New Zealand Banks
Last Updated on Wednesday, 18 March 2009 09:28
Advice - New Zealand Backpacking Advice
New Zealand Banks
information about banks in New Zealand. Which ones are backpacker friendly and offer the best services. New Zealanders are amongst the highest users of electronic banking services in the world. ATMs (Automatic Teller Machines) are available in most towns, even if they do not have a bank.
New Zealand has a cash payment system called EFTPOS.(Electronic Funds Transfer Point of Sale). This is very similar to Switch and Laser in the UK and Ireland except for one difference. You don't sign the transaction docket in New Zealand unless you are making a credit card transaction However the UK and Ireland have started to follow.EFTPOS (Laser/Switch)
Most shops have Eftpos (Electronic Funds Transfer at Point Of Sale) terminals for debit and credit cards, so most purchases can be made electronically. Credit cards are not accepted by some merchants with Eftpos, especially smaller food retailers such as dairies, takeaways and cafes that do not serve alcohol. Also smaller retailers may often set a minimum purchase of around $10 when obtaining cash, if they agree to provide cash. Banks offer a wide range of telephone and internet banking services. If you are going to be in New Zealand for a while it may be convenient to open a New Zealand bank account and set up a local debit card, to avoid carrying a lot of cash around.
EFTPOS in New Zealand uses a PIN number (Personal Identification Number), This number is a 4 digit number that is recorded at the time of your cards issue and can be a number that you choose" Never write this number down or tell anyone this number.
"Never" will a New Zealand bank staff member ask you for your PIN Number. If someone does, decline as it is mostly someone attempting to defraud you.
When making a purchase using EFTPOS the sales assistant swipes your card and gives you a keypad. On the keypad you will see the transaction total " Check the amount for any Keying errors.
You then select the account from 3 buttons at the top of the keypad (Cheque, Savings or Credit). Most of the time you will use either Cheque or savings. Then enter you pin number and ok/enter.
Your account is then checked for sufficient funds and the money deducted from your account and placed into the retailers account. 99% of all retailers in New Zealand provide EFTPOS as a means of payment. However depending on your bank in New Zealand a transaction charge may apply.
Comments
You can use your New Zealand cash machine (EFTPOS) card in almost all other bank machines in New Zealand. Most New Zealand Banks belong to either Plus 4 or Cirrus, This means if your Home bank account also belongs to one of these you can withdraw funds in New Zealand dollars in New Zealand directly from your account back home Banks- when researching into bank accounts in New Zealand before I came out I found it really strange out here as New Zealand banks charged for taking your own money out and for just about everything that goes with it, so it is worth shopping around for the bank with the lowest rate, at the moment it is Kiwi bank which is associated with the post office so there are branches everywhere, and if you end up using your EFT-POS card a lot you can get a $5 monthly fixed charge which will cover all of your transactions. There are other banks that are offering this fixed charge at the moment. The Kiwi Bank also offers on line banking and email bank statements which are always helpfully when you are traveling around. Becky...
