Opening a US$ account at ASB
Filed under: Avalon's Money Thread, Banks, Exchannge Rate & Currency Transfers
We have decided to open up a US$ account here in New Zealand. While our original UK accounts are still active, and based in the UK, we really don’t need a UK£ account here. But the issue we have at the moment is that the shares we hold in IBM are in US$. And while the share price and the dividends we get are quite nice in US$ amounts, once we pay them into our NZ$ account, we really aren’t getting our moneys worth.
So by letting the money sit in a US$ account, we can wait till the rate improves and get a better deal.
For ease we have opened up the US$ account at ASB. Applying is fairly straightforward – the major hitch is that you need to put a certain amount into the account to open it (amount depends on the currency). In the case of US$ – you need $10,000. Not exactly pocket change.
Now we have managed to get that, basically because I have that money in out Tax Savings account. It’s money that really doesn’t belong to us – we will need to pay it to the tax man – but because we are self employed – we don’t have to pay it for ages. So we borrow the funds to get the account set up.
The nice thing is that you don’t have to KEEP US$10,000 in the account.
You just need to put it in there to activate the account. Then you can move it back out when you want to.
There are NO FEES to operate the account. There are some fairly hefty fees if you want to do certain things – like get a NZ$ bank draft from the account – but that is basically the same with any ASB account. And if you wanted to pay cash into the account – that would cost. But electronic transfers into the account, or paying US$ cheques in costs nothing.
Which is good.
What is not so good is that if you do pay a foreign currency cheque into ANY ASB account (whether your normal current account or a foreign currency account) ASB sit on it for 21 working days. That’s basically a month. (Usual guff about money laundering blah blah blah).
In your normal account, it just sits there, gets noted on your statement and is in the Account Balance, but doesn’t get added to the Available Balance until the 21 (working) days are up.
In a foreign Currency Account, it sits in a separate Term Deposit before being cleared and transferred to your Foreign Currency Cash account. If you transfer money from your normal NZ account into the US$ account – that is not held for 21 days and shows up as usual.
Also, its worth noting that from my parents experience, paying cheques into these accounts generates a forest worth of paperwork. So make sure you have a good filing system for it.
New Zealand interest rates coming down.
Filed under: Cost of living, Economics, Interest Rates, Credit Cards & Mortgages in NZ
Last week the Reserve bank held the base rate steady – and this week, some of the main banks have cut thier mortgage rates. It means that Fixed Rates are coming down towards the floating rates – though the long term fixed rates are still way too high for me! Im using ASB rates for ease – but Westpac and Kiwibank have also dropped the rates.
As at 12:25:54 p.m., Thursday 15 September 2011
- Housing Variable 5.75 % p.a.
- Housing Fixed (6 Month) 5.85 % p.a.
- Housing Fixed (12 Month) 5.90 % p.a.
- Housing Fixed (18 Month) 6.10 % p.a.
- Housing Fixed (24 Month) 6.30 % p.a.
- Housing Fixed (36 Month) 6.70 % p.a.
- Housing Fixed (48 Month) 7.05 % p.a.
- Housing Fixed (60 Month) 7.40 % p.a.
- ORBIT Home Loan 5.75 % p.a.
As at 09:47:18 a.m., Wednesday 2 November 2011
- Housing Variable 5.75 % p.a.
- Housing Fixed (6 Month) 5.75 % p.a.
- Housing Fixed (12 Month) 5.80 % p.a.
- Housing Fixed (18 Month) 5.80 % p.a.
- Housing Fixed (24 Month) 6.00 % p.a.
- Housing Fixed (36 Month) 6.30 % p.a.
- Housing Fixed (48 Month) 6.70 % p.a.
- Housing Fixed (60 Month) 7.10 % p.a.
- ORBIT Home Loan 5.75 % p.a.
For New Zealand – these are REALLY low rates – but still way higher than you may be used to.
Why are Visa and Mastercard forcing you to have contactless credit cards?
