[ulto]

Hiya,

Just submited my application for my WHV there. Next stop is to open a NZ bank account. I'm wondering what are the best banks to do this. We will be going to Christchurch so local branches are important as are money transfers and day to day usages of ATM's etc
I heard ASB are good and let you open an account from another country (I'm in Ireland now).

So what bank are the best at not trying to screw you! :)

Sorry as this has probably been posted loads of times

[migratory birds]

It has indeed been discussed on a regular basis so you may have better luck with getting more comprehensive information reveiwing some of the previous posts as folks, after awhile, tend not reply over and over to the same topic.

Use the search feature on this forum and you should come up with some good info.

Try these two threads for starters and go back further than June if you still need more info:

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=18498&highlight=banks

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=18476&highlight=banks

[ulto]

Thanks for that.

Just thought that after i posted this that we will probably just open an account when we arrive. Will be much easier i think and quicker. I dont suppose there are issues with this plan?

[nippa&pippa]

Some of us use christchurch's Westpac, there is man who deal with bank paperwork BEFORE we (some others too) arrived in NZ. He been fantastic and very helpful with everything you need including mortgages, loan, insurances. PM me if you want his details.

[Alan]

Westpac also do a Visa Debitcard like you get in the UK which can avoid the need for a credit card depending on preference, not sure if anyone else does them?

[urban78]

Westpac also do a Visa Debitcard like you get in the UK which can avoid the need for a credit card depending on preference, not sure if anyone else does them?

I don't think anyone else does it, I wish there was though :laugh

However I think it's only offered to people who have either PR or 2 year work visas, one of my friends wanted one but Westpac told them it was a no go on a WHV :no :confused:

BNZ have a Smart Saver account for under 30s, which gives you 30 free transactions per month, which is pretty neat. I just walked into my local branch and they sorted it out in about 15 minutes. Once you turn 30, they change your account to a My Money one, which charges $5 per month. ASB might be a good bet, they have an account called " Streamline" which offers no transaction fees if you stop paper statements.

No complaints for either banks, I have a savings account with ASB and they have been great either in branch or over the phone, and same with BNZ.

Jen

[nippa&pippa]

Westpac also do a Visa Debitcard like you get in the UK which can avoid the need for a credit card depending on preference, not sure if anyone else does them?

yes, got one called Visa "debitplus" - just remember this, money come out of your account when you buy things..not have a bill at the end of month. If there is no money in your account, you can't buy it! This card is ideal for internet shoppings!

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

Westpac also do a Visa Debitcard like you get in the UK which can avoid the need for a credit card depending on preference, not sure if anyone else does them?

Correct, Westpac are, currently, the only bank offering this service. It is only a matter of time until other do though. Eventually there will be a service equivalent to Switch/Maestro in NZ which will negate the main need to have a credit card, but it will probably take a couple of years.

Aside from this the major banks all offer very similar and competitive services for standard retail banking IMHO (and I've done a lot of research on this subject), so pick the one you like best.

You could base your choice on colour:
Like yellow - go ASB
Like green - go National Bank or Kiwi Bank
Like red - go Westpac
Like blue - go ANZ or BNZ
Like something a bit different - small independant NZ owned - go TSB or SBS

[Mickstim]

Our personal experience of ASB has been brilliant - but I have no comparisons to make. We opened an account in London and it was waiting for us on arrival in Tauranga. The staff of the Tauranga branch have been incredibly friendly and helpful, greet us by name every time we enter and have given us everything we have asked for without any hassle.

Bx

[DB]

+1 for ASB and their migrant banking scheme.

[BkyMonster]

Correct, Westpac are, currently, the only bank offering this service.
:eek::eek:

I need this! I don't know how I'd live without it.
Well then. I guess I'll be signing up for Westpac. I thought surely it was a standard feature of modern banking though my current bank has had these available for longer than most banks in the USA.

[ulto]

OK looks like this wont be much of a hastle then. Does one need a proof of address when opening an account? Kinda hard when one is just after arrving into a country.

[nippa&pippa]

Just give your address where you live now, and email address. Then once you arrive in NZ, your address will be bank's address till you found somewhere to rent to change the address again, but they will still keep in touch with you via email/internet banking whole time.

[ulto]

Thanks again.

[sasvanb]

Westpac also do a Visa Debitcard like you get in the UK which can avoid the need for a credit card depending on preference, not sure if anyone else does them?

Does anyone know if you get charged higher fees for an account with this card as opposed other standard accounts then? Though I suppose you get charged for a separate credit card anyway, so maybe best to have one that combines both services...???

