Kiwibank wins Bank of the Year – Savings
Each year CANSTAR researches and assesses both the deposit accounts and the savings tools offered by New Zealand’s financial institutions to determine which institution, in CANSTAR’s opinion, is offering outstanding value to its customers. In 2016 CANSTAR is pleased to congratulate Kiwibank on winning the Bank of the Year – Savings award.
Kiwibank presents a strong range of savings products across all product areas considered within the award and offers an innovative suite of tools to help consumers plan and track their savings behaviour. Please note that the information below outlines the Kiwibank products considered in CANSTAR’s research assessment and is for information purposes only. It is not a product recommendation.
Their 5-star rated 90-day notice saver account is an alternative to the traditional term deposit product for New Zealand savers. At time of writing this account offers a 3.00% base interest rate on a $2,000 balance in a climate of low rates, helping push this product to the top of CANSTAR’s savings account rating. There are fees associated with early withdrawal which are calculated on a case-by-case basis. If locking your funds away for 90 days is too much of a commitment, Kiwibank offer a 32-day notice saver with a 2.50% annual rate of return.
If having immediate access to your savings is a priority, Kiwibank offers at-call accounts with a total interest rate, at time of writing, of 2.00%. The rate offered drops to 1.00% if any withdrawals are made within that calendar month which provides a further financial incentive to New Zealanders to continue their savings habits! The account has no management or transaction fees and requires an account balance of $2,000 in order to generate interest.
The online banking suite offered by Kiwibank arms a dedicated saver with the tools they need to understand and achieve their savings goals. On their desktop platform the user is able to graph their savings and transaction behaviour and categorically classify transactions. This allows the customer to identify and track how much they are spending on things like groceries, petrol or any other frequent purchases. Their website also provides budget calculators and educational videos as well as tailored financial tips for their customers.
Kiwibank have also been recognised by CANSTAR as offering outstanding value term deposit options and recently won our Bank of the Year – Term Deposits award for a third consecutive year. CANSTAR research found that Kiwibank’s average interest rates across its term deposits products were greater than the market average across all terms assessed.
About Kiwibank
Kiwibank was founded in 2002 and now has nearly 900,000 customers – an impressive 20% of the Kiwi population. Kiwibank is 100% New Zealand owned and you can find them in more than 250 PostShops nationwide.
Kiwibank have been helping Kiwis get money-savvy for years now, with their heaps! free, online, personal financial management tool, and their Goal Tracker for achieving your financial goals.
Kiwibank’s Home Hunter app – a mobile app that helps you find a house on your smartphone or tablet, get the estimated sale price, and apply for pre-approval in minutes – won a CANSTAR Innovation Excellence Award in 2014.
Kiwibank is also a provider of banking products, home loans, personal loans and car loans, insurance, investment products, KiwiSaver, credit cards, overdrafts, business accounts, loans, and services, and foreign currency exchange.
How Kiwibank supports the community
Helping where it’s needed most
Kiwibank back microfinance loans for small, interest-free loans and debt relief loans so people can get back on their feet:
- Their Auckland and Waikato-based Nga Tangata Microfinance Trust has won a joint award for sustainable business.
- They partner with Aviva in Christchurch to provide microfinance loans to those affected by family violence.
- They partner with Good Shepherd Microfinanceto establish and support the microfinance industry in New Zealand.
- They offer special accounts for non-profit organisations, so non-profits can get on with helping as many people as they can.
Kiwibank also makes banking accessible and easier for the elderly and disabled. They’re even developing text-to-speech capability in new ATMs that will be installed over the next few years.
Making New Zealand a better place to live
- Kiwibank works with the Ākina Foundation, a social enterprise incubator, to enable new solutions to social and environmental challenges.
- They present the Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Awards and the Kiwibank Local Heroes Awards.
- All Kiwibank staff get a day of paid leave each year to volunteer with a community organisation they care about. They also have a workplace giving program.
- Their work with Pure Advantage gets more affordable sustainable housing into the market.
How Kiwibank protects the environment
- Winner of various NZI Sustainable Business Network Awards in 2013 and 2009.
- They offer Sustainable Energy Loans for customers to install solar, wind power or hydro power systems in their home.
- They use Nightwatchman to power off their computers overnight.
- Kiwibank ATM shells are recycled when they die, and they donate and recycle other obsolete electronic equipment.
- Kiwibank is part of the New Zealand Post Group’s Sustainability Governance Committee and reports annually on their sustainability efforts in the NZ Post Group annual report.