Filed under: Banks, Interest Rates, Credit Cards & Mortgages in NZ
ASB contactless credit cards are a faster and simpler way to pay for your purchases. Now you can fly through checkouts at participating stores, paying by just tapping your card on the terminal.
This new technology sends payment data to the terminal at the checkout with just one quick tap to the terminal. Once your payment has been confirmed you’re ready to go.
Problem is – it seems that these cards are being sent out automatically to people. And many of those people are phoning the banks and trying to get an old style card back because they don’t want a contact-less credit card. We don’t want one either – the security holes in this system are big enough to drive fly an Star Destroyer through)
The problem is they are being refused. That’s right – you have NO CHOICE except to have a credit card that allows funds to be taken out of your account without you ever having to swipe it, push the chip into a machine or type in a pin or sign for it.
Given that banks and Credit Card companies has thus far failed to find a way to stop your average common or garden credit card fraud – you would think they would be loathe to invent a system that is wide open to mistakes, abuse and the emptying of your account.
And the worse thing is that if this does turn out to be watertight as a sieve – most people wont even notice because most people never look at their credit card statements. It should be noted that although I have posted up a picture from ASB and quoted their website – this is not something ASB are forcing on us (or any other bank for that matter). This is being driven by the Credit Card Companies – though I have to say that the banks probably have the power to tell the to get stuffed if they wanted to.
Time for an RFID Blocking Wallet???
A humourous interlude at the bank :)
Much needed after the past few blogs. ASB advertise that they will change foreign currency notes commission free. Having just recently returned from Fiji with a small bit of cash left, I thought I would try it.
So I toddled off to ASB on Lambton Quay clutching $6 FJD (three $2 notes) in my mitts and asked if they could change them an account of it may just get me enough money to buy a cup of coffee.
Bless the girl behind the counter – we had a laugh about it – and lo – my $6 FJD turned into a whole $3.80 NZD.
Which we agreed, that with some shopping around – I may actually be able to buy a cup of coffee.
Banks are stepping up to help Christchurch
Filed under: Banks, Interest Rates, Credit Cards & Mortgages in NZ, Life in New Zealand
As soon as the government announced it’s package to help people in Christchurch, ANZ was on the TV with an advert outlining it’s 1,000,000,000 package to help affected people in the red zone.
We’ve created a $1,000,000,000 kick-start fund to provide lending to home owners living in the Government’s designated residential red zone.
A heavily discounted variable rate – currently 3.70% p.a. – will be available to eligible residents for the first year of lending – no matter where you relocate in New Zealand.
What does the fund provide?Eligible residents will get a 2.04% discount off ANZ’s variable home loan rate for the first year of lending up to a value of $500,000.
Who is eligible?Any home owner living in an area of Christchurch which has been designated as part of the Government’s designated residential red zone. What do you need to do to qualify?
- You must be eligible for and take up the Government scheme
- and deposit the net proceeds of the Government payout into an ANZ call account within two months of receiving it
- At the point of taking up the lending, you’ll need to direct credit your salary directly into an ANZ transaction account
- The loan must be drawn down by 31 December 2012.
Kiwibank have a similar package to ANZ:
If you accept the offer from the Government and wish to purchase or build a property elsewhere, we’re offering:
a 2% p.a. discount on our variable rate for a year from drawdown – this means that the rate will be 3.65% p.a.
no application fee for new home purchases
no fixed rate break costs or early repayment fee if you already have a Kiwibank home loan.You’ll need to:
contribute the Government’s net payout towards the property purchase price, and
have your salary direct credited to a Kiwibank account.The maximum loan amount is $500,000, and the loan needs to be drawn down before 31 December, 2012.
ASB have also updated there aid package, but to be honest it really is pretty weak compared to ANZ.
Westpac and BNZ haven’t released an up to date package for people in the red zone – which is a pretty poor show really. So ANZ and Kiwibank are the winners here for taking some decisive steps – good on them.
I’m a credit card tart and proud of it!
