Bank accounts and currency transfer charges

[MollyM]

Hi all - I wonder if anyone who has recently immigrated and has experience or information regarding opening an NZ Bank account?
I specifically wanted to know if there is a 'best' bank to consider that doesn't charge an arm and a leg to transfer money from NZ to UK bank account?

i want to keep my UK account going for a while just to cover off some ongoing payments/direct debits until they are no longer required. Is there a bank in NZ that specifically deals with this type of thing and that charges favourable rates to transfer money between accounts, or should I look at using a money exchange service instead?

Any thoughts welcomed.

[Kiwijo]

Hiya.
Ive also been looking at this, re tax implications, pensions, etc.. It seems that most of the NZ banks have a service that help migrants do exactly what you are talking about. They allow you to open an account while offshore, and then you have to 'activate' it once you get to NZ by going into a branch with your id.
Have you looked at the NZ ready tool? Its really helpful for planning and gives lots of useful info and links.....
https://nzready.immigration.govt.nz/

[MollyM]

Thank you - have just had confirmation that my visa has been approved and they sent me this link also to start planning!! Exciting times

[Auckland2016]

Have you got a HSBC account in UK? You can ask HSBC UK to open an account for HSBC NZ. We did that before moving to NZ and HSBC NZ even sent us the bank cards before hand. However, since HSBC NZ doesn't have many branches so we also opened an account with Kiwibank before arriving in NZ but needed to visit the branch in person to activate the account and receive the bank cards. Regarding foreign currency exchange, we used OFX. We transferred USD from HSBC NZ to OFX and OFX did the currency exchange and transferred NZD to my Kiwibank account. I found OFX exchange rate is better than banks. You can check OFX rate and compare if it is favourable with your NZ bank. Sometimes if you exchange a larger amount or talk to a customer service representative, it may give you a better rate too.

[MollyM]

Thank you

[JandM]

[boland]

Welcome to New Zealand! When we moved from The Netherlands to New Zealand, I've used Wise (Transferwise at that time) to transfer money. Much better exchange rates.
And, when you would go back to the UK, you can use the Wise Mastercard to pay for stuff over there, again with better rates.
To get a free transfer, sign up with this link: https://wise.com/invite/u/rolando6