Any more thoughts?... cheers

Saskia

[BkyMonster]

You can have a look at the fes for account types on the Westpac site. http://www.westpac.co.nz/
It didn't look that way to me, but then I'm not used to paying any fees for my bank. :o
In addition it was incredibly easy for me to set up an account. We'll see how they do once I get there, but I'm happy so far.

[walshy]

Hold on, when i was in new zealand, everyone had cards with eftpos, which were debit cards were they not?

[Alan]

The debit card is $10 per year. Walshy an EFTPOS card is like one here in many ways but cannot be used say online, overseas etc.

[sasvanb]

Just been having a look at Westpac... there is an annual charge of $10 for the debit plus card, but this seems to be a lot lower than the charges for standard credit cards (??), so appears to be useful as a card that you can use for everyday stuff, as well as internet shopping, over the phone etc You can also use it abroad (with 'free' withdrawals from banks within their group, eg Westpac Aussie, Barclays GB and Bank of America amongst others)... although a standard foreign currency fee does apply... of course!

I haven't looked too closely into how overall charges compare, but to be honest I find the range of different accounts in NZ quite mind boggling...:eek:

Link to Debit Card info for those interested in finding out more...
http://www.westpac.co.nz/olcontent/olcontent.nsf/Content/How+the+Debitplus+Visa+card+works

Ta

P.S I'm not attempting to 'recommend' anything here.. just sharing what I've found out. Need to go off and research some other banks now... :exit

[sasvanb]

The debit card is $10 per year. Walshy an EFTPOS card is like one here in many ways but cannot be used say online, overseas etc.

Beat me to it Alan! Hee hee! and much more concise...:cheers

[Rusty]

So, in theory, I can get a normal everyday account with whoever and get an EFTPOS card that can be used for all shop payments except phone shopping and the interweb?
Has anyone just kept UK accounts for these paymets or UK credit cards, or do the NZ credit cards work out cheaper? I would pay them off straight away and not have debt.
Also (because like someone said above) there are a lot of differing accounts, does the EFTPOS card come out of your account straight away as we would be used to with UK debit cards or in a statement at the end of the month?

sorry for the UK bits, but these are my frame of reference for now.

thanks

[walshy]

wow,its amazing how prehistoric some things are in nz, an every day thing like a visa debit card is a big deal over there. didnt realise.

Oh well, still going

[nippa&pippa]

So, in theory, I can get a normal everyday account with whoever and get an EFTPOS card that can be used for all shop payments except phone shopping and the interweb?
Has anyone just kept UK accounts for these paymets or UK credit cards, or do the NZ credit cards work out cheaper? I would pay them off straight away and not have debt.
Also (because like someone said above) there are a lot of differing accounts, does the EFTPOS card come out of your account straight away as we would be used to with UK debit cards or in a statement at the end of the month?

sorry for the UK bits, but these are my frame of reference for now.

thanks

We keep UK's accounts for buying items in UK's internet shopping or to give money to someone we owe like when we hasn't sold our house by the time we moved to NZ, and then UK had very bad storm in jan 07, blew the fence down & damage it, we had to pay someone to fix it, ouch!

[IanW99]

wow,its amazing how prehistoric some things are in nz, an every day thing like a visa debit card is a big deal over there. didnt realise.

Oh well, still going

Not sure that I agree with your thoughts that it is so prehistoric?

EFTPOS was invented in NZ and it took other countries such as the UK years to even begin to offer similar facilities (unless this is what you mean by prehistoric:p).

Almost everything in NZ uses EFTPOS this include taxis etc. If you so wish you can basically live in NZ without ever bothering with cash.

Ian

[IanW99]

So, in theory, I can get a normal everyday account with whoever and get an EFTPOS card that can be used for all shop payments except phone shopping and the interweb?
Has anyone just kept UK accounts for these paymets or UK credit cards, or do the NZ credit cards work out cheaper? I would pay them off straight away and not have debt.
Also (because like someone said above) there are a lot of differing accounts, does the EFTPOS card come out of your account straight away as we would be used to with UK debit cards or in a statement at the end of the month?

sorry for the UK bits, but these are my frame of reference for now.

thanks

Yes, you will get an EFTPOS card and yes you can use if for all your shopping etc including many things that you wouldn't expect to be able to use if for e.g. it is common to pay for you drink in the Pub by eftpos etc.

With EFTPOS, as soon as you make the transaction the money will be taken out of your account (like a UK debit card).

If you are going to be dealing with UK and have some money in a UK account then it would be a good idea to keep a UK credit card e.g. I always check out which currency to pay for things in to get the best deal.