Filed under: Banks, General Budgeting, Interest Rates, Credit Cards & Mortgages in NZ
A credit card tart is someone who swaps the balance of their credit card to another card in order to take advantage of special low introductory rates on balance transfers.
This was hugely popular in the UK in the years before we emigrated, where it was not unusual to get several offers in the post each month from different providers, often with 0% interest on the balance transfer.
Now many people took these out, and ended up spending yet more money and ended up with a lot more debt. But people in the know used these rates to pay down debt faster and faster – including us.
Yet when we came to New Zealand, there was no such thing. With standard interest rates on cards at about 20%, “low” rates were about 7% at the cheapest. But now ANZ are offering 2.99% on balance transfers for 6 months. And while most banks won’t “lend” me money (because we have investment properties), one of our mortgages is with ANZ and they have decided to take our business. I am not taking on an extra credit card – I will be canceling the ASB card as soon as I have the physical new card – I just want to take advantage of a good offer!
This is the only credit card we have with debt on it – and it is associated with Hubby’s contracting business – so this is where all the set up costs, training costs and such went. The interest we are paying on the card with ASB is about $200 a month. On the ANZ card it will be about $30.
Not a bad saving.
Even better – one of those money saving options that results from not having to “give up” a single cup of coffee (or anything else!)
Of course the trick to being a successful Tart is to keep paying off the credit card at the same rate, and not see the $170 reduction as extra money you can spend! I will be aiming to have the balance paid off in full by the end of the 6 months introductory period, and then we can go back to not having a revolving balance on any of our cards.
So thanks today goes to ANZ bank – for not only helping me out with my finances and budgeting, but for making the process of getting the cards and transferring the balance an easy and pleasant one. I am very impressed.
In contrast to my opinion of Kiwibank.
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Well Done to ASB
Filed under: Banks, Interest Rates, Credit Cards & Mortgages in NZ
It’s really nice to be able to say that a Bank has done something really worthwhile but I think ASB deserve a gold star for doing just a little more to help people in Christchurch, and show a bit of team spirit and flexibility.
We realise that some ASB customers have been significantly affected by the Christchurch earthquakes so we have updated our assistance package to reflect this. If your home is uninhabitable or your income has been significantly impacted talk to us as you may be eligible for the following discounted rates on your existing products:
Home Loans
Save on your home loan rates for up to 12 months
We’re offering up to 12 months at a reduced rate to help make things easier. That means 0.5% discount off your existing fixed rate; and/or 1% discount off your floating rate.
Up to 6 months payment holiday on a home loan
Take a break from repayments (although interest will be added to your loan during this period increasing what you owe).
No Early Repayment Fees if you repay a fixed rate home loan, where a home is destroyed or suffered major damage as a result of the earthquake.
No establishment or adjustment fees if you need to establish or restructure a home loan as a result of the earthquake.
Credit Cards
A discounted rate of 6.24%p.a. on your ASB Credit Card for 12 months. This rate is subject to change.
Immediate consideration of any requests for emergency credit limit increases and review of credit card instalment repayments
Personal Loans
Up to six months payment holiday and a discounted interest rate for existing Personal Loans for 12 months. This is set at the current housing variable rate.
Term Investments
Access to funds in ASB Term Deposit or ASB Term Fund accounts without receiving a reduced return on your ASB Term Deposit or paying any ASB Term Fund withdrawal fees.
Insurance
Our support if you’re working with IAG on claims over and above the Earthquake Commission cover.
All Christchurch customers are also eligible for a 90-day emergency overdraft facility
Borrow up to $10,000 if you have a home loan (or $2,000 if not) at a special variable rate of 1.25% p.a. below ASB’s housing variable rate. Right now that special rate is 4.5% p.a.
These discounts are actually quite significant. To help put that in context, I recently had to negotiate damn hard to get a 0.1% discount of my floating rate mortgages, and my fixed rate (only one of those with ASB) is still fixed with no discount.
And the no early repayment fee can literally save tens of thousands of dollars.
