Black Sheep

So how do you like your NZ bank's online banking features? Am wondering how other banks compare to ASB and National...

I just discovered today that ASB bank has recently added an extremely useful feature to their online banking service called 'Track my spending' that I hadn't noticed before:

"ASB now offers an easy way to see what’s happening to your money. Track My Spending lets you code items in your online bank statements in categories, and then view graphs that show exactly where your money goes. You can also see whether you are getting ahead each month or spending more then you receive."

I just had a go at it, and though it could still do with a bit of tweaking, it's still a pretty awesome feature as is. I have an account with National Bank as well, and their online banking features and service are, in comparison, 'neanderthalic':

ASB = can access statements online going back 24 months
National = can only access statements online going back 4 months max (as it's only 16th Aug today, for instance, I can only go back 3 1/2 months at the moment). If you need a printout of a statement from further back than 4 months, you need to physically go in to a branch and pay approx $7 for EACH 1-month statement.
ASB = if you have a credit card with them, you can instantly online-transfer money back and forth between your credit card account and cheque account.
National = you cannot online-transfer money from your credit card to your cheque account. And though you can online transfer money from cheque account to credit card account - to make your monthly payment for amount owing for instance - you first have to have had the CC account set up as a 'payee', and then it can take up to 4 or 5 days for the transfer to go through, as I discovered with great annoyance recently (late payment charge).

What bank(s) do any of you use, and how would you rate them for online banking features or lack of?

Matewx

I am with HSBC & it pretty much luke in the uk...

Can pay bills, transfer to HSBC-NZ, HSBC-Others, NZ-Other banks online now & then... pretty cool

Can also set up direct credit for rent & stuff...

Not sure how long I can see my statements for...

hosebergine

We're with National. We use EFTPOS all the time here. As Mr Hosebergine is still looking for work we don't have a credit card. Suits us fine in fact.

So using one account and paying on EFTPOS means we have a record of everything in one place, right down to the chocolate bars ;-) Every week or so we copy all the entries into our own basic spreadsheet and analyse our spending into our own categories. We did this in the UK too

We're very happy with the internet banking provided and particularly happy with the work of the New Migrant Banking Team (we've been here just 6 weeks). They also offered useful tips on car buying, house hunting, areas of Auckland etc etc. They are happy to answer random emails from migrants basically

cypherpunk

Kiwibank: I can see and download statements going back to when I first set up the account 3 years ago. Their email notification of deposits and missed auto payments is useful and seems reliable. They have improved their security with a two-part challenge on login. My only gripe with them is that they charge some ridiculous amount like $2 to set up a regular payment online.

Vile

How common are HSBC branches and machines in NZ? I heard they're a bit hard to find outside Auckland.

Bo-Jangles

Erm not many at all! They have head offices in centre of Auckland (Queen Street), Welly and Christchurch and a couple of branches around Auckland. I think there's still a branch at Howick, the new one at Albany on Auckland's North Shore is now closed down.

I have ASB and Westpac accounts with online banking and overall I am most impressed with ASB. Westpac is a bit lame, the layout is poor and they charge you $2 to set up regular payments. Quite how they can justify charging this, when it requires no input from them is beyond me.

ASB has Fastcheque too, which enables you to make one off payments direct to someone's bank account, with no set-up required or fees. Excellent for Trademe purchases.

Depending on who your employer is you can sometimes get preferential rates with certain banks, fees waived etc. so it is worth asking around for the best deal.

I signed up with Westpac as they were at the time (and for a long time) the only bank doing Debit Cards, but I think most banks have them now - ASB does. Might be worth checking if it's something you would be interested in.

ETA: I just checked National, they do not have Debit Card. Kiwibank does.

Also another tick for ASB is 'Netcode' they text you a security code to release large payments as a security feature. Don't know if others do this.

Matewx

Not common at all!! LOL

Work's fine for me though :-)

As Bo-Jangles said, I get Premier status from work meaning no fees when I withdraw from ANY ATM & all in all it's just easy to manage money internationnaly....

Vile

Well, that's all right, then - I have a Premier account now, and they let you keep it when you move to another country (well, they did last time). I mostly use internet and ATM services, so maybe we can get by without over-the-counter stuff. Banks with counters will soon be a thing of the past, anyway, if NZ is anything like the rest of the world!

