Kiwis believe bank customers over-charged

A majority of Kiwis believe they are being over-charged by their bank for fees and other charges, a survey by Consumer New Zealand revealed.

Eighty-two per cent of New Zealanders thought the profit made by their banks showed customers were being charged too much.

Consumer New Zealand chief executive Sue Chetwin said the survey of 1020 people aged over 18 years old reflected this.

"Sixty per cent of bank customers are paying regular account fees.

"But just 34 per cent were very satisfied their bank's fees were reasonable, the lowest score for any satisfaction measure in our survey," she said.

It also revealed customers banking with local banks were more likely to be "satisfied they were getting a good deal".

Eighty-three per cent of TSB Bank customers and 65 per cent of The Co-operative Bank's were very satisfied their bank's fees were reasonable.

State-owned Kiwibank had 45 per cent of customers who were "very satisfied".

These customers were also more likely to be satisfied with their bank's overall performance, beating the big four Australian-owned banks, ANZ, ASB, BNZ and Westpac, Ms Chetwin said.

"Sixty-seven per cent of local bank customers were very satisfied with their bank.

"In comparison, 52 per cent of Aussie bank customers were very satisfied," she said.

Kiwis were also asked about their use of smartphone banking with 95 per cent stating they used internet banking.

Eighty-nine per cent also used branch banking while just over half used a smartphone banking app.

"While banks have put a lot of effort into marketing new technology, our survey found old-fashioned branch banking still has a place for the modern consumer," Ms Chetwin said.