1
Are you looking for a NZ based bank? What's important to you? Is it just ease of set up? Or do you want an account good for travelling? Or internet banking? etc etc2
Yey.... *1 - OneScot hits the nail on the head.This is The UK & Ireland vranch, but it states you're from New Zealand.
Which is it you need?
3
Agreed - but where are you now? If you're in UK, go in to the local branches of the banks and have a chat with them and see who offers you what, and who you are most comfortable with. If you're in NZ, then as a start talk to your own bank there and see if they have any arrangements with UK banks. For a mixture of personal and business reasons I have dealt with all of the "big 4" UK banks (ie. Lloyds, Barclays, HSBC and Natwest ) in the last 3 or 4 years, and while none of them were "perfect" I wouldn't complain about the treatment I've had from any of them5
If you have recently arrived in the UK from overseas, you will probably have more luck talking to one of the "big four" mentioned above than with the smaller banks/building societies. The usual problem is proof of a UK address - if you have an acceptable proof then you should be OK with any bank. If not, you could try the HSBC Passport account, although that costs £8 per month for at least 6 months (standard accounts in the UK are normally free). Getting an account without any kind of credit facility (known as a "basic bank account") will be easier than opening a standard current account with cheque book etc6
#4 -they've been around a long time, but they tend to deal in relatively small amounts of cash and loans, and generally don't offer the usual range of banking facilities (eg, current accounts, payment of bills etc). You normally have to be a member of the credit union before you can have any financial dealing, and membership usually requires some sort of joining mechanism,which might include a fee - they do vary12
Twob_nz you have not specified your requirements about your account. All banks have different type of accounts ranging from basic to current and saving so it depends on the type and services, if you just want to keep your money into bank and need visa debit card for simple transactions then can visit any of the four banks mentioned above. Can also try Halifax.
