The Banking services in New Zealand offers a good high standard of customer service with a range of different banks and services to choose from. The largest banks in New Zealand are Bank of New Zealand, ANZ, West Pac and ANZ which have smaller branches around the country. There are also international banks such as HSBC and Citibank.
It is possible to open an account before moving to the country with international branches that have a designated service for expats. Most expats may only be able to open account if they will be in the country for over 6 months.
There are different types of accounts that are available and account holders may be able to transfer funds, pay bills and use other services.
Residents in New Zealand opt to use online banking and telephone banking services because it is quite secure. Banks are usually open Mon-Friday between 9am-4.30pm
Opening an account
To open a bank account in New Zealand expats are required to take the required documentation, statements from previous banks, proof of residency status as well as an IRD (tax number). The account can then be set up and a bank card will be issued.
Expats who open their account before arriving usually do this online and they must put in a deposit into their account when doing this. Once they have arrived in the country, they will need to take certain documents so that a bank card is given to them.
You should note that some banks may charge fees for handling cheques, electronic transactions and using ATM’s
Visa and MasterCard is accepted everywhere with hundreds of ATM’s located in the country. If you have opened an account in New Zealand, you will be given an EFTPOS card which is similar to a debit card.
Currency & Denominations
The official currency in New Zealand is the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) divided into 100 cents. It is usually written with $ or NZ$
- Coins:
- 10 cents
- 20 cents
- 50 cents,
- 1 and 2 NZD
- Notes
- : 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 NZD