Canstar Reveals Everyday Business Awards As Sentiment Ticks Up

As New Zealand’s business sector faces down challenges including high inflation and skills shortages, Canstar is proud to announce the winners of its Bank of the Year, Business Bank Accounts and Bank of the Year, Business Credit Cards.

Canstar’s expert panel used its bespoke methodology, which rates products, features and customer satisfaction, to come up with the best providers of business accounts and credit cards. The winners, respectively, are Kiwibank and ANZ!

Jose George, Canstar New Zealand General Manager, said, “New Zealand’s business community have faced down numerous challenges in the past few years, and they’re still grappling with difficult conditions locally and globally.

“Having banks which deliver effectively across business owners’ day-to-day requirements is immensely helpful in ensuring business owners can focus on growing into the future.”

Elliot Smith, Chief Customer Officer - Business at Kiwibank said the team was thrilled to win the award for the second year running. “We are incredibly focused on delivering expert services to our business customers where and when they need it. We are passionate about supporting the growth and development of Kiwi businesses, whether they’re just starting out or are already well established and want to have even more impact.

“This award has come off the back of our newly simplified online call account, which has a competitive interest rate of 4.5%. An online call account can help businesses manage cash flow while still earning a competitive interest rate.

“Kiwi businesses are the backbone of the New Zealand economy and I am proud of my team’s effort to ensure more Kiwi businesses choose Kiwibank for their banking needs.”

ANZ Managing Director of Business Lorraine Mapu said: “We’re delighted to be recognised for our Business Credit Cards offering. This year we’ve focused on improvements around card controls and security features which we know are important to our customers.

“With the increase in fraud and scams causing concern for our customers, we’ve enhanced our authentication processes and introduced initiatives like ANZ Fraud Check which allows ANZ to communicate more efficiently with cardholders who have suspicious transactions on cards.

“We’ve also improved the way people can manage their cards by providing access to their cards in our GoMoney app and through internet banking. This means cardholders can now manage their cards where and when they like.”

The Canstar panel considered key elements such as savings rates, transaction fees and accessibility in its assessments. It noted the significant improvement in savings rates across the market, with banks including Kiwibank offering a competitive Online Call account. Kiwibank’s transaction accounts also offered market-leading value for its customers. Furthermore, in a highly competitive credit card market, ANZ stood out after it reduced its additional cardholder fee across its suite of credit cards. The change meant it came out at the top of the table.

According to Canstar’s latest small business research, more than half (55%) of New Zealand’s small business community are feeling optimistic about the future, despite less than half (44%) seeing revenue increase compared to the previous year. Just over a third (34%) said running a small business was becoming easier, although 43% said it was harder.

For more, visit the Canstar site here.

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