Credit card fraud, a Kiwibank experience

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Forums › Finance and wealth management › Credit card fraud, a Kiwibank experience

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#1924732 24-Dec-2017 20:12

We got our Kiwibank cards skimmed in London and we reported the (potential) loss to Kiwibank security: they are a 24hr service. The refund came about 3 days later after we filled a claim form. Puzzled why seemingly obvious fraudulent transactions were allowed but get the impression that KB took it as the price of doing business.

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#1924738 24-Dec-2017 20:51

As someone who has been with Kiwibank many years I can attest to how bad they are. They aren't really a real bank in my opinion. They are disorganized and service levels vary from terrible to actionable, unless you end up with a senior senior senior manager.

It's a shame as our first account manager was simply outstanding. Having said that, wealthy friends of ours just had a nightmare getting finance for a holiday property they wanted through ASB who they have banked with for years. I switched from ASB because of poor service after many years of loyal banking with them.

We stay with Kiwibank because we save a lot of money, but if I had my way, we would be gone from there tomorrow.

matisyahu

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#1924749 24-Dec-2017 21:29

sbiddle:

Kiwibank's credit card fraud detection and their processes for dealing with it are simply atrocious. I've heard and seen so many horror stories, including some other rants on here from people. I would never want to rely on a Kiwibank card as my primary credit card.

I've had ANZ call me within 60 seconds of a suspicious transaction (me trying to buy some tickets online and the site was blocked) and even this year had my card blocked due to a single suspicious transaction in the US (a coke vending machine) while I was actually transiting back through the US. I've had my card replaced prob 3 times in the past 5 or so years due to fraud which they've detected in every instance. I haven't had to do a single thing in every instance except wait for my new card to turn up in the mail.

I just wish ANZ (or any NZ bank) would offer virtual card numbers. They simply can't seem to get their head around why these are so damn amazing.

What amazes me is the fact that the fraud detection algorithms have been around for almost 2 decades so at this point it isn't as though the technology used is cutting edge but actually pretty accessible to any bank with a few bucks up their sleeve. I opened up an account with much enthusiasm with Kiwibank as soon as I could but they've slowly fallen further and further behind - Android/Apple Pay no where on the horizon, their application on the phone seems to be stuck in a time warp etc.

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#1924757 24-Dec-2017 21:57

mdav056:

I'd rather not put my money in Aussie banks--if there are any future crashes (and there will be), I bet the NZ Government will help the NZ bank, and likely not help the Aussie banks.

The whole irony of that is that NZ remained relatively unscathed during the GFC because of the strength of the Aussie banks. We own them all a lot of gratitude for that.

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#1924759 24-Dec-2017 22:11

matisyahu:

What amazes me is the fact that the fraud detection algorithms have been around for almost 2 decades so at this point it isn't as though the technology used is cutting edge but actually pretty accessible to any bank with a few bucks up their sleeve. I opened up an account with much enthusiasm with Kiwibank as soon as I could but they've slowly fallen further and further behind - Android/Apple Pay no where on the horizon, their application on the phone seems to be stuck in a time warp etc.

Not to mention their core banking system was what was holding them back and they wasted $100 million on a failed SAP deployment so they're back to where they started.

bmt

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#1924978 25-Dec-2017 14:21

I'm in my 20s so rarely go into a bank branch but that's also the main reason I wouldn't go with Kiwibank. The whole NZ Post/Kiwibank thing is odd and off putting to me, especially considering how long the lines are whenever I go to a post office. It just seems like a poor man's version of a bank.

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#1925015 25-Dec-2017 17:15

While I do have issues with KB on other topics, they did detect fraudulent use of my Platinum MC very quickly and processed a refund on the fraudulent transactions within one working week without any hassle. A new card arrived within that same timeframe.

cokemaster

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#1925072 25-Dec-2017 20:14

I've spoken about Kiwibank previously regarding their customer experience but like some here, found it to be lackluster and their treatment of customers post-join was the last straw for me.
There appears to be some ability to waive the contact centre fees as during my 'set up' of a home loan with them, I contacted them in excess of 5-10 times within a monthly period but never got charged the fees.

Unfortunately my experiences with Kiwibank customer service and retention (or lack thereof) means that I'm unlikely to bring any serious business to Kiwibank nor am I likely to recommend them to any family and friends. I'm much more likely to recommend them to HSBC, ANZ and Westpac who all seem to offer a much better experience overall (and between the three of them, I'm always getting the best bang for buck anyway).

