ASB launches new financial help tools

Friday, 11 September 2009, 2:35 pm
Press Release: ASB Bank

Media release

11 September 2009

ASB launches new financial help tools to help customers in difficult times

ASB has launched two financial help tools to assist New Zealanders to better understand both everyday financial matters and their budgeting needs.   Called Track My Spending and Your Money Explained they are free to all ASB customers.

ASB was the first bank in New Zealand to offer both real time and internet banking and we have continued to lead the market with innovative banking offerings for our customers. These two new services continue ASB’s focus on providing best in class solutions through our website and internet banking platform.

“There is plenty of research around indicating a low level of financial literacy in New Zealand,” says Ian Park, Chief Executive Retail Banking.  “ASB has always been heavily involved in children’s financial education through school banking and the programmes we support through the Young Enterprise Trust.  We wanted to extend this focus to provide a range of simple financial tools for our adult customers too.”

“Our research found many customers want simple tools to help them manage their money.  The internet based financial tools we have now launched have benefited from an extensive staff pilot and feedback process which helped us refine and develop the content further to match customer needs”, says Mr Park.

Track My Spending

Track My Spending is a free online budgeting tool accessed from the My Money tab in ASB’s FastNet Classic internet banking service.  

Customers code items from their online bank statements into categories, and produce simple pie charts which show where they are spending their money.  This arms customers with the ability to make more informed decisions about where their money both comes from and goes.

The service has been an immediate success, with an average of 2,200 customers logging in to use it every day.  The customer feedback to date has also been overwhelmingly positive, with comments like the following being posted on the ASB website:

“This has been a huge wake up call for me.  Looking at the pie chart I am wasting a lot of my money on entertainment and grooming. Thanks for motivating me to take a good long look at my spending and get on the right track to saving.”

“There are many people out there with not much wisdom in handling finances. I WAS one of them. That's because such people are usually "visual" people. They understand much better when they SEE a graph. Simple tools like Track My Spending has the potential to change someone's life. Good on you ASB”.

Your Money Explained

Your Money Explained was an idea that came from an ASB staff member through our in-house ideas to innovation programme.

The inspiration for the idea came when the friend of one of our staff members was made redundant and needed to get her finances in order.

So ASB pulled together knowledge and advice from across all parts of the bank and external information sources.  The result was Your Money Explained, a one-stop interactive web based tool filled with useful financial information, tools, tips and links to help people better understand their finances.

Your Money Explained can be accessed via the ASB website (www.asb.co.nz) by clicking on the Your Money Explained tab on the front page or under Personal Banking.

Mr Park adds, “The content on Your Money Explained is just a start.  We will be adding new information all the time based on what our customers are telling us through our front-line colleagues.  But we also want to hear first hand more about the sorts of financial information New Zealanders would benefit knowing more about.  So we’ve included a feedback link to encourage people to tell us what they’d like us to include on the site going forward.”

Other things ASB is doing to help customers manage their money

Back in April this year, ASB established a specialist Financial Help Team.  This team is there to talk through ASB's range of options for customers experiencing difficulty with their loan payments and other financial commitments.  Our written Code of Commitments for customers facing financial difficulty is also there to assist customers to understand how we will work with them to help resolve their financial difficulties and work through their options.

“It’s really important that we take a leadership role and help our customers survive and thrive during the current economic downturn.  They can only do this with better visibility of their finances and from the feedback we’re getting, this is working a treat,” adds Mr Park. 

For more information visit www.asb.co.nz/
 

[ENDS]

© Scoop Media

ASB Bank

Helping you get one step ahead.

In 1847, ASB opened as the Auckland Savings Bank with the pledge: 'to serve the community; to grow and to help Kiwis grow'. And that is very much what ASB is about today.

ASB is a leading provider of integrated financial services in New Zealand including retail, business and rural banking, funds management and insurance.

ASB strives to consistently provide its customers with outstanding service and innovative financial solutions. They're dedicated to providing simple financial products that allow their customers to bank with them how and when they want.

We all have our own ways to measure progress, and our own stories about the things that matter to us. Whatever way you choose to measure progress, and whatever your goals, ASB is there to help you get one step ahead.

Contact ASB Bank

• Info on - Bank Accounts
• Info on - ASB Home Loans
• Info on - ASB Credit Cards
• Link to - Mortgage Calculator
• Info on - Business Banking
• Info on - ASB Kiwisaver
• Link to - ASB Blog
• Info on - Personal Loans