[beth&rich]

Was just wondering if anybody in NZ has got a bank they would like to recommend? Or one that they think we should avoid like the plague?

We'd quite like one with lots of cash points and NZ based call centres...?
Any advice gratefully received.

[Ojai]

You will hear a lot of good things about Kiwibank, and we have been very happy with Westpac.

[Potato]

Kiwi bank, I wish I had gone with. It helps that you can often find a branch...and a branch that may well be open on saturdays at that (shock, horror). I am with ASB and there have not been *major* issues, just annoyances. Firstly, they don't open saturdays and secondly everytime I go down there to do something in person, something goes wrong. They are annoying. Perhaps this is just the branches I go to! But you don't expect them to screw up and deposit money in *your* account when someone elses details are written on the pay-in bag. :uhoh

[Carol]

Westpac are great

:nice1

[IanW99]

Kiwi bank, I wish I had gone with. It helps that you can often find a branch...and a branch that may well be open on saturdays at that (shock, horror). I am with ASB and there have not been *major* issues, just annoyances. Firstly, they don't open saturdays and secondly everytime I go down there to do something in person, something goes wrong. They are annoying. Perhaps this is just the branches I go to! But you don't expect them to screw up and deposit money in *your* account when someone elses details are written on the pay-in bag. :uhoh

Personally never had a problem with ASB and would definitely recommend them, including their money transfer service from the UK.

The ASB branches near us are open on Saturdays and Sundays and often use them then.

Personally wouldn't use HSBC unless you are planning on living in Auckland or only doing online transactions as their only branches are in Auckland.

Ian

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

We find ASB excellent and actually many of their branches are open on Staurdays.

The staff are extremely friendly, give you their direct dial numbers and ring you back quickly if you leave a message.

Their call centre is very good too.

Can't complain.

[Georgebulldog]

Westpac for us have been great, sorted out everything for us within a week we had cards & a mortage within 3 weeks. Love the personal touch we get with them

[ITPRO001]

ASB was great for me. Took 15 minutes to open the account and get the ATM card right away. Could use it from that time onwards. They have an account, which doesn't involve a monthly fee.

HSBC is good, but I would refer ASB.

Cheers

JS

[benhila]

We give a thumb-up to ASB too!

[peebles16]

Oh am in the minority but BNZ for us as set-up account from the UK and walked into branch the day after we arrived to pick up efpos cards and good deals on insurance for car, house etc :)

No problems so far

Karenx

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

To expand on my earlier comments, I have probably a more intimate level of dealings with the NZ banking industry than most (due to the nature of the work I was recently involved in) so thought I would pass on what I have experienced to date as it may be useful:

I think the whole banking experience here is vastly better than in the UK (personal and business banking) from a customer service perspective, so whichever of the majors you choose (ASB, BNZ, Westpac, Kiwibank, National/ANZ) you'll be OK and probably pleasantly surprised.

From a banking product perspective, I find NZ slightly more limited, but that is probably to be expected due to economies of scale.

Mortgage-wise I would recommend using a mortgage broker to get a good deal. They are good at negotiating deals better than the banks advertised rates and, in my experience, better than you can negotiate yourself. I would never recommend this approach in the UK, but it seems to work better here.

Same for risk based insurance products (life, health, private pension schemes, income protection insurance etc).

For standard insurance (car, house etc) there are good 'off the shelf' products from the likes of Tower and AMI or even from the banks themselves. Like in the UK discounts are available with mutiple products from the same provider.

If you want to be loyal to NZ owned companies Kiwibank is the only one on the above list that is NZ owned. There is also TSB (not the same TSB as UK - Taranaki Savings Bank) that is Kiwi owned and nationwide but their international banking is limited, although I hear good things about them otherwise.

If you like building societies there is SBS (Southland Building Society).

The most co-operative in my working dealings have been TSB, ASB & National/ANZ. Most obstructive - Westpac. I hasten to add this is at a corporate/business relationship level, not personal banking. I know many people like Westpac.

Final thing to remember, banking here is not free, although the cheapest 'standard' personal banking I have seen is with TSB as they do not charge for using other banks ATM's or paying in cheques.

Sorry, one last thought. There is no equivalent of 'Switch' here, so your ATM card cannot be used to purchase online products (tickets, eBay/Trademe etc) so you are pretty much obliged to have a credit card. Westpac do a card called 'visa plus' which is the first step towards an integrated switch/maestro system here so it is on it's way.

The only alternative is 'top-up' cards which can be used online but they work out expensive as you get charged to top them up.

Hope the above is a useful persepctive on the NZ banking system.

[marcia]

Another vote for ASB her - we used the branch in London to open our accounts with and transfer money, day after we arrived here, went in and had our account activated and eftpos cards no problems.

We also have our motor vehicles, house and contents insurance with them as they were the most competive of the ones we rang.

We'd had a couple of minor hicups with them, but overall we are more than pleased with the service.

[KerryS]

I use Westpac, and they've been great for me. Excellent customer service, good opening hours (Saturday and Sunday at large malls if you need it).
It's also currently the only bank to have a VisaPlus card, which works like Switch, and can be used to purchase goods online etc. which is really handy.

[jackie m]

Westpac for us aswell. They have been excellent all round mortgage etc etc :clap. When my mum visited in Jan this year she opened up an account they didn't ask for ID as she was my mother!!, even though we went prepared with passport etc. A week after mum left I had a phone call from the lady who opened her account just ringing to make sure she had a good journey home:eek: how lovely & genuine was that.

Jackie

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

We also have our motor vehicles, house and contents insurance with them as they were the most competive of the ones we rang.


We used ASB insurances too for the first year, very competitive price-wise and very easy to sign up for if an ASB customer as they already have all your details. Genuinely hassle free, which counts for a lot.

I spent a lot longer looking at products when renewing and found that although ASB was still very good, we got a slightly better product for the same money via National Bank (actually Tower Insurance, but throgh National as our mortgage is with them).

By better product I mean, primarily, that the excess levels were lower for the same cover. The other difference was that the level of cover for 'business equipment in the home' was better, which was the clincher for me as I work from home, or at least I was then.

Not much in it really, but just shows it pays to analyse the deals on offer.

Everyones circumstances are different of course, just thought this worth pointing out.

Still a big thumbs up for ASB from me for general personal banking.