Primary Production Committee
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
Several of our banks offer KiwiSaver funds and that helps enormously with take-up because most of us have a banking relationship.
If you’d like to get the most out of your banking and manage your money better, it might pay to check out the Smarter Banking guide launched by the New Zealand Bankers’ Association today.
“The guide provides practical information for customers about their everyday banking. It’s also intended to complement the recently revised Code of Banking Practice, which sets out five high-level promises that our banks make to their customers,” says New Zealand Bankers’ Association deputy chief executive Antony Buick-Constable.
“The guide covers things like the easiest ways to bank and getting the right products and services to suit your individual needs. It also includes tips on how to set up and cancel recurring payments, avoid bank fees, and keep yourself safe from fraud.
“There’s also information on switching banks and how to make a complaint if you’re not satisfied with your bank.
“We hope the guide will appeal widely to bank customers. Some of the information will be especially useful for vulnerable consumers who are the focus of the Financial Inclusion Industry Forum that’s taking place in Auckland this week.”
The Smarter Banking guide includes information on:
- What you can expect from your bank
- Easiest ways to bank
- Opening accounts and applying for credit
- Setting up and cancelling direct debits
- Choosing and managing your credit card
- How to avoid bank fees
- Fraud safety and cybersecurity
- Protecting yourself from financial abuse
- Financial hardship – how your bank can help
- Switching banks
- How to make a complaint
A printable version of the guide is available here:
https://www.nzba.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Smarter-Banking-PDF.pdf
The content of the guide is also available on the NZBA website under Smarter Banking here:
https://www.nzba.org.nz/consumer-information/
ENDS
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
The New Zealand Bankers Association has estimated about 8 per cent of accounts opened since July 1 last year could be affected by the change.
“If you don’t respond, or if your response is incomplete, your bank is required to freeze or close accounts opened from 1 July 2017 to comply with the law. Banks have started freezing or closing affected accounts this week.”
Some New Zealanders are having their bank accounts frozen because of OECD regulations reflected in New Zealand law, which requires banks to comply.
“If your bank has asked you about your foreign tax status, you should respond as soon as possible, regardless of your tax status,” says New Zealand Bankers’ Association deputy chief executive Antony Buick-Constable as compliance deadlines take effect.
“If you don’t respond, or if your response is incomplete, your bank is required to freeze or close accounts opened from 1 July 2017 to comply with the law. Banks have started freezing or closing affected accounts this week.”
The law, which is administered by Inland Revenue, is aimed at reducing global tax evasion by account holders or their controlling persons.
The law requires banks to verify the tax status of people who have opened accounts since 1 July 2017.
Banks need to report relevant customer and account information to Inland Revenue by 30 June 2018, and annually from that date.
Although banks may contact their customers seeking tax information to comply with this legislation, they’ll never ask for password or other security information, including access to accounts.
Banks and other financial institutions need to identify accounts held by foreign tax residents, and report relevant information to Inland Revenue, which in turn shares that information with other countries subject to the terms of international tax treaties.
Inland Revenue provides information for New Zealand bank account holders here:
http://www.ird.govt.nz/resources/f/2/f231e7fb-a118-4ff3-bbcd-5102b320f595/ir1033.pdf
ENDS