Westpac Card saves $50,000 for Pacific families

Westpac Card saves approximately $50,000 for Pacific families
in money transfer fees

Budget advisory service welcomes introduction of card

New Zealand residents sending money home to their families in the Pacific Islands have collectively already saved around $50,000 this year due to the introduction of the Express card, a prepaid card by Westpac – according to Westpac, but many more people could be taking advantage of this cost saving.

Westpac’s Express Visa Prepaid card dramatically reduces the charges for sending money to the Pacific Islands. It works by the card owner topping up a New Zealand card with funds and sending a second card to a family member in the Pacific Islands where they use it to withdraw money and pay for goods, thus avoiding large money transfer fees.

The card’s introduction has been welcomed by Darryl Evans, the CEO of the Mangere Budgeting Services Trust, who says for far too long Pacific Islanders have been paying exorbitant fees to send money home to their families.

He says not only have customers been charged when they send the money but often their families are asked to pay commission at the other end as well.

“It is very important to the family values and beliefs of Pacific peoples to be able to support family members, particularly parents, who still reside in the Islands. We are thrilled Westpac has introduced this card; it’s a really positive change. It has already saved people significant amounts of money and has had huge benefits for Pacific Island families in South Auckland.

“The card is great for our customers, particularly in these economically challenging times. I strongly recommend all families sending money home to the Pacific Islands to avoid paying the excessively high transfer fees and use one of these cards instead.”

Philip Muldoon, Senior Product Manager for Westpac New Zealand Ltd, says around 1,000 cards have been issued since the card was launched at the start of the year, 500 to the islands.

“The average transaction to the islands has been $187 with approximately 2200 transactions in total – around four per card. If a family had sent money by the usual modes it could have cost them around $25-$30 each time or around $100-120 for four transactions.

“However, if the customer had loaded money onto the Westpac Express card four times and used a Westpac ATM they would have paid $28 in total – a saving of $72-92. The estimated savings for all the transactions conducted over this period using the Westpac card totals approximately $50,000.”

NZAID recently launched the www.sendmoneypacific.org website in association with AusAID and the New Zealand and Australian Governments to provide important information on the options available for migrants living in New Zealand and Australia when sending money back to their families and friends in the Pacific Islands. For sending money from New Zealand to islands with appropriate banking services, Westpac currently tops of the list as the cheapest option to Fiji, Samoa, Tonga the cook islands and Papua New Guinea.

ENDS

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