“This portrayal is not only demeaning but damaging to the thousands of hard-working retailers across New Zealand who keep their lights on, employ staff, pay tax and serve their communities every day.”
Jaspreet Kandhari, general secretary of the New Zealand Indian Business Association, described the ad as an “insult”.
“Showing a shopkeeper biting a customer’s muffin and spitting milk back in the bottle to mock PayWave surcharges is offensive and misleading,” Kandhari said.
“Retailers are not the villains,” he said.
“They are the ones creating jobs, supporting families and keeping local economies alive while battling rising costs, high merchant fees and new regulations like the PayWave surcharge ban, introduced without consultation.
“Meanwhile, banks continue to profit from these same businesses through lending, fees and services.
“Mocking hard-working shopkeepers may sell a story, but it erodes trust. BNZ needs to learn to respect the people who keep our communities running.”
Ankit Bansal, chairperson of the Dairy and Business Owners Group, said its members were “appalled by BNZ’s latest advertisement, which depicts cornerstone dairy businesses in poor taste”.
“Small businesses make up 97% of all enterprises in New Zealand and are already struggling in tough economic times,” Bansal said.
“Instead of showing respect, BNZ has chosen to mock them with cheap marketing gimmicks.”
The retailer associations called on BNZ to withdraw the ad.
“BNZ should immediately withdraw this ad and issue a public apology,” said Parmar, who is also a member of the ministerial advisory group on retail crime.
“Retailers are already under immense pressure, from rising costs to looming government proposals to ban PayWave surcharges without any consultation.
“And now we are being publicly cast as the villains, while the real issue of excessive merchant fees charged by banks goes unaddressed.”
Questioned about the criticism, a spokesperson for BNZ said the feedback on the ad since its launch had been “very positive”.
“As the country’s largest business bank, we see every day the contribution small businesses make to New Zealand, and we always welcome feedback,” the spokesperson said.
“The feedback we’ve received since launching the ad has been very positive, with more and more retailers adopting Payap, as it lets them accept contactless payments at a much lower cost than traditional options, while giving customers a simple, convenient way to pay.
“We are confident the ad reflects that positive impact.”
