zealand account from the US about 2 years ago. They've been very helpful by phone and email. Their 30 day CD is paying 7.5% right now.

[tigerlily]

Can you explain a bit about how to open an account- there are no Banks of New Zealand in my town!

[sfordjasiri]

Can you explain a bit about how to open an account- there are no Banks of New Zealand in my town!

Go to the Bank of New Zealand website and look there for the forms you will need to fill out. You will need to fax them copies of things like your passport, driver's license, some utility bills to show where you live, and things like that.

[marcia]

We used ASB, have been fantastic, they opened a London account for us and we transferred all our funds there, and they hold it until you agree an exchange rate, you can transfer as much or as little as you like, they open an account in NZ for you, and once here you just go to your nearest ASB branch with your passport and account number and they activate the account and give you your eftpos card straight away.

If you do a search for ASB, both us and Zardell have used them and somewhere is the contact number for the lady in London who we dealt with.

We preferred to use this system rather than smart currency etc, because your money is always in an account with YOUR name on it, not of this putting it in a holding account business.

The rate they offer is excellent, better than most other banks because their branch in London is not a commercial one so they don't have the overheads, they give you I think ! cent less that the market rate.

You also get interest on your money whilst it sitting there waiting too!

The accounts we use here in NZ are all online and we don't pay any bank charges as long as everything is done electronically (no cheques or over the counter transactions - you can do these but they charge you for them!)

[Carol]

I can recommend Westpac.

Also - hubby has worked for them for 11 years now!

[zardell]

Charlesw25......

As Marcia has said, we too opened our NZ account from the UK using ASB.

You will need to phone their London office on 020 7710 3592 and ask for Kate Lancaster. (Wish I had a $ for every time I've posted this info - I'd be wealthy by now !!)

If when you get to NZ you wish to move your funds from ASB to another bank that's entirely up to you.

Hope this helps,

Julie

xx

[wiki]

One thing to watch out for is that if you have a bank card for one bank you get charged big fees for using it at another bank's cash machine.

(although you can use it at any Eftpos machine - chip and pin - and it's not just supermarkets that give cash back, petrol stations and all sorts of shops will offer that service.)

I got an ASB account at one stage because their branch and cash machine were right smack between my work and my favourite pub and it was easier than detouring to another street...

I've also had accounts over the years with National (best student package at the time) WestpacTrust (now just Westpac) and SBS (Southland Building Society, but has branches across the South Island) ... it's pretty easy to switch accounts if you find you don't like the one you began with - and you're not tied to a single branch like you are in the UK. I still get annoyed that my UK bank local branch often tells me I need to go back to my original Manchester branch for some services.

[Carol]

One thing to watch out for is that if you have a bank card for one bank you get charged big fees for using it at another bank's cash machine.



Westpac charge us 50c pper withdrawl for using other banks atms.
Worth the convenience to me.....

[wiki]

Westpac charge us 50c pper withdrawl for using other banks atms.
Worth the convenience to me.....

I guess I'm still thinking in British terms - if a bank charged me 50p for taking out £20 then I'd be grumpy. But if it's 50c compared to $60 then it's not so bad. :)

[Croft]

Another vote here for ASB - London branch here http://www.asb.co.nz/section892.asp?. Kate Lancaster is excellent, and their transfer rate (free over £30K) is only a matter of pence different from HIFX. We did cause some jealousy in Auckland though as we'd been issued the new card and people were complaining they still had the old one!

Most Banks do have a section specifically for migrants.

I was surprised you got the EPTOS card straight away, seems NZ banks don't put names on the cards for security reasons. They just pick one off the stack, assign the number to your account, then get you to chose a pin!

To help inform you choice here's a link to all the Banks in NZ and their respective credit ratings. Quite an eye opener.

http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/nzbanks/0091622.html

[lockstock]

Thanks for the info re ASB Zardell - will phone them tomorrow! I'll mention your name - you never know, they may offer you a small token of their appreciation! I will ::cheers

[H & Rick]

Here is another vote for ASB.

We went up to London and opened an account; spoke to a really nice lady called Robin who deals with NZ accounts.

Again they were recommended by Julie........are you sure you are not on commission...:D

[zardell]

Thanks for the info re ASB Zardell - will phone them tomorrow! I'll mention your name - you never know, they may offer you a small token of their appreciation! I will ::cheers


I wish !!!!!!!!

Julie

xx

[zardell]

Again they were recommended by Julie........are you sure you are not on commission...:D


Not yet...........:D

Glad I could be of help.

Julie

xx

[Charlesw25]

Thanks for the recommedation. I'll check out ASB ASAP.

[gpbenton]

Be careful about bank fees. All the banks charge fees, but most will offer a way to get around them, if you sign the correct forms.

I use Westpac (and I don't have any relatives working there). They have been very good, and setting up an account from the UK was no problem at all. I did have to visit them with my Passport when I arrived before I could access my money.

[leejenns]

we opened an account with the National bank and they have been terrific, had 1-2-1 meetings with personel banking manager, all banking cards including credit cards were waiting for us when we landed, they couldnt have done enough for us.:D

[marcia]

Be careful about bank fees. All the banks charge fees, but most will offer a way to get around them, if you sign the correct forms.



With ASb if you do your banking online, and don't have statements sent through the post you don't get any fees. You can still use overthe counter facilities, like getting bankers cheques etc, or paying in cheques, but they will charge you - so if you can do all electronic transfers its free! :raebanana