BNZ drops fees on overdrawn accounts

BNZ announced it will stop charging honour fees, dishonour fees and unpaid bill fees on overdrawn personal and business transaction and savings accounts from the start of September. BNZ said dropping the fees was a way to remove a source of frustration for customers and a strategic move in a competitive market. BNZ said it would not be recouping the lost fees elsewhere. Here is the release from BNZ:

Dishonour fees and honour fees are charged when there are insufficient funds available to make a payment or when an account is overdrawn without an overdraft facility in place. Currently BNZ charge a $35 dishonour fee and a $20 honour fee. A bill payment that is unpaid due to insufficient funds incurs a $5 unpaid bill payment fee. In many cases a customer's account is overdrawn due to some payments coming out early or their salary going in a day late. Andrew Thorburn, BNZ Chief Executive Officer said "Honour fees, dishonour fees and unpaid bill payment fees generate a large number of customer complaints every year and are a source of frustration for our customers and our staff. BNZ has made a decision to do something about that and as of 1 September 2009, we will not be charging them. We believe this is the right thing to do for our customers, clients and staff. It's also a strong business decision. It's a competitive market and we're always looking for ways to improve our relationship with customers. We'd like to spend more time having constructive, useful conversations with our customers and less time discussing honour and dishonour fees. It's a win for staff and customers." "I'd also like to clarify that these fees will not be recouped elsewhere" Mr Thorburn said.