Lenny the Lion

In Feb I arrive in NZ and would like some opinions of which NZ bank account to open. Is there some really bad banks that you would stear clear of, or are they all pretty much the same?
Also, as I will not have an permanent address for a while, how difficult will this be in regard to opening an account.
Any advice would be helpful,

newkiwi

Several banks allow you to open accounts before you arrive in NZ, you can deposit but only make withdrawals when you activate your account once in NZ. This way when you arrive in the country the bank account, ATM cards etc are all good to go. We did this with National Bank. One 9free) phone call and a money transfer is all it took.

You can also try ASB, Westpac or ANZ, most will have a dedicatd migrant banking department.

Have a look on their respective websites and choose, not much of a difference between those four, they have the biggest market share of banking in NZ. It really depends on the person you end up dealing with in the end, more so than the bank.

IMO it is a good idea to open the account prior to leaving for NZ.

taffinkent

Hi,

We are emigrating to Invercargill in under 4 weeks. We have opened accounts at the National Bank of NZ and Westpac Bank. It was all done by internet and letter and we have already transfered funds over to the new accounts using HIFX.

Once in NZ they are arranging a meeting where we need to show our original passports and visa to validate the account and be issued ATM cards etc,

The National Bank of NZ even rang us at home here in the UK to check everything was OK and to personally arrange a meeting to validate the account when we arrive.....??
I originally thought it was Jeremy Beadle or a mate having a laugh !!!!

Imagine that happening here ??? :scared:


Taff and Debs

Joshlin

We ran out of time to set ours up before we left - we went into National in Auckland and they were not willing to help as we had no id with an nz address on it - we then went into ASB and they couldn't do enough to help - opened accounts with atm cards within an hour - have phoned us on a number of occasions to check we are OK and to see if we need anything else etc etc - and we're now living in christchurch and they have no issue with the fact that our personal banker is in auckland.

P18PPS

We did the same as other opened a National account before coming out, no real reason for choosing them other than the logo was the same a sLloyds who we were with in the UK. Most high street banks are the same anyway. No real problems with National activated account ok and easy to get funds out. They didn't really help much just processed paperwork.

We are no looking for a mortgage and they were rubbish took three calls to even get to talk to them, then they didn't tel me anything I didn't know and wanted me to come in to a branch, most will come to see you.

Have dangled the carrot of a transfer to ASB to see if they will do anything on the mortgage and waiting to see what happens.

Also ANZ own National so National will no longer exist in about 5 years.

Lenny the Lion

Thanks for the advice guys, found appliction forms and will do it prior to arriving.
Cheers

newkiwi

We also did not have much luck with National Bank when we started to look for a mortage. (we had very little as way of a deposit) We went with Westpac in the end, easy to get a mortgage and we did not need to open any accounts with them to get the mortgage. THey were prepared to lend us 95% of the purchase price.

Joshlin

we've just applied for mortgage with asb - applied on monday, positive answer on tuesday and they're gonna contribute to our legal fees.
Vicki

newkiwi

The house buying process is pretty smooth in NZ, not too much in way of extra fees but the interest rates are sky high....

Scary really how much banks are willing to let you borrow, not the 3x annual salary type deal at all! We bought quite a bit below what we would have qualified for, and are still feeling the repayments!! even though the mortage is at a fixed rate below what the current rates are. Dont know how ppl afford the repayments if the max out what the bank is prepared to lend them.