Healthy Money Healthy Planet - library.uniteddiversity.coop

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By July 2003 Kiwibank was signing up 400 new customers a day, and by September
of the same year it was processing no­ or low­deposit home loans. The bank’s 2003 annual
report said it was on target to show a profit by 2004/5. By then it had launched a lowinterest
credit card, had 147,000 customers and had achieved 90 per cent of its customer
service target in just 16 months.
Anderton claimed in 2003[?] that Kiwibank was a success: ‘It has forced down fees
and reversed branch closures at the overseas­owned banks. The effect of those gains alone
means that Kiwibank has already paid for itself.’ 42
By October of the same year a Consumers’ Institute survey had rated it the best bank, 43
and political opposition appeared to be declining.
Aside from this recent success story, New Zealand also has community banks in the form
of the TSB Bank, which is a full bank, and several non­banks.
There are four problems and they all do not have the same solution. Moreover the
differing needs of the four problems can actually conflict. Kiwibank has solved some of
these problems.
, as banks merged and switched services to non­branch banking delivery systems like
ATMs and Eftpos. When non­bank institutions like building societies were included with
banks, New Zealand had one of the lowest ratios in the world. New Zealand banks have
164 eftpos terminals per 100,000 people, way ahead of the rest of the world. The next
biggest user of eftpos machines is Canada, but it comes in at 118 terminals per 100,000
people.