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Basil12

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#1925112 25-Dec-2017 22:31

Booking travel for a flight to the US I had fraudulent use on both Kiwibank and Westpac credit cards. Kiwibank missed the fraudulent use which I had to follow up with them. Westpac simply cancelled the card, something I only discovered when trying to use it in the supermarket with a trolley full of shopping (which is why I always carry two cards plus cash).

So different banks have different tricks but both quickly provided the necessary refunds.

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Technofreak

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#1925380 26-Dec-2017 16:12

So far no one has mentioned them, if you want a New Zealand bank and good service I can recommend TSB Bank. I've also heard SBS Bank are OK too, and they're wholly New Zealand owned like TSB.

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Basil12

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#1925521 26-Dec-2017 20:36

Technofreak: So far no one has mentioned them, if you want a New Zealand bank and good service I can recommend TSB Bank. I've also heard SBS Bank are OK too, and they're wholly New Zealand owned like TSB.

My wife had an issue with TSB a few years back although they may have improved their game. The main issue was that their credit cards were issued by some other bank on TSB's behalf which seemed to be the problem as TSB had so say on the decision. This may have changed with TSB growing.

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cokemaster

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#1925551 26-Dec-2017 23:09

On that front - I did try hard to look at the likes of TSB, Co-Op, Heartland and SBS but their home loan interest rates are higher than other banks eg. 18 months being 4.99, 4.69, 7.00, and 5.15 respectively when I can easily get a rate of 4.19 (and we can probably push that down to 4.09 without too much effort) from another bank (source interest.co.nz).

Having a look at the TSB credit card, it looks fairly basic - if you're only after a no-frills, no rewards credit/debit card then it might be for you... but if you're after a rewards programme, complementary insurance and other perks then I suspect that you're going to be looking at the main banks. The interest rate is also 18.50% which puts it in range of a standard credit card (low interest cards tend to be a bit lower) (source: TSB website) so it'd be reasonable to expect some of these 'perks'.

The co-op bank does offer a credit card (The fair-rate card ) however it looks like a low-rate card (12.95%) so is more comparable to things like the Westpac Low-rate (13.45%), ANZ Low-rate (13.90%), ASB Light (13.50%), BNZ Low rate (13.45%) or Kiwibank Lowrate (13.45%) - these cards typically offer no rewards programmes and have limited benefits programmes.

It really comes down to what you use your card for at the end of the day - if your going to be paying your balance off each month then I'd lean towards the main banks rewards enabled cards, if you're going to carry balances over then I'd lean towards the low rate cards... of which the Co-op bank has the lowest going rate (unless you count those finance cards like GEM).

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CamH

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#1925555 27-Dec-2017 00:03

I left Kiwi Bank about 5 years ago because my cards would constantly get "hacked" and need to be replaced at a fee each time. Now that was fine, because I would buy some stuff from shady places, but it took so long for a new card to arrive each time and the wait at the post office to even see anyone, followed by a call to someone not in a branch to authorize was an absolute pain. Went in and asked to close my accounts and cards as I'd transferred all money except $12 to cover the monthly fee (which was to be debited the next day) out. They said this was fine and that it was all done.

I completely forgot about it until about a year later. I got a letter which said I owed hundreds and hundreds of dollars - Something around $300-$400 if I recall correctly. The accounts hadn't been closed as requested and they tried to debit $12 each month, then $20 as an overdraft fee. It took me 3 hours in a branch, sitting in one of the personal banker's offices on the phone to a call center for them to correctly close the account and wipe the debt. At the end of the call, not even a sorry. Wouldn't touch a Kiwi Bank product ever again, no matter how good it sounds.

dafman

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#1925587 27-Dec-2017 09:00

Banks are like telcos, they all have customer service horror stories.

You could replace Kiwibank in the thread title with the name of another major bank and many similar tales of customer woe would follow.

alasta

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#1925591 27-Dec-2017 09:47

I have been with BNZ for about 30 years and have never had a problem with them. Okay, their near collapse in the 80s wasn't ideal but I was still a kid at the time so didn't have much to lose.

Despite all the horror stories about Australian owned banks I really wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.

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