BNZ bank fees for international cheques -$85

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shim99

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#231921 20-Mar-2018 14:22

I realise that talking about cheques in 2018 seems odd but here goes.

As part of living in Ireland in 2016 we paid some water use charges for our dwelling. Since that time a new Government came into effect in Ireland and reversed the water charges scheme and all those that paid fees were refunded the total amount they paid. In our case €185.

That refund is by bank cheque in Euros.

Today I went into BNZ and was informed that they have changed there processing of international cheques and that any cheques are subject to a minimum $50 currency conversion fee + the cost couriering that cheque back to the issuing country. In this case its $35 to post a cheque to Ireland. That means I will be facing a $85 upfront cost to just process the cheque.

Now this got me thinking, whilst i am a fan of moving away from cheques in banking in NZ, there are a number of large economies (US, EU) where cheques are still prevalent and are forms of payment for shares and the like.

In the immediate future this will also bite on the Vanguard shares I have on the ASX (which pay dividends in cheques). My current share holding means that dividend payments will be completely wiped out by shares.

Has anyone else encountered this change in bank policy, and if so how have you got around it?

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#1980530 20-Mar-2018 14:40

How about opening a foreign currency account with the bank so you get past the conversion fee?

From memory the check fee from an overseas bank has always been $25-$30 bucks, so I'm not sure you can avoid that.

Shopping round banks might also find different pricing,

Banks don't want to deal in foreign checks so try to dissuade customers with high fees..

shk292

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#1980534 20-Mar-2018 14:43

Don't you have a bank account in Ireland? Pay the cheque in there, then use the associated credit card / debit card to spend the money.

Never give up an overseas bank account and credit card if you don't have to

floydbloke

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#1980545 20-Mar-2018 15:02

wellygary:

From memory the check fee from an overseas bank has always been $25-$30 bucks, so I'm not sure you can avoid that.

...

This might be a new thing from BNZ and their re-jigged fees (my C/Card got cheaper). Last month I deposited a GBP cheque into one of my accounts for no fee and an OK exchange rate.

I have emailed them to clarify.

= > ÷

MurrayM

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#1980546 20-Mar-2018 15:09

Back in the 90's I used to receive cheques from the US for royalties for a shareware program I had written. They'd turn up each month, usually for amounts between US$20 and US$500. I would take them in to our bank (National Bank) and they'd fill in a special little form for foreign cheques and a couple of weeks later the funds would show up in our account. I don't think there were any fees at all, except maybe a $1 fee for the teller (I think they usually waived the fee as we had no other way of banking the cheque without the assistance of a teller).

It seems weird that foreign cheques were easy and cheap to bank back then but now are hard and expensive?

Maybe ask at a couple of other banks to see what their policy is and if you find a cheaper bank then open an account with them, deposit the cheque, when the money arrives in the account then transfer it to your normal account and close the new account?

Just had a quick look at the ASB's website and found this: https://www.asb.co.nz/foreign-exchange/foreign-cheques.html Says:

Foreign cheques - clean negotiated : Free

Foreign cheques/Travellers cheques - sent on collection (Other banks' charges may apply) : $50 + courier fee

afe66

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#1980547 20-Mar-2018 15:10

Re Vanguard dividend cheques.

?If you dont need the dividend cash, is it possible to get the dividend automatically reinvested in new units?

sbiddle

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Biddle Corp

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#1980814 21-Mar-2018 08:05

There are two methods for foreign cheques - clean negotiated and on collection (which vary by who sent them and what country).

On collection cheques are manual processed as the bank needs to send them back to the original bank and then negotiate a way for that bank to actually send them the money.

shim99

33 posts

Geek

#1980816 21-Mar-2018 08:06

Thanks for all your comments.

It appears that shopping around NZ banks may be the best short term solution.

I do have an Irish bank account so could post the cheque back to contacts there and have them bank it on my behalf.
Irish water explicitly said that they would not do bank transfers for any of the refunds and cheques was the only payment method they would use.

I will relook into vanguard reinvestment if dividends but when I first signed up they said it was not an option.

Thanks again.

shim99

33 posts

Geek

#1980818 21-Mar-2018 08:08

sbiddle:
There are two methods for foreign cheques - clean negotiated and on collection (which vary by who sent them and what country).

On collection cheques are manual processed as the bank needs to send them back to the original bank and then negotiate a way for that bank to actually send them the money.

