Why you can’t deposit cash into someone else’s account at the bank
You can do lots of things at a bank branch, but depositing cash into another person’s account is probably not one of them.
A spokesperson for New Zealand’s biggest bank, ANZ, said it stopped accepting over-the-counter deposits into someone else’s account last year.
“You can still deposit cash into your own account over the counter or any ANZ accounts you are a signatory on, including business accounts.
“A customer who wants to make payments to another person can deposit the cash into their own account and then transfer the money electronically.
“An ANZ cardholder can also deposit cash into an ANZ ATM, which has the deposit function – a smart ATM. All ANZ NZ branches have at least one smart ATM.”
He said, at a smart ATM, a customer could also put money into another ANZ account.
Westpac said it also did not allow deposits into other accounts.
“Similar to most other banks, only personal account owners or authorised related-party signatories can make over-the-counter cash deposits into their own accounts.
“We also accept over-the-counter cash deposits from non-personal entities, such as organisations or clubs, although the depositor must also supply their full name and telephone number.
“From June 30, 2025, people will need a Westpac card when depositing cash into a Westpac personal account – their own or someone else’s – at our ATMs. There is no change for non-personal entities.”
ASB said its own customers could make deposits into other customers’ accounts. People who were not ASB customers could too, if they met ID requirements.
Financial coach Shula Newland said this seemed weird to some people.
“Legal tender can’t be banked into someone’s account to pay for something,” she said. “In my own personal experience, it now means, if someone wants to pay me in cash, I now have the chore of going down to the bank to have to bank it myself.”
Newland said moving away from cash meant everything could be tracked much more easily.
New Zealand Banking Association chief executive Roger Beaumont said banks were required to comply with the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act (AML), which could make accepting deposits difficult.
“The law aims to stop people trying to disguise the origin of criminal profits, such as drug trafficking or fraud,” he said. “Under the law, there are rules about verifying the source of the funds, and the identity of the person paying and the recipient.
“In cases where you would like to make a cash payment at your branch to an account in another bank, your bank may not be able to comply with these rules.
“Your bank may be able to suggest other ways you could make the payment.”
Banking expert Claire Matthews said that should not be a reason to stop accepting them.
“I would have thought it would just be a flag that meant an explanation is required and only for large amounts.”
The change appears to be because of the work involved for branch staff in accepting a deposit.
ANZ said it was not about AML so much as responding to changing customer behaviour.
“More people are choosing to do their banking online or through our GoMoney app, with less than 1% of banking transactions now made in person.”
================================================
What sectors are barely paying more than minimum wage?
While New Zealand might have about a dozen sectors paying at least a median $100,000 a year, there are almost as many paying barely more than the minimum wage.
Data compiled by Infometrics showed the median and mean salaries across industries throughout the country.
The data does not adjust for hours worked, and some of the workers may not be working a 40-hour week.
But it shows that on an annual basis, many sectors were not delivering incomes that were equal to the minimum wage.
The minimum wage of $23.50 an hour works out to just under $49,000 a year for a full-time, 40-hour a week worker.
Fuel retailing was paying a median of almost exactly the same amount.
Food retailing was paying less, at $45,030. Accommodation was slightly more, at $49,240, and food and beverage services was significantly less at $40,170.
Also within $10,000 of minimum wage were "other store-based retailing" at $53,220, sport and recreation services at $53,350 and personal and other services at $54,170.
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment data last year showed that about 141,900 people would be directly affected by the minimum wage rising to $23.50, indicating they were at that point being paid less than that amount per hour.
Infometrics principal economist Nick Brunsdon said skills and experience explained a lot of the variation in incomes.
"Industries that need a more skilled workforce generally pay more - because they can get a lot of value out of their workers, and workers need a good incentive to gain those skills - for example, medicine. Industries that take in a lot of lower qualified staff, like hospitality, can get away with paying a lot less, and still get plenty of job applicants.
"There are other factors like desirability - some jobs might not have a high skill requirement but are somewhat undesirable - say underground coal mining - so higher pay is necessary to find workers."
CTU policy director and economist Craig Enney said "hours adequacy" was a big problem in many sectors.
"You've got someone who's working 20 hours a week or 25 hours, on $25 an hour, so you're earning $500 a week. Is that enough? No.
"The challenge is often about the structure of employment in some of those sectors…In hospo, in retail, in catering, in a range of other sort of service-based industries, it's wanting more hours and not getting it."
The latest labour market statistics showed the the number of underutilised people in the country had risen to 403,000.
"These are people who want more hours, want more work and can't get it. And that may be a key reason why, you know, total incomes are so inadequate for some people. And that's also partially helping to explain why the headline unemployment rate is not rising as quickly as some people had predicted."
Jake Lilley, a spokesperson for financial mentor network Fincap, said it was something mentors dealt with.
"They also help people work out what is realistic in terms of taking on hours while balancing additional childcare costs. Our latest Voices reporting recorded 31 percent of those supported by a financial mentor as having a mix of income from salary or wages as well as income support.
"It is a real juggle to navigate finances when unpredictable sporadic hours of work need reporting to Work and Income in what can be impractical timeframes. An example might be someone being asked to stay on for a longer shift by their manager and being unable to contact Work and Income when that day is the deadline to report other income.
"Someone might also not know exactly what their pay will be until a payslip is provided after the reporting date. Such situations can often result in overpayment debts from Work and Income compounding the difficulty of administering already tight finances."
=======================================================
Build Wealth Through Commercial Property
The First Light Property Fund Limited provides wholesale investors with exposure to six premium industrial and commercial assets located across Auckland and Hamilton.
As a tax efficient PIE-structured vehicle, the Fund is designed to deliver stable monthly returns and long-term capital appreciation. All of the commercial assets in the portfolio are NABERSNZ-accredited, enabling access to ESG-linked lending benefits.
This is an opportunity to invest in an established and high-performing commercial property Fund and participate in collective ownership alongside other experienced investors.
Poll: Are our Kiwi summer holidays helping us recharge, or holding the economy back? ☀️🥝
There’s growing debate about whether New Zealand’s extended Christmas break (and the slowdown that comes with it) affects productivity.
Tracy Watkins has weighed in ... now it’s your turn. What’s your take? 🤔
-
72.4% We work hard, we deserve a break!
-
16.4% Hmm, maybe?
-
11.1% Yes!
Loading…
