ANZ NZ foreign currency account. How it works

Australia and New Zealand bank, better known as ANZ, is one of New Zealand's (NZ) biggest banks. At ANZ, you’ll find a large range of financial services and products available to NZ customers. A product that you may not be aware of on offer is the ANZ foreign or multi currency account.

Through this article, you’ll discover all there is to know about the ANZ foreign currency accounts. You’ll also be introduced to Wise, an alternative service that also offers international transfer services and a multi-currency account.

Learn more about Wise

Intro to the ANZ NZ foreign currency accounts.

ANZ New Zealand offers foreign currency accounts for personal use or as a term deposit. Let's go through what each of these accounts are, and the main benefits that come with each account.

ANZ Foreign Currency Account

This account allows customers to hold balances in some of the world's major currencies. This means that customers will be able to¹:

• Make payments to overseas recipients directly from a foreign currency account
• Receive inward payments from overseas
• Access their money using ANZ apps and internet banking portal
• Transfer between ANZ accounts for free as long as the currency is already in NZD
• Have the potential to accrue interest on a foreign currency account balance
• Accept foreign cheques in AUD, CAD, USD, GBP

The currencies available are AUD, USD, GBP, EUR, JPY and CAD². It may also be possible to open a foreign currency account with a different currency, but to do this, customers need to consult with ANZ directly to see if the currency is available.¹

ANZ Foreign Currency Term Deposit

An ANZ NZ Foreign Currency Term Deposit allows customers to deposit money in any of the 6 currencies available. Here are the other features of an ANZ Foreign Currency Term Deposit¹:

• Accrue interest in the foreign currency you choose over an agreed term.
• Terms can be anywhere from 30 days up to 365 days.
• Interest rates vary per term length and on currency deposited

Each currency requires a minimum deposit requirement to open and there are fees for early withdrawal from these accounts.

To keep things simple, we’ll only be focusing on the ANZ NZ foreign currency accounts for the rest of the article.

ANZ Foreign currency account fees vs Wise

When it comes to dealing with foreign currencies, whether it be for conversions or making transfers, usually there will be fees associated with accessing certain types of services.

Let’s compare the ANZ NZ foreign currency account with an alternative service to see how the fees compare.

* Fees indicative of the 21 October 2022
** Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.

ANZ Foreign currency account exchange rates

When making or receiving foreign transfers, sometimes there might be a fee “hidden” through converting a currency from one to the other. Let’s do an example transfer using either foreign currency account options to see if there's a difference in how much a recipient will receive using either services' available exchange rate. .

* Fees indicative as of 21 October 2022
** Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.

For a transfer from your GBP ANZ foreign currency account, you’ll use the ANZ indicative exchange rate available at the time of the transfer. Fees will apply if being sent to a non-ANZ account.³

How to open a Foreign currency account with ANZ in New Zealand

How quickly you can open a ANZ foreign currency account will depend on if you are an existing customer or new to ANZ. Regardless of which type of customer you are, you can apply online or by contacting ANZ directly whether over the phone or by visiting a branch.

Here are the steps to open a foreign currency account online.

Steps to open a foreign currency account with ANZ online

To open a foreign currency account you need to⁴:

1. Click “apply for an ANZ foreign currency account” on the dedicated ANZ foreign currency page
2. Pick the currency you want
3. Tell ANZ if its an individual or joint account
4. Fill in your ANZ customer number (if you are an existing customer)
5. Complete the rest of the form with your personal details
6. Tell ANZ your NZ tax resident status
7. Review your details and agree to ANZ terms and conditions
8. Wait for your account approval from ANZ

If you are a new customer to ANZ NZ, you will need to wait for ANZ to contact you directly so you can bring some documents to a local branch to finish your application.⁵

Documents needed to open a multi currency account at ANZ NZ

Here are some of the documents you might need to bring with you to finish opening your ANZ foreign currency account.⁵

• Proof of a NZ address such as a utility bill
• An identification document (passport, drivers licence or a non-photo ID)
• Your IRD (Inland Revenue Department) number (if you have one)
• A verification of your address such as a bank statement

Once you have supplied these documents, ANZ can help you set up your internet banking or ANZ goMoney app so you can access your foreign currency accounts whenever you need.

Minimum deposit required to open this account

There is no information disclosed on whether there is a required minimum deposit to open a foreign currency account. There are minimum deposits required to open a ANZ foreign currency term deposit though(SS).

Contacting ANZ New Zealand

If you need to contact ANZ NZ for another reason, you can check out all the ways to contact them here. If you prefer to call, you can:

• Call 0800 269 296 from within NZ
• Call +64 4 470 3142 from overseas

ANZ phone lines are open 7 days a week between 7:30am - 9pm calling from either location.

A smart alternative - The Wise Account

If you are shopping around for a better way to transfer money internationally, then Wise is a smart alternative. Opening a Wise account allows you to hold 40+ currencies at once, while having your own local account details in 10 of these currencies. You can see the full coverage here.

This means you’ll be able to receive money from abroad cheaply and quickly. On top of this, you can opt in to order a Wise debit card attached to your account so you can easily spend your money globally.

Join over 13 million customers currently enjoying Wise. It’ll only take a few minutes to register and see what’s inside.

Register your Wise account in minutes 🚀

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