Matewx

Then you're alright...

A quick call to your Relationship Manager & he/she should get their int'l team to contact you to organise the opening. Within 3/4 days your account will be up n running.

I never see anyone from HSBC here, just when we first arrived to finalise it all. Now we just email our Relationship Manager... Sweet easy :-)

They dont have Global View in NZ yet, but it's coming apparently. Also, HSBC NZ doesnt have Visa or Mastercards... Eftpos only, for now! Not a massive issue as we have our Visas & Mastercards from UK accounts.

thedtb

Can someone please explain Eftpos?? I'd been thinking of paying HSBC their £100 fee to stick with them in NZ (allegedly I'd get the same credit facilities as I enjoy in the UK) but I'm a fairly heavy user of my debit card - rarely carrying cash and plenty of online purchases.

How does Eftpos fit with this?

TheDTB

Matewx

Eftpos is.... ermmm.... a cash card? debit card? - Not quite sure!!

All I know is that you can pay EVERYWHERE in NZ & Oz with it. The money leaves your account immediately!

However, no online purchase with Eftpos...

HSBC NZ does not have Visa or Mastercard, so my advise is do not pay £100 to pre-open, you can do it free with other banks... Plus they wont give you the same facilities as they are not available... But they'll happily take your £100 though! lol - As a premier, it was free for us that's why we opened it all from UK but otherwise I would have gone to another bank...

cypherpunk

Yes EFTPOS cards are just like UK debit cards. They have a low fee per transaction for the retailer so they are more widely accepted for retail payment than credit cards. There is less of the UK confusion where you had debit cards branded "Visa" that no-one accepted as credit cards.

There are some Visa debit cards in NZ (for example http://www.kiwibank.co.nz/visa-debit-card/) but they do work anywhere a Visa credit card works. EFTPOS cards are generally not accepted online so you will need a credit card or Visa debit card for that.

Bo-Jangles

I don't understand this at all, seems to be a lot of confusion. I always had a Barclays Bank debit card in the UK and used it everywhere with absolutely zero restrictions - I had no need for a credit card. I used it for withdrawing money from ATMs, squillions of online shopping, paying hotel bills anywhere in the world too, with no transaction fees. The only difference between a debit and a credit card is that with a debit card the money come directly out of your account and is reliant on you having funds available. If a debit card has Visa on it, it is accepted any place where a Visa credit card can be used. (All bar one I seem to remember some bank had a different scheme 'Sol..something Electron', which wasn't accepted in many places.)

An EFTPOS card is just like a cash card, it has no chip and is not capable of being used for on-line payments. You must have either a debit or credit card for this. Any shop that accepts electronic payment will not care too much which card it is and only a small handful of very small businesses, such as my hairdressers, will not let you pay with credit card. Most other retailers, even cafes and dairies don't care either way, as long as they get paid.

You wouldn't be able to use EFTPOS much overseas, other than in Aussie and some Pacific Islands that have the same banks.

The only major difference is there are a LOT less opportunities for you to actually buy anything online here; hence far less need to have a debit or credit card. Still, I think it's great, nobody bats an eyelid if you pay $3 for a coffee with your credit card, as they are often none the wiser and couldn't care a less which type of card you are using, since you swipe the card, select the account and enter the PIN number.

I don't do cash, ever!

cypherpunk

Yes that's what I mean, Visa Electron (and before that Visa Delta), but I see they are phasing those out now in the UK.

chocolate cake

I use BNZ and find their website OK, can access statements over a year ago and instant payment of your current a/c and credit card possible - indeed why shouldn't it be if the money's in your account?

It comes with an Eftpos card rather than a debit card, but even though that must be old technology (I must have had a debit card for yrs in the UK) it's no great shakes as I pay for everything by credit card anyway, and then settle in full. There a few places that don't accept credit cards which can be a pain but other than that not too bad.

I joined BNZ as they seemed to be easiest to join from UK, I haven't yet looked around at swapping, probably be Kiwi Bank if did, they seem to have best rates, but they do have inconvenience of branch network being the NZ post offices, so can be busy.

I do miss free banking in the UK, much simpler.

Yes, not the same amount of Internet sales, books anyone? I end up using Amazon in the Uk and it works out cheaper than NZ alternatives even with postage cost!