But, otherwise I would definitely get a NZ credit card, yes they do have a fee to own one but many offer some rewards that can be used to pay off the fee e.g. ASB has a true rewards program that can be used to pay the fees as long as you use the credit card regularly. Also, if you always pay off your balance each month you can ask the bank to automatically pay it for you on the last day so you can keep your money earning good interest for as long as possible.

Ian

[Rusty]

Yes, you will get an EFTPOS card and yes you can use if for all your shopping etc including many things that you wouldn't expect to be able to use if for e.g. it is common to pay for you drink in the Pub by eftpos etc.

With EFTPOS, as soon as you make the transaction the money will be taken out of your account (like a UK debit card).

If you are going to be dealing with UK and have some money in a UK account then it would be a good idea to keep a UK credit card e.g. I always check out which currency to pay for things in to get the best deal.

But, otherwise I would definitely get a NZ credit card, yes they do have a fee to own one but many offer some rewards that can be used to pay off the fee e.g. ASB has a true rewards program that can be used to pay the fees as long as you use the credit card regularly. Also, if you always pay off your balance each month you can ask the bank to automatically pay it for you on the last day so you can keep your money earning good interest for as long as possible.

Ian

Helpful as ever. :nice1 - won't allow me to rep you anymore though.
I've just got to decide which account now.
Westpac paperless seems good, but no cheque book - does anyone really need a cheque book anymore?
(I seem to be going back down the dumb question route I started when first looking to emigrate :D )

[IanW99]

Helpful as ever. :nice1 - won't allow me to rep you anymore though.
I've just got to decide which account now.
Westpac paperless seems good, but no cheque book - does anyone really need a cheque book anymore?
(I seem to be going back down the dumb question route I started when first looking to emigrate :D )

I would avoid a cheque book if at all possible, one thing they don't tell you is that all cheques are subject to duty charges - it is only 5 cents per cheque but you do normally pay for the whole book of cheques up front so to speak.

Can't remember the last time I wrote a cheque in NZ, so you can definitely get by without them.

Ian

[cappuccino]

You could base your choice on colour:
Like yellow - go ASB
Like green - go National Bank or Kiwi Bank
Like red - go Westpac
Like blue - go ANZ or BNZ
Like something a bit different - small independant NZ owned - go TSB or SBS

Yes, that was my scientific logic as my fav colour is green and I always used to think Lloyds in the UK was a 'posh' bank so chose National here as it has the same logo :laugh

I really dislike the browny/yellow colour of ASB so decided not to go anywhere near them :uhoh

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

Westpac paperless seems good, but no cheque book - does anyone really need a cheque book anymore?
(I seem to be going back down the dumb question route I started when first looking to emigrate :D )

We asked for a cheque book with our ASB account, couldn't understand when we first arrived why we hadn't been issued one.

Been here 14 months and haven't used it yet !

You get charged to pay cheques in too (not that you're likely to get too many). People are happy to give out account details to each other to facilitate electronic bank transfers for transactions such as using TradeMe. There is very little use of services such as PayPal here.

[thewoodies]

There is the Hsbc bank in NZ anyone used it - we were thinking of it as we are Hsbc here UK?

[dusk]

I think it may only have branches in auckland (although happy to be corrected on that point if I have mis-remembered it!)

[IanW99]

I think it may only have branches in auckland (although happy to be corrected on that point if I have mis-remembered it!)

You are correct, HSBC only have a few branches and they are all in Auckland.

Ian

[joeandsacha]

We signed up with HSBC as we are also with them in the UK. They do a great account which is paying around 8.5% at the moment, plus all transactions are free. You can get cash out from any Westpac ATM and pay in at a Westpac branch or use online banking etc.

We've been using that as our main account up until now (for EFTPOS etc), but will probably also get Westpac accounts as our credit card is with them.

Another point on the ease of EFTPOS - it's also lightning quick. The other day we did a grocery shop in New World and paid by EFTPOS. When we got home half an hour later, we were doing some internet banking and the transaction had already showed up in our account. I'm not sure how long it takes to move money from one account to another, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was far quicker than the 3-4 working days it takes in the UK.

I can also recommend Westpac customer service. I rang up yesterday to activate our cards and got straight through to a real person, no queues and I was set up with internet banking, passwords, Hotpoints membership and got our address details changed all in under 5 minutes.

I haven't had to wait on the phone much at all, apart from a 15 minute wait contacting the IRD. (Although, they were playing a Bic Runga album as the hold music, so can't really complain!)

[IanR]

Regarding the HSBC - great account, very international and seem to serve the Asian Kiwis well. I'd just make sure to sign up with a good English speaker who'll then be your contact.
My account got handed to a "Yello, wha u wan" account when my original contact left and communication became quite difficult, though she was trying very hard.
Otherwise well recommended...