Compare everyday bank accounts
Monthly fee, what transactions cost, interest paid and the overseas card charge, for 9 everyday accounts from 8 issuers.
Read from each issuer's own pages · The oldest figure here was read 39 days ago.How we compare How everyday accounts are priced
The monthly account fee has effectively disappeared from New Zealand everyday banking: 8 of the 9 accounts here charge nothing to hold, and the one that does waives it if you deposit $2,500 a month. Electronic transactions are free across the board. What remains is charged at the counter — $2.50 to $5 for a staff-assisted or branch transaction on 5 of these accounts.
The real cost sits in the debit card. Overseas card fees run from 1.30% to 2.25%, and they apply to anything billed in another currency, including overseas websites bought from at home. On $3,000 of that a year the gap between the best and worst account here is about $29 — considerably more than any fee difference in the first column.
9 everyday accounts from 8 New Zealand banks, as published on their own pages.
8 of 9charge no monthly account fee, so the monthly fee is rarely the deciding number in this category.
1.30–2.25%is the range of overseas card fees, charged on anything billed in another currency — including overseas websites you buy from at home.
$2.50–$5is what the accounts that charge for branch or staff-assisted transactions ask per transaction, even where electronic banking is free.
3 bankspublish an interest rate for these accounts. The others either state a nil or say nothing, and we never turn silence into a zero.
9 of 9 accounts
Not checked: we have not read this figure yet. None: the issuer publishes that there is no such fee. Not published: the issuer does not publish this figure. Not offered: the provider does not offer that market or product. * Details and conditions are in the expanded row.
How to choose an everyday account
Almost every everyday account in New Zealand now costs nothing to hold, so the monthly fee is rarely the deciding number. What separates them is the charge on the transactions you actually make, and the fee on the debit card when you spend overseas.
Read the interest column carefully. None means the issuer publishes that the account pays nothing. Not published means they say nothing at all, which is not the same claim and is why we record the two differently.
Three things the fee table hides
Staff-assisted and branch transactions are charged separately
Several accounts here are free electronically and $2.50 to $5 at a counter. If you bank in person, that is the number that matters.
The overseas card fee is charged on domestic purchases too
Buying from an overseas website in New Zealand dollars still attracts the charge, which ranges from 1.30% to 2.25% across this list.
A waived fee has a condition attached
One account here drops its $5 fee only in months you deposit $2,500 or more. Miss the deposit and the fee returns.
Common questions
Where do these numbers come from?
Each issuer's own published pages. We copy the figure, record the date, and show that date at the top of the table.
What is the difference between None and Not published?
None means the issuer states there is no such fee or no interest. Not published means they do not say. We never convert the second into the first.
Does paying you move an account up the table?
No. Nothing on this page is paid for, and the order is whichever column you sorted on.
Is this every everyday account in New Zealand?
No. It is every account we track, and the count is stated above the table. If one is missing, tell us and we will add it.
Run the numbers
Account fee calculator
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