New Zealand banks offer the same core services you would expect to find in most countries. Cheque and Savings accounts plus an increasing range of electronic internet based banking services.

Cheque Accounts: These are mainly used for the day to day finances (paying bills etc) All the banks will have various names for these accounts which are all marketing based so we won't list tem here as they do change frequently. When you open an account you will receive Chequebook and an ATM / EFTPOS card for electronic transactions (EFTPOS = Electronic Funds Transfer Point Of Sale) basically funds are withdrawn from your account immediately.

Savings Accounts: This type of account is used to hold the money you want to put aside for special events or larger purchases again each bank calls there accounts by different names for marketing purposes the functions are generally the same. These accounts generally provide a higher rate of Interest than cheque accounts, and often have higher fees for making a withdrawal (this is designed to encourage you to keep saving)

Electronic Banking: New Zealand has one of the most advanced electronic baking systems in the world. We also have one of the greatest usage rates by the population. Increasingly banks are encouraging customers to use the electronic banking services by making these services free or substantially cheaper than face to face transactions in the local bank.

ATM’s: (Automatic Teller Machines) can be found outside banks in all major shopping areas throughout New Zealand. These can be used to access your accounts and perform various functions (withdraw or deposit cash, transfer funds from one account to another etc) You can use your cards at machines belonging to other banks but there is normally a higher charge for this usage.

EFTPOS: “EFTPOS” = Electronic Funds Transfer Point Of Sale. This is New Zealanders most commonly used method for payment of goods or services. On average cards are used as a nation around 65 times per second and this is increasing !! Your eftpos card can be used to purchase just about anything from a hair cut to a new lounge suite. You can also ask the retailer to give you “cash back” and this is deducted direct from your account (Small values normally apply here). It is quite common for Kiwis not to carry any cash at all as stated above you can purchase anything with your trusty eftpos card. The actual transaction is conducted in the same way as when you visit the Bank ATM where a PIN number is requested, except this will happen at the till and your confirm the price of purchase and enter your PIN number for payment to be completed.