Bank of the Year – Small Business Award

There are 487,900 actively trading businesses in New Zealand, with many of these underpinning family lifestyles. If big business steals most of the limelight, small business can be relied upon to quietly power the engine room of the economy.Despite the vast array of differences with business operations, they all have one thing in common: the need for a good set of banking products designed to work for, rather than against, a business’ own unique setup.

Every year, we put financial institutions’ business offerings under the microscope to identify levels of excellence and ultimately announce the winner of the Small Business Banking Award. Scoring what banks offer this vital sector of the community is complex. Naturally, we look at the range of dedicated products – such as transaction and savings accounts, credit cards and loans – but we also scrutinize the features a bank offers to help small business every step of the way. A great deal depends on how easy the product is to use in relation to the way your business operates, and the amount of support offered by your financial institution can be a deal breaker.

For those who bank a little or a lot, CANSTAR’s in-depth research and comparison into business banking saves you precious time. It’s a good starting point for either benchmarking your existing bank or, if you are about to open a new business, it will give you an overall picture of what to expect from whom.