sirplug

I've been searching the net, ready to set an account up for the transfer but can't make up my mind. Mainly because I'm used to free banking in the UK and can't get over the fees charged by NZ bank's!

So, it appears to be personal choice.......

What I want is to earn interest on the savings, do everything on the internet, draw cash on ATM's or pay by debit card at a store, set up direct debits, etc....but for free......

Anything out there that does all this??

Lincolnshire Lass

Kiwi banks are great at charging for every little thing! What we did when we came over was to bring cash for the first couple of weeks and opened a BNZ account straight away to transfer money into. The account is called MY MONEY and it costs us $5/month. This account has the debit cards and everything else that banks in England do except the interest, so keep the minimum in that account and put everything else in an online instant access account such as RABOPLUS. Money can be transferred online into your bill paying account up to 9pm each day and is there the next day and there are no charges from RABO.
You should get an IRD number as soon as possible though otherwise they will deduct I think 30% tax from any interest that you earn if you can’t supply an IRD number when you open the account!

AngelaandJim

We opened a BNZ account before we went over for our reccie in Oct and activated it when we got there it was so easy there is a branch at Auckland Airport got our cards there and then. We have the same account MY MONEY and did the same put cash in as soon as we arrived and used it for our reccie we made sure we left enough in it to cover the $5 a month for a long time to be on the safe side

Angela x

luvwelly

Think National Bank has accounts with no account charges if you maintain a constant minimum balance. You can operate savings products alongside and move funds around on the internet. You can't pay money away to UK on their internet banking yet.

Newfies

We use Westpac and pay NO FEES for regular transactions etc we do everything online and have no statements posted to us.

The only thing that gripes me is when we add a regular payment to our online banking they charge $1.50, it is a one off fee but bugs me as no person has had any involvement in it I have entered all the details.

We can make random payment to other people and friends etc for no cost.
I think writting a cheque there is a charge but not sure how much as I have only ever written one in over 3 years. I got that fee back as I kicked up a fuss with the person we deal with so she kindly refunded it!

HTH

pricklykina

My ASB account has no monthly account fee although I still pay to change automatic payments...I don't have to keep a minimum balance

The National bank has a new account that has no fees if you deposit about$3k a month

sirplug

Thanks everyone, it appears I'm not going to escape the charges, then!

I'll look into the accounts mentioned and see which fits me best. Cheers

pixi-dust

I'm not sure about all the charges etc, but we are with the ASB for almost everything. They are absolutely brilliant, very helpful, very reliable. We love them.
We did open a savings account with westpac just to try and keep it a bit separate and even though we have kept the account, they were terribly disorganised, opened up the wrong account for what we'd asked for, so we got loads of charges even though we had been very clear what we were looking for. So we were less impressed by them, I'm afraid.

derab

Kiwi bank has a "fee free" account. the name says it all.

It's a pretty basic account, you can get a Visa Debit card and you get internet banking.

The downside is I think you have to open it in person at a postshop/Kiwibank.

nelsonpom

National bank has a freedom account and as long as you pay $2500 in every month there are no fees

urbanproject

I'm with ASB (cheque and savings), and their Streamline account doesn't carry any fees provided you do everything online, so it works well with the way I bank. They don't charge for ATM withdrawals at ASB machines (there are plenty of them around so never really had a problem on that end) and there is no limit on how many transactions you can do at shops ect. I do have to say that ASB have been great as well, their customer service has been faultless

I have most of my direct debits set up on the credit card (except for rent), and don't get charged.

I also bank with BNZ (credit card), and have nothing but good experiences with them, but in my opinion, I don't think their banking products (standard accounts) are as good as ASB's for example.

I guess it depends what type of banking needs you have

Good luck,

Jen

sirplug

This sounds like the account I'm looking for. We have internet banking now and only ever set foot in a branch if I pay any cheques in. Does this account charge for direct debits if done online? What if I pay cheques in?
Cheers, Paul

urbanproject

I'm not sure about cheques (I've never used one here), but the odd times I've had to deposit cash, I used a Fast Cash envelope (provided by ASB), filled it in with my account details and dropped it off in a box inside the branch. No charge for that. It may be the same for cheques.

Forgot to mention that the Streamline account is charge free provided you stop paper statements (easily done online with a simple click).

I think direct debits (if it's like a one off payment ) are free if you do them yourself online, but there's a one off $2 fee to save a payee, and a one $2 for automatic payments. I haven't done either of them.

Here's the link to their fees pages and Streamline account:

https://www.asb.co.nz/Personal/Banki...-fees/Accounts

https://www.asb.co.nz/story1696.aspx

mudblood21

From the piles of brochures I have, Streamline looked really good - but what a comfort to know that they look after you, and that it is so easy to save cash!

thank you expats

how did people survive pre-internet?

LukeandJo

No one has mentioned HSBC NZ