Stuff
Anger as half of bank branches cut their hours and cash is increasingly difficult to use — Reserve Bank finds
06/07/2021
The closure of branches sparked a hearing in Parliament in which the Bankers’ Association defended the closures saying they only reflected customer demand digital banking.
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Stuff
‘Consumer data right’ may make switching banks easier
06/07/2021
“Research shows that few people think sharing your personal information with third parties is a good idea. Third parties seeking to use consumers’ personal data will need to show they have proper safeguards in place.”
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Otago Daily Times
Disabled, older bank users allege neglect
06/07/2021
Less than 1% of payments were made by cheque and options for former cheque users included direct debit, automatic payments and phoning a bank, he said.
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Rural News
Is that banker with a b or a w?
01/07/2021
“Covid-19 impacted many New Zealanders and our banks deferred or reduced loan repayments on $70 billion in business and household loans,” Beaumont says.
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RNZ
Covid-19: Government business finance guarantee ending
27/06/2021
“Depending on the customer’s circumstances, banks also offered to reduce loan repayments, temporarily deferred all repayments, extended the term of loans, consolidated loans, and provided access to short-term funding.”
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Stuff
Big banks close more than 460 ATMs and bank branches over 18 months
26/06/2021
“I heard a story a couple of weeks ago from one of our major banks where one of their branches was averaging six transactions a week. That’s not six transactions an hour or six transactions a day. Six transactions a week.”
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NZ Herald
Under pressure from mayors, Finance Minister tried unsuccessfully to get banks to extend ‘hubs’
21/06/2021
NZBA chief executive Roger Beaumont said Covid-19 had a significant impact on how customers used bank branches, the banking hubs and the commitments made by the six participating banks “none of which could have been foreseen when the trial was announced”.
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Interest.co.nz
RBNZ finally gets conditional agreement from the Finance Minister for debt serviceability tools, but the initial one it’s able to use is likely to be one pushed by the bank lobby group
17/06/2021
This is the alternative to a DTI ratio tool suggested by bank lobby group the New Zealand Bankers’ Association in its response to the 2017 consultation. NZBA argued the evidence linking high-DTI loans and loan defaults was weak, with job loss having the most significant impact on the likelihood of loan default.
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Stuff
Consumer NZ: Nearly one in five had a problem with their bank in past year
17/06/2021
“Frontline bank staff were inundated with calls from customers seeking assistance with lending and cashflow. And there has also been a huge increase in home loan applications in the last year. Given all this, it’s perhaps not surprising that some more customers had a less-than-perfect experience, and yet our research shows public attitudes to banking...
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NZ Herald
Face to face banking fees should be dropped – Age Concern
16/06/2021
“Anyone concerned about their bank fees should talk to their bank to discuss their particular situation and how they can avoid fees,” he said. “Some banks waive fees for older customers. Everyone’s circumstances are a bit different and it pays to have a chat about how your bank can help you.”
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