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The trip of a lifetime is about to start! To get set up on a New Zealand working holiday or travel experience, whether it’s a few months to a whole year, you’ll need some money. Without a doubt, setting up a New Zealand bank account is the cheapest and easiest way to pay for things while you are here. You can even start setting one up from overseas, which you can read more about in How to Open a New Zealand Bank Account. Once you have a New Zealand bank account, the next step is to transfer money to your New Zealand bank account. How much money you transfer is up to you, but check out What is the Cost of a Working Holiday in New Zealand? to see what we recommend for those on a gap year.
A few options are available for transferring money to your New Zealand bank account. You can do it through your home bank in an online transfer (telegraphic transfer) or with an international bank draft. Alternatively, you can use a foreign exchange broker, like XE Money or Wise, to transfer money to your New Zealand bank account, avoiding hefty bank fees.
All options have their pros and cons, so take a look at the information below on how to transfer money to your New Zealand bank account, so you can make an informed decision.
When transferring money from your home bank account to your New Zealand bank account, you will need to provide the following information:
You can find most of this information on the following pages of your New Zealand bank account website: Co-Operative Bank, Westpac, BNZ, ANZ, KiwiBank and ASB.
For much more detail on what’s required to send money to New Zealand, see What Details Do You Need to Transfer Money. You can also send money to New Zealand without a bank account, which we go through in How to Transfer Money Without a Bank Account.
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Making an international telegraphic transfer is similar to transferring money online between bank accounts back at home. However, it requires different bank account information (see above) and there are significant fees involved from both your home bank and NZ bank. Because it is the most direct way of transferring money overseas, it is usually the safest. However, you are not necessarily getting the best exchange rate.
By the way, if you’re using this service from New Zealand, you’ll probably need tips on getting good internet. See How to get Internet and WiFi in New Zealand for more details.
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Foreign exchange or Forex or FX is the market where currencies are traded. Because of this, foreign exchange brokers (simply known as money exchange services) usually offer competitive exchange rates, like Wise. They also have fairly low fees (or sometimes no fee, as is the case with XE Money) to use their service, as well as sorting out payments quickly (within a week, usually).
Forex brokers usually work online. Once you set up an online account with them, you make either a telegraphic transfer (online transfer) or online debit/credit payment into the Forex brokers’ bank account in your home country. Once the forex broker has your money, they will exchange it into their own New Zealand bank account, and finally, into your New Zealand bank account. This method allows you to avoid international bank transfer fees charged by banks.
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International bank drafts or international bank cheques are like personal cheques but written in your chosen currency. Just take this international bank draft to your chosen New Zealand bank branch and this will transfer the written amount to your account.
One of the benefits of this is that a bank draft takes the money from your home account straight away, so your draft will not “bounce” from having insufficient funds. Additionally, bank drafts can only be deposited into a bank account, rather than being cashed, making them secure. That being said, because a bank draft is a physical item, losing it would be a major inconvenience.
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Let’s be honest, some methods of transferring money from your overseas bank account to your New Zealand bank account just have so many disadvantages that there’s nothing more to say about them other than, don’t use them! Here are the international money transfer methods to avoid:
Expensive and hard to redeem, the length of time to sort out how to use them in New Zealand makes travellers’ cheques an absolute no-no when transferring money into your New Zealand bank account.
“Loaded” with money in multiple currencies, travel money cards claim to be as usable as a credit card anywhere in New Zealand. However, we have found that they are not accepted everywhere and credit card usage fees incur on each use (usually around 2-5%). Plus, the exchange rates are usually pretty poor.
Many credit cards offer “no fees” when using them overseas. However, this comes at a much worse exchange rate than if you were to simply transfer your money. Credit cards also often incur extra fees (2-5% extra) on many transactions in New Zealand. Over a whole trip in New Zealand, this can really add up.
For obvious safety reasons, we are not advising you to carry thousands of your home currency in cash with you when arriving in New Zealand. (But having some spare cash to last your first week in New Zealand, just as a safety, is advised). When arriving in New Zealand with your home currency, make sure to shop around to exchange your cash, as you will find a huge difference from one money exchange place to another. Extra tip: Avoid exchanging your money in banks or at the airport as the rates are generally lower – read The Best Places to Exchange Money in New Zealand instead.
For more tips about using money in New Zealand, see our guide on The Best Way to Pay in New Zealand.
That’s it for our guide on how to transfer money from overseas to a New Zealand bank account. For more tips on sending money to New Zealand, check out the following:
Finally, plan the budget for your extended trip to New Zealand with What is the Cost of a Working Holiday in New Zealand?
