Women's love of cards discredited

Populist beliefs that women are more likely to spend up large on the credit card while men take more risks with their money are not backed up by reality.

Research by the Herald has revealed Kiwi men are more likely to have a credit card and have a balance of over $10,000 on it.

Men were also less likely to have a savings account and more likely to have a personal loan than women, according to data supplied by the ANZ - New Zealand's largest bank.

Women on the other hand are more likely to have a savings account than men but have a lower balance in both their rainy day savings account and retirement savings.

But the so-called fairer sex is also worse when it comes to their credit history. Data supplied by credit agency Dun & Bradstreet shows women have a lower average credit rating than men and were more likely to have multiple credit defaults.

Women also typically take at least six months longer to pay off their students loans than men.

Ana-Marie Lockyer, general manager wealth at the ANZ, said more men having credit cards than women could reflect a higher number of males in the workforce.

She said higher balances on credit cards did not necessarily mean men were worse at managing their money. "Whilst they may have higher balance - that's not as important as paying it off on time."

Lockyer said while fewer males had savings accounts they tended to have higher balances.

That was also the case for KiwiSaver.

- NZME