ASB have similar offers in place for businesses affected by the Quake, and this is in addition to the emergency package that they set up, along with the other banks, immediately after the quake:
ASB Christchurch Business Rebuild Fund
We’ve set up a $100 million fund for ASB SME business customers with existing loans that have been substantially impacted by the earthquake.
The fund will offer a 12 month interest free period, followed by a discount of 1.00% off your rate(s) (fixed or floating) at that time for up to two years.
Principal repayments are not required during the first 12 months.
The offer is available until 31 August 2011.
To ask about any of these options, or just chat about your situation and how we can help, please call us on 0800 272 222 between 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday.
Lending criteria applies. Interest rates subject to change. ASB terms and conditions apply.
ASB Christchurch New Business Fund
We’ve set up a $100 million fund to encourage new business in the Christchurch region.
This fund is available for both existing small to medium business customers and new businesses whose future cash flows are expected to be financially viable within 12-24 months.
A maximum amount of $1 million business lending per customer.
The fund will offer a 12 month interest free period, followed by two years at 1.00% discount on customer rate for two year fixed rate and variable rate Term Loans and Overdrafts.
Principal repayments are not required during the first 12 months.
The offer is available until 31 March 2012.
I mean – Interest free loans for up to a year? I cannot tell you how mindblowing this is in New Zealand. This is not a place that ever took up the idea of 0% on credit card transfers (though ANZ are offering 2.99% at the moment).
Im really impressed – and let’s be honest here – it takes and awful lot for me to impressed with a bank. I am assuming that the other banks will follow their lead – but ASB got there first, and they get the credit.
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Commonwealth Bank Of Australia lose the plot.
It’s an Aussie bank. but they own ASB, and if you emigrate from the UK and want to bank with ASB, these are the people that you would open the account with in London. So you need to know what the imbeciles have cooked up now as their latest scheme.
According to The Australian (thanks to Kiwiblog):
THE Commonwealth Bank has threatened its employees with disciplinary action, including dismissal, if they do not report criticism of the bank made by others on social media channels, including Facebook.
Bank employees have been told they must immediately notify their manager if they become aware of “inappropriate or disparaging content and information stored or posted by others”, including non-employees, in the “social media environment”.
Which I guess means that anyone reading this who works for the bank needs to report that I think these people are absoulte tossers, who would look really comfy in a George Orwell book. If they had the brains to read one. Which I doubt, because if they had they would understand just how unbelievably stupid and evil this is.
(Hubby would like to express his surprise – which can also be reported – that it took me till the second line to call them imbeciles. He would further note that he prefers to term Cretins (actually he said something else, but that’s using foul language and I wont allow that on this blog).
It says the content may damage the bank and its reputation.
Because, clearly, you need the help of people like us to totally ruin your reputation and look like a bunch of blithering idiots with all the humanity and common sense of dung beetles.
As well as notifying their manager, employees must assist the bank with any investigation into the material, and its removal.
Good luck with that. I’m sure said employee, when telling you with a single finger where to stick this idea will find employment at another bank who values then as human beings and valuable staff members rather than forcing them to act as spies and thought police.
So, CBA (and ASB) if you ever take offence at anything I say about you which is uncomplementary – then please – do not fire your staff because of it. Instead – may I suggest you get off you fat overpaid arses and listen to the fact that a customer of yours is pissed off with your crap service and do something about it.
Where the hell do these people get these ideas? And they have the sodding gaul to charge me money for this shite?
“The bank will amend the policy, where it is considered reasonable to do so, to ensure that all of its staff continue to be treated fairly.“
Ahem, too late (and due to the inevitable backlash in – you guessed it – social media). You threatened your staff, and more importantly you have basically threatened us (the customers who pay you money you ungrateful little scrotes) that if we say something bad about you and you find out – you will threaten us and force us to take it down. What are you – China?
Get a sodding grip and run your bank – which is after all what we actually pay for you.
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The Virtual Coin Jar.
