NZ savings accounts?

[jonandpip]

Hi,
I have been reading various threads in this section, but couldnt find an exact answer. We both have ISAs with several years worth of contributions in, plus some other savings, and when we finally come over we hopefully will have the proceeds of a house sale! Long way off yet, but I was wondering what does NZ have in terms of savings accounts? I am meaning things like ISAs , or somewhere that will earn a decent rate of interest for a period of time maybe until we buy a house.

Also, is it best to simply open an account with an NZ bank ( which I understand can be done online in most cases) and simply transfer the money online like you would here, or is it not that simple? And if it is, is this the best way to do it in terms of exchange rates, fees etc?

Jon

[Duncan74]

There's a few threads on money transfers, but to get the best rates it's best not to use your bank to do it, but use someone like Hifx - you pay them with your debit card, they do the exchange at an agreed price and then pay in the NZD into your kiwi account.

[jonandpip]

Thanks Duncan! Do you live on here, or do we just happen to log in around the same time? Its just you always reply within minutes!

Anyway, for the moeny transfers, do they charge a fee, or do they make their money from the actual exchange? I have to admit i dont understand foriegn exchange at all, why it varies seemingly by the hour is a mystery to me.

I also notice that the exchange rate is a lot lower today than it was just over a year ago when we visted NZ, so out money is worth less now. That the extent of my knowledge on exchange rates ;-)

[Duncan74]

Hifx do it from the exchange rates - difference between buy and sell prices. Also, the more you exchange the narrower that spread becomes, ie the more dollars you'll get for your sterling.

As you say, big changes form a while ago, although with the 'new' world economy then perhaps 2.5 is more liek the new long term average instead of the 3 it was before. But from my poihnt of view, it's nothing I can control, so it's just something to accept and get on with it. There's plenty of things I can control or influence that I can worry about.

[IanW99]

There's a few threads on money transfers, but to get the best rates it's best not to use your bank to do it, but use someone like Hifx - you pay them with your debit card, they do the exchange at an agreed price and then pay in the NZD into your kiwi account.

You say that you don't get the best rates from using the banks, have you got any evidence to back this up?

If you are talking about just transferring a bit of money for a holiday then I would agree as the banks will only normally offer you the tourist rate, but if you are transferring large funds such as from a house sale then they will offer you business rates.

From personal experience I would say that if you are only going to transfer once or twice then using the migrant banking section is far simpler and less stressful than trying to use the facilities of a money exchange company.

Ian

[Duncan74]

I found the online transfer co much less hassle than trying to find out the prices and information from HSBC, and that was both over the phone and in person in branch, so dread to think from NZ. As for large sums, no I've not. But I'm sure that the OP would benefit from some positive advice based on your experience Ian.

[IanW99]

For the original question on investment options in NZ, check out http://www.interest.co.nz/

I found the online transfer co much less hassle than trying to find out the prices and information from HSBC, and that was both over the phone and in person in branch, so dread to think from NZ. As for large sums, no I've not. But I'm sure that the OP would benefit from some positive advice based on your experience Ian.

Understandable using HSBC

Ian

[kejktfc]

I found the online transfer co much less hassle than trying to find out the prices and information from HSBC, and that was both over the phone and in person in branch, so dread to think from NZ. As for large sums, no I've not. But I'm sure that the OP would benefit from some positive advice based on your experience Ian.

Just as a matter of interest who are you using Duncan, and how do they compare to the others you have researched?


kejktfc

[Duncan74]

Hifx. Was easy to set up, online then they call you to discuss what you want. One slightly tricky thing is that the uk only only sends money to NZ, you need to repeat the process if you're going to send money back by joining the nz based version, although if you join the Uk one first there's no need to send your passports to NZ for checking. I looked at the others listed in a thread, and for speed / convenience then HiFx seemed best. First transfer took 4 days and worked fine.

[Tia Maria]

When we brought over the house money we phoned the migrant banking branch of ASB and HIFX, and the bank was more competitive.

However, I know others have found HIFX to be more competitive, so my advice is to set up a migrant account and a HIFX one - in advance of when you need to transfer the money - then phone them both and go with who is most competitive on the day.

As mentioned, over a certain amount the banks will give you the interbank rate, ie not the tourist one, so it is worth clarifying what amount that is. (30,000 gbp rings a bell but it was a long time ago!)

The main downside to the bank, was we dealt with the London branch, so could only transfer money in UK time but it was worth staying up to earn the extra money!

NZ doesn't offer tax free wrappers similar to ISAs, I also find their range of share option products quite limited, although you can look into Australian products as well.

If you do not need to cash up the ISAs you can normally keep them but can no longer continue paying into them - obviously confirm this in writing with your provider.

Cheers

Tia