[dawn]

I discovered this weekend, that if you want to do the transfer yourself ( so you wait for an exchange rate), you can't do a transfer over a weekend.

Just a little warning in case anyone else has to wait 2 days!!

[StevieD]

Good tip Dawn!!

Steve

[mark & Heather]

I've just transfered our money today...god I hope these guys don't rip me off !

[dawn]

They won't rip you off, I've done 5 transfers now and all of them have gone like clockwork (except when I wanted to do it on a weekend!).

[mark & Heather]

hey thanks for the re-assurance. It was a bit of a headache this morning when I was doing the chaps payment and all I could think of was ' are these guys gonna run off with all our money ' !

[dawn]

No problem, it's worrying when you do large amounts. My first one was only £200, I had to make sure it went ok. When we do our transfers, it usually shows in our Kiwibank account within 12 hours.

[mark & Heather]

yes, I think I ought to have done that too small transfers first, but I guess I got a little fazed when the exchange rate dropped from $3.05 to $2.91 in about 3-4 days. So I booked a transfer for a whopping amount of cash.
I'm still anxious about it now...and wont know if it hits the account til tomorrow night Uk time.

Oh well, these things have to be done I guess. :uhoh

[dawn]

I just checked our timings, I made a transfer at 8.0 PM on Monday and it hit our bank account at 10am on Wednesday, so you should know tomorrow morning. I have email notification set up to let me know when a deposit over $500 goes in, so I don't have to keep logging into internet banking to check, that was a little bit more peace of mind.

[mark & Heather]

You know I havent got an internet banking account set up yet for NZ. I rang the national bank directly and setup the accounts over the phone. I think I'll look into getting the internet side of it setup.. thanks dawn for the advice !

[dawn]

I was able to set my internet banking account up over the phone with Kiwibank, I have to say, they were brilliant. Banking over there is very different and I got confused a number of times!

The best thing about having the internet banking is that I was able to set up what they call an online call account, which is currently giving me (fantastic) 7.2% interest and I couldn't have done that without the internet access.

[mark & Heather]

Hang on...so you were able to set up an online account with 7.2% interest without being in NZ ?
wow..I think you may have prompted me to change my bank !
We are with The National Bank and can only setup 2 accounts without being there, a current account with no interest and a savings account with 3.75%. The online one with 7% interest, they said I couldnt have unless I was present in the country and could show my documentation.

Were you able to bypass this with Kiwibank ?

[dawn]

Yes, that's exactly what I did. I opened a Now account first and then setup the internet banking over the phone, once I'd paid in some money, I was able to set up the online call, through the internet banking portal.

The catch for me is that I can't make any withdrawals and if I want to transfer money between accounts, I have to call them, but I found a way around that too, I set up the online call as the receiving bank from tranzfers and send it direct! You have to nominate a bank account to transfer money from into the online call, but after you have made one transaction, you can pay money in from anywhere.

So yes, I guess I did, there is no limit on the number of accounts I can have, as I said, the only thing I can't do it withdraw money, but I don't need to from here, so it doesn't bother me. As soon as we arrive in NZ, we're off to the bank to show our ID and then they'll give us our debit cards :D

The service has been amazing and whenever I phone, I've found them to be very helpful and understanding. I'd highly recommend them.

Oh nearly forgot, you have to snail mail them the application forms, but even doing that, the account was open within 10 days and they email you the account number so you can go online and access your account.

[Jenny & Mark]

Excellent information, Dawn. Thank-you.

Hope you have a wonderful experience as you depart for NZ.

Mark & Jenny.

[mark & Heather]

Our money hit the account last night ! Thanks for all your advice regarding tranzfers Dawn. I was obviously hesitant due to the amount of cash involved, so if anyone is unsure, please be re-assurred by this. I would heartily recommend them !
Mark