Bank comparison

[srivett]

I spent the morning compiling a spreadsheet of bank rates and fees across some major NZ banks so I'd have a source sheet for easy comparison. Then it struck me it might come in useful for anyone else in a similar position (not yet in NZ, looking to open a bank account pre-arrival). So here's a summary of what I came up with. It's based on my personal situation and isn't exactly comprehensive. If anyone sees a major error, please let me know.

For the record, my personal checklist includes: one everyday account including unlimited EFTPOS and paperless record keeping; one call savings account and/or term investment, min $10K; a foreign currency account option; competitive electronic transfer fees, and an easy-to-navigate, customer-friendly website. I haven't started looking into loans yet, so that's not included, nor have I looked into the combo-account option that Avalon and others have mentioned - still doing my research on that one. All of the following info is based on today's rates and is subject to change. Anyway, here we are:

* plus sending bank fees (e.g. $30 per transer with TD bank in Canada); applies to all
** my personal rankings based on how easy this information was to find on each site.


National Bank
Everyday account: all-inclusive current account - $12 monthly fee (or $5 with National home loan)
Savings % p.a.: 7.55 (online call account) - 8.5 (12m term deposit)
Foreign Currency Account: yes
Electronic Transfer Fee* $12 per transfer
User-Friendly Website**: (2)
New Resident info page: http://www.nationalbank.co.nz/person.../residents.htm


Westpac
Everyday account: "elect" account - $0 monthly fee (with paperless)
Savings % p.a.: 7.45 ("saver" account) - 8.4 (12m term deposit)
Foreign Currency Account: yes
Electronic Transfer Fee* $10 per transfer
User-Friendly Website**: (3)
New Resident info page: http://www.westpac.co.nz/olcontent/o...to+New+Zealand


BankDirect (specialises in home loans; no physical branches)
Everyday account: transaction account - $0 monthly fee (with paperless)
Savings % p.a.: 7.65
Foreign Currency Account: no
Electronic Transfer Fee* n/a
User-Friendly Website**: (6)
New Resident info page: none


ASB
Everyday account: "streamline" account - $0 monthly fee (with paperless)
Savings % p.a.: 7.65
Foreign Currency Account: yes
Electronic Transfer Fee* $12 per transfer
User-Friendly Website**: (1)
New Resident info page: http://www.asb.co.nz/section895.asp


ANZ
Everyday account: "everyday" account - $5 monthly fee
Savings % p.a.: 4 ("advantage") - 8.4 (12m term deposit)
Foreign Currency Account: yes
Electronic Transfer Fee* $12 per transfer (free under NZ$100)
User-Friendly Website**: (7)
New Resident info page: no specific page that I can see


KiwiBank
Everyday account: $5 monthly fee (waived with home loan)
Savings % p.a.: 7.75 ("kiwibank online call" account) - 8.4 (12m term deposit)
Foreign Currency Account: yes
Electronic Transfer Fee* $12 per transfer
User-Friendly Website**: (5)
Notable Benefits: almost universal no-charge ATM access; "Bill Blaster" option - 2% interest on accounts over $100
New Resident info page: http://www.kiwibank.co.nz/products/migrant_banking.stm


BNZ
Everyday account: "Flexi Money" account - $5 monthly fee (waived if account kept over $2500) Alt. option: "Smart Money" account for under 30s (no base fee, no charge for first 30 transactions)
Savings % p.a.: 2.25 ("rapid save") or 4 (including bonus) - 8.4 (270-364 term deposit - interest paid at maturity)
Foreign Currency Account: yes
Electronic Transfer Fee* $15 per transfer
User-Friendly Website**: (4)
New Resident info page: http://www.bnz.co.nz/Personal_Soluti...0-3372,00.html


Credit Union (based on Canterbury and Nelson locations)
Everyday account: "access metro" account - $15 monthly fee
Savings/Investment % p.a.: 6.5 ("money maker") - 7.25 ($2000+ term investments)
Foreign Currency Account: no
Electronic Transfer Fee* see local branch
User-Friendly Website**: (8)
Being a credit union, each will have its own advantages and disadvantages. Not really suitable for a new migrant.


So, based on my needs and not taking into account customer service reputations (because I haven't spoken to anyone yet), ASB is looking best, with Westpac and Kiwisaver close behind. National has a good feel to it, but the monthly account fee is a bit steep compared to the others. I'll have to put some final thought into it before making a decision.

Please feel free to add or comment

[speckythecky]

Thanks Suze for a comprehesive run down of the accounts, would be good to have a followup when you have finished looking at combo accounts,
I am tempted by westpac, but only because I met them at expo in March.

[JulesB]

Suze,
great work. NAtional do seem to have a lots of fees. THey do have a thoroughbred a/c with 5k(?) min bal & zero fees. But I'll look further into ASB
when I arrive in SEpt,
Thanks, JUlesB

[zardell]

We are with ASB and are very satisfied.

Also remember that the interest that they give on savings is negotiable - we receive a much higher rate than your quoted 7.65%, but obviously that depends upon your personal circumstances.

Just don't forget that EVERYTHING including bank rates and charges are negotiable in NZ - strange (to me) but true.

Julie

xx

[bartons]

Suze, this saves us a lot of time in research! Thank you for posting it!

[Familyofmonkeys]

We are with Westpac, we found them the easy to deal with, plus they got one of the better rates for savings if you bring money over. We have very helpful personal manager, who we can ring up about all sorts of little things...some other banks charge you for telephone banking, even if you just have some questions!!!

[EngiNurse]

Just don't forget that EVERYTHING including bank rates and charges are negotiable in NZ - strange (to me) but true.

Really? That's new and rather odd, to this American.

Of course, my wife (who's of Filipino descent) tries to negotiate prices on everything, including at the grocery. This is right up her alley.

[jdbob]

Kiwibank also has a "pay as you go" account for those of us who only need it while there on vacation. As long as you keep at least $200 in the account there is no monthly fee but they do charge $0.50 per transaction.

[srivett]

Just don't forget that EVERYTHING including bank rates and charges are negotiable in NZ - strange (to me) but true.

Right. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that. Thanks for the reminder! It's going to take a bit of getting used to.

[Silverwing86]

Hi all,

Great information srivett, very useful indeed !

Our research also led us to ASB, we have everything but health insurance (mortgage, daily banking/savings/Credit Cards, house/contents and car insurances) with them, and are very happy with them so far.

I would definitely agree that fees and interest rates are very negotiable, especially if you use more of their services. Most of our regular fees were waived and we too have negotiated other than standard interest rates for both savings accounts and mortgage.

We have also found that, on the few occassions that we have made mistakes (with a negative effect on our bank balance ), which happened because this form of banking is quite new to us, a phonecall was enough to put the situation right.

As an example, for some reason we completely forgot that our Credit Card payment would be a direct debit and paid the first amount directly into the Credit Card accounts (dôh !). This led to having an unexpected overdraft on our check accounts for a few days which, of course, incurred fees (this is how they make their money !!). One phonecall to our Personal Banker and the fees were fully refunded without question ! Excellent service in my book !

We will probably review our situation annually and renegotiate if/where necessary.

Silver