According to BNZ the number of countries for clean negotiated will be zero by the end of the year. I asked them about when they planned to inform customers and they said when they next bring a cheque in. I said that i thought better communication than that was needed and got a shrug of the shoulders.

shim99

33 posts

Geek

#1980819 21-Mar-2018 08:10

floydbloke:
wellygary:

From memory the check fee from an overseas bank has always been $25-$30 bucks, so I'm not sure you can avoid that.

...

This might be a new thing from BNZ and their re-jigged fees (my C/Card got cheaper). Last month I deposited a GBP cheque into one of my accounts for no fee and an OK exchange rate.

I have emailed them to clarify.

Yes, it appears to be a change in policy over the last month or two.

Geektastic

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#1980852 21-Mar-2018 09:06

shim99: Thanks for all your comments.

It appears that shopping around NZ banks may be the best short term solution.

I do have an Irish bank account so could post the cheque back to contacts there and have them bank it on my behalf.
Irish water explicitly said that they would not do bank transfers for any of the refunds and cheques was the only payment method they would use.

I will relook into vanguard reinvestment if dividends but when I first signed up they said it was not an option.

Thanks again.

I would just send it to Ireland.

If you can't spend it, or won't be heading to Europe any time soon, transfer it to a friend there and have them wire the amount to your account here. The fees will be far less I expect.

kryptonjohn

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#1980858 21-Mar-2018 09:18

We take it for granted how good (by comparison) our banking is here. I've found overseas banks to be positively prehistoric right from the start when you try to open an account and it doesn't get any better when you see their online banking.

Ideally as others have said, best to deposit it into a bank in Ireland. Then use that bank's online banking to pay yourself in NZ. But that probably won't work as their systems generally just aren't that capable. Otherwise perhaps you could hook up Paypal to it, or transfer it into a debit card at the bank and hook that into Paypal?

floydbloke

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#1980876 21-Mar-2018 09:46

Given the technologies and secure communications methods available these days to the banks and organisations paying monies, their behaviour and policies described in this thread are laughable and ridiculous.

(Some processing fee is probably warranted, but $85?????)

= > ÷

floydbloke

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#1980921 21-Mar-2018 10:50

floydbloke:

...

I have emailed them to clarify.

Below is the response I got. It suggests I may still be able to make these deposits without fees but no guarantee.

BNZ:

...when receiving International Cheques to an account, we would usually process these as a Clean Discount.

On some occasions however, Cheques may not processed as a Clean Discount. Any Cheques not processed as a Clean Discount, will need to be sent to the remitting bank for 'collection'. This means that the Cheque is returned to that originating bank and branch, which will then pay these funds as an International transfer. This provides additional protection for the bank as some International Cheques can be dishonoured anytime within a year of being presented. This is a potential loss to the bank.

The remitting bank will charge a fee on any Cheque sent for collection, as there is a cost involved in the International Transfer. This fee will often be passed on to the customer and therefore, there may be additional charges to clear your Cheque.

When you are depositing the cheque at a BNZ store, they will advise you whether the cheque can be processed as a Clean Discount.

Interesting comment about 'dishonoured within a year'. Whenever I have made these deposits in the past I have had to sign a 'risk statement' that if this happens the BNZ will debit my account for the original amount in the foreign currency but at that day's exchange rate.

= > ÷

kryptonjohn

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#1980924 21-Mar-2018 10:53

I thought this 'dishonoured within a year' business was a just French banking thing - have run into this issue before. Not totally surprised it's also a factor elsewhere in the EU.

Geektastic

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#1980930 21-Mar-2018 11:02

floydbloke:

floydbloke:

...

I have emailed them to clarify.

Below is the response I got. It suggests I may still be able to make these deposits without fees but no guarantee.

BNZ:

...when receiving International Cheques to an account, we would usually process these as a Clean Discount.

On some occasions however, Cheques may not processed as a Clean Discount. Any Cheques not processed as a Clean Discount, will need to be sent to the remitting bank for 'collection'. This means that the Cheque is returned to that originating bank and branch, which will then pay these funds as an International transfer. This provides additional protection for the bank as some International Cheques can be dishonoured anytime within a year of being presented. This is a potential loss to the bank.

The remitting bank will charge a fee on any Cheque sent for collection, as there is a cost involved in the International Transfer. This fee will often be passed on to the customer and therefore, there may be additional charges to clear your Cheque.

When you are depositing the cheque at a BNZ store, they will advise you whether the cheque can be processed as a Clean Discount.

Interesting comment about 'dishonoured within a year'. Whenever I have made these deposits in the past I have had to sign a 'risk statement' that if this happens the BNZ will debit my account for the original amount in the foreign currency but at that day's exchange rate.

"a BNZ store"?! Do they mean a bank branch?

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