Banking industry in New Zealand - statistics & facts
New Zealand’s banking industry is well-established, with a variety of banks and services tailored to individuals, businesses, and the government. Banks contribute significantly to the country’s economy, with the gross domestic product of financial and insurance services increasing considerably in recent years and reaching around 16 billion New Zealand dollars in early 2024.
Like the banking industry in Australia, New Zealand is dominated by four major banks: ANZ, ASB, BNZ, and Westpac, all of which are Australian-owned. The total assets of New Zealand’s Big Four banks reached close to 600 billion New Zealand dollars accumulatively in 2023, while smaller, New Zealand-owned banks reported significantly lower total assets. Many people in the country have shifted over to online banking, though there has been no large movement towards neo-banking, a completely online form of banking that has no physical branch locations. There is a relatively high level of satisfaction with the banks in New Zealand, though like many other banking sectors across the globe, they draw their own fair share of complaints.
With the growth of online banking in New Zealand, the key banking industry players will need to ensure that they maintain an efficient and reliable online service to compete with any potential neobanks in the country. In addition, it will be important to continue providing a high level of customer satisfaction for much the same reason.
Like the banking industry in Australia, New Zealand is dominated by four major banks: ANZ, ASB, BNZ, and Westpac, all of which are Australian-owned. The total assets of New Zealand’s Big Four banks reached close to 600 billion New Zealand dollars accumulatively in 2023, while smaller, New Zealand-owned banks reported significantly lower total assets. Many people in the country have shifted over to online banking, though there has been no large movement towards neo-banking, a completely online form of banking that has no physical branch locations. There is a relatively high level of satisfaction with the banks in New Zealand, though like many other banking sectors across the globe, they draw their own fair share of complaints.
Online banking
Many people around the world have moved away from the traditional forms of banking, particularly the use of physical bank branchers, preferring to use online apps to conduct their financial affairs. New Zealanders follow this trend with a high penetration rate of online banking, with slightly under three-quarters of the population using online banking. Online banking in New Zealand is also becoming more lucrative for the industry, with the net interest income of the digital banking industry reaching almost six billion U.S. dollars in 2024. While the majority of New Zealanders use online banking, there are still no locally owned neobanks operating in the country, with many people still wanting to have the option of visiting a physical branch if necessary.Banking satisfaction
Particularly in tough economic times, it is essential for banks to maintain a good level of satisfaction with their customers. While falling below the global average satisfaction score, the bank customer satisfaction score for New Zealand is still quite high, scoring 3.86 out of five. The main issues that bank customers complained about in New Zealand were problems with bank services, and the fees, rates, and charges from banks in the country. Naturally, the top four banks in New Zealand had the highest number of complaints, with the Banking Ombudsman Scheme receiving almost 9,000 complaints about ANZ Bank alone in the final quarter of 2024.With the growth of online banking in New Zealand, the key banking industry players will need to ensure that they maintain an efficient and reliable online service to compete with any potential neobanks in the country. In addition, it will be important to continue providing a high level of customer satisfaction for much the same reason.
