Which bank/account should I go for? Newbie saver

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Forums › Finance and wealth management › Which bank/account should I go for? Newbie saver

redeye52

118 posts

Master Geek

#160376 4-Jan-2015 23:36

Hey guys,

Up until now I've been with ANZ and been reasonably content. However, now that I have a job, I need faster processing times for transfers (between banks) as I find my parents keep asking me for loans and wanting same day transfer. I have a Kiwibank account which processes every hour, but the interest rate is lower than ANZ hence I don't use it.

I wonder if people have any insights to what bank I should go with / which account.

I would need / want:
An every day account which I would use for my groceries, bills etc - tertiary account should be good for this? I study for another year at uni. Also would want to set up a visa debit card.

- savings account : Preferably one that have same / higher interest than ANZ (3% atm).

Also, I noticed some banks offer bonus interest if you don't withdraw. Does 'withdraw', include transfers between your savings and everyday account?

I'm currently leaning towards ASB. Their interest rate is lower than anz, but my Kiwisaver is already with them + a lot of businesses seem to use them which would mean instant transfers for urgent purchases. Their free fries with every McD purchase is nice too since I feel silly buying just fries, and always end up getting a combo purely for the fries lol.

Anywho, any advice is appreciated~

Batman

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#1208222 4-Jan-2015 23:55

usually 2 accounts work best

1 account low to zero fees but unlimited usage of all kinds (online to cheque to teller assisted), low to zero interest
1 account with high interest but may incur costs to do things (some accounts called "online saver" have no fees and high interest but you cannot withdraw money physically)

check interest.co.nz for rates - they're pretty similar. i have a mortgage so my needs are different and i don't know why banks have the best rates sorry

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khull

1245 posts

Uber Geek

#1208278 5-Jan-2015 07:10

ANZ were baffled when I pointed out that their processing times were sub par. Often blaming the transfer schedule and even the merchant for settling. I knew it was rubbish as other banks would at worst case settle overnight if it was a business day.

sbiddle

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#1208291 5-Jan-2015 08:08

ANZ settle numerous times per day with all other banks but when they moved from the ANZ to National's Systematics non real-time platform they lost the ability to update their end except for overnight. It was previously real-time for around 6 months on the old ANZ platform after SBI was introduced.

If you're only getting 3% you're on a terrible ANZ account anyway, I get 4.25% on my ANZ account. You're not really going to see much of a difference between the banks, if you want a decent rate you'll need to look at options other than a normal savings account such as a term deposit.

robjg63

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#1208322 5-Jan-2015 09:34

An ANZ serious saver account will pay 0.10% - but provided you deposit a minimum of $20 per month you get an extra 4.15% making 4.25%
Which is not too bad at the moment - if you make a withdrawal during the month you wont get the extra 4.15% - is called 'serious saver' after all.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

Batman

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#1208324 5-Jan-2015 09:38

that extra clause of losing all your interest penalty is no good if you don't have a crystal ball

[i once had three accounts because of the lack of crystal ball, but in the end i just had 2. then came mortgage, ... still have 2 accounts, one slightly positive, the other negative in the 6 figure mark!]

Batman

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#1208325 5-Jan-2015 09:38

sbiddle: ANZ settle numerous times per day with all other banks but when they moved from the ANZ to National's Systematics non real-time platform they lost the ability to update their end except for overnight. It was previously real-time for around 6 months on the old ANZ platform after SBI was introduced.

If you're only getting 3% you're on a terrible ANZ account anyway, I get 4.25% on my ANZ account. You're not really going to see much of a difference between the banks, if you want a decent rate you'll need to look at options other than a normal savings account such as a term deposit.

wow good to know! how do you know all these things? what about my BNZ?

berry

61 posts

Master Geek

#1208373 5-Jan-2015 10:53

You don't need to use the same bank for both needs if you can handle the overnight delay of transfer between savings and everyday accounts. If you're serious about your savings being true savings I would look at Rabo direct - they typically offer the best rates with least conditions. They also give you easy access to term deposits and PIE funds if you become interested in those in the future.

If its mainly transfer times to your parents that matter then the bank they are with would be the fastest? even ANZ to ANZ is instant.

tukapa1

724 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1208785 5-Jan-2015 20:43

For savings;

https://www.rabodirect.co.nz/premiumsaver/default.aspx

4.5% as long as your bank balance goes up by at least $50 month. You can make withdrawals etc as often as you like for no penalty as long as your balance at the end of the month is $50 higher than at the start of the month you will get the full interest.

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#1208823 5-Jan-2015 22:09

sbiddle: ANZ settle numerous times per day with all other banks but when they moved from the ANZ to National's Systematics non real-time platform they lost the ability to update their end except for overnight. It was previously real-time for around 6 months on the old ANZ platform after SBI was introduced.

If you're only getting 3% you're on a terrible ANZ account anyway, I get 4.25% on my ANZ account. You're not really going to see much of a difference between the banks, if you want a decent rate you'll need to look at options other than a normal savings account such as a term deposit.

The ANZ upgraded to a new version of Systematics last year - it's suppose to allow further enhancements - any idea if real time processing is one of them? (although a lot of transactions are real time already - ANZ to ANZ transfers, eftpos payments, some direct credits are processed intraday, loan drawdowns and payments)

redeye52

118 posts

Master Geek

#1208877 5-Jan-2015 23:40

Hmm...I've never heard of rabodirect, or seen any of their buildings around. Will look into it though as it seems quite well known?

Parents are with different banks... one with ANZ (the one that doesnt ask for many loans), and the other with ASB (asks for loans every other day, hence I was leaning ASB, but it has lower interest rate).

I usually keep all but $50 a week of my my money, into my savings as I don't normally need more.

I usually set aside $50 each week from my salary to use at the end of the month. The rest of it, I put in my savings to keep myself from spending extra. If I seperate banks for the two types of accounts.... I imagine most of my money will need to be kept in my everyday account.

At the moment, I'm thinking I should keep my ANZ savings account (which lets me make as many transfers + withdrawals without affecting interest rate) + get an ASB every day account (Tertiary pack) with Visa Debit? Though I may swap my ANZ to rabo after doing a bit more research.

sonyxperiageek

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#1208895 6-Jan-2015 04:37

Hmm, Rabo Direct's PremiumSaver does seem like a better option than ANZ's Serious Saver at the moment.. 4.5% interest plus unlimited withdrawals (not applicable with ANZ) provided your bank balance increases by $50 at the end of the month!

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sbiddle

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#1208897 6-Jan-2015 05:54

redeye52: Hmm...I've never heard of rabodirect, or seen any of their buildings around. Will look into it though as it seems quite well known?

You won't - they don't have High St branches.

Globally they're huge.

jonathan18

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#1208936 6-Jan-2015 08:35

sbiddle:
redeye52: Hmm...I've never heard of rabodirect, or seen any of their buildings around. Will look into it though as it seems quite well known?

You won't - they don't have High St branches.

Globally they're huge.

Rabo are - if I remember correctly - Dutch-based or at least Dutch in origin, and primarily focused on the rural sector.

I've had a Rabo Direct savings account for probably about 10 years - they've been offering what is probably the best savings account options for at least that time. Even their standard online saver provides a decent level of interest but without any penalties for multiple withdrawals (which is ideal for us, as we use it as a holding pattern for the money to pay the credit card off each month).