Filed under: Banks, General Budgeting, Interest Rates, Credit Cards & Mortgages in NZ
I always wanted one of those oversized whisky bottles to put spare change in. I just never had one – consequently never really bothered to save change to be honest. When we first came here – we did have a Piggy Bank – actually it was a Chocolate fund cat. There wasn’t a Coffee fund cat available, so we made do.
But now ASB have decided that we probably aren’t saving our pennies any more – probably on account of we don’t use cash these days. So they have come up with a “Virtual” piggy bank for your loose change. called “Save the change”.
The idea is actually simple:
- Tell them to round up payments on your account to the next $1, $2, $5 or $10
- Tell them whether you want this on just your Eftpos Transaction, or all items, like Direct Debits, standing orders etc,
- Tell them which saving accounts you want it to go to,
- Then they “sweep” the extra “change” into that account each night.
Bit snazzy really.
And they aren’t even going to charge you to set the system up or make any changes to it – which is a minor miracle in itself.
Now when I first looked at this, you didn’t seem to be able to set this up from an Orbit account which is what I have. And that’s a good thing, so I was a bit chuffed at the bank for being sensible. Turns out you can, so I am explicitly state where you need to be very careful here:
If you have an Orbit account – which is a Revolving Credit account – or overdraft – you really do not want to be moving money to a saving account. You need as much money as you can sitting in the Orbit account.
This is because Orbit currently charges you 6.25% and Fastsaver only pays you 3.65%. So ever dollar you have in Fastsaver, rather than in Orbit is costing you still costing you 2.4%. (actually its more than that, because the 3.65% you are earning is taxed.)
So this system only works if you are in credit on your Orbit account (and Im guessing that the majority of people are not) – otherwise stay well away! And smack on the hand for ASB because they are being a bit naughty here.
Of course – this all begs the question: how much did ASB pay to get all this set up, and as they aren’t charging any fees to setup or run this – why the hell do they still charge me fees to run my bank accounts?????
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NZ interests rate holds at 3%
Filed under: Cost of living, Economics, General Budgeting, Interest Rates, Credit Cards & Mortgages in NZ
Alan Bollard (bless his little cotton socks), has held the official cash rate at 3% this morning. There are reasons for this – which basically comes down to we aren’t spending enough, so he has to keep it low. If we were spending he’s have to put it up to stop us.
Well, I’m doing my bit right now to ensure it doesn’t go up!
Overall, continued economic growth was expected to gradually absorb current surplus capacity over the next few years, Dr Bollard said.
Headline inflation was expected to move higher following the recent increase in the rate of GST.
The subdued state of domestic demand suggested this inflation spike would have limited impact on medium-term inflation expectations.
Translated as:
I can hear you talking but all I hear is “Blah Blah Blah”
If this is going to affect mortgage rates, we wont see it for a day or so, but I happened to be checking last week, and compared to a year ago, ASB’s rates are down quite nicely for longer term loans, but up for floating or short term loans. Still way too sodding expensive in my opinion – but ho hum.
As at 05:14:15 p.m., Sunday 20 December 2009
Housing Variable 5.75 % p.a.
Housing Fixed (6 Month) 6.00 % p.a.
Housing Fixed (12 Month) 6.25 % p.a.
Housing Fixed (18 Month) 6.75 % p.a.
Housing Fixed (24 Month) 7.25 % p.a.
Housing Fixed (36 Month) 8.00 % p.a.
Housing Fixed (48 Month) 8.50 % p.a.
Housing Fixed (60 Month) 8.75 % p.a.
ORBIT Home Loan 5.75 % p.a.
As at 09:27:19 a.m., Tuesday 19 October 2010
Housing Variable 6.25 % p.a.
Housing Fixed (6 Month) 6.35 % p.a.
Housing Fixed (12 Month) 6.45 % p.a.
Housing Fixed (18 Month) 6.60 % p.a.
Housing Fixed (24 Month) 6.70 % p.a.
Housing Fixed (36 Month) 7.10 % p.a.
Housing Fixed (48 Month) 7.45 % p.a.
Housing Fixed (60 Month) 7.75 % p.a.
ORBIT Home Loan 6.25 % p.a.
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