Receiving money from overseas

You can get paid or receive money from just about anywhere in the world, either by an international bank transfer or a foreign cheque or bank draft.

From 29 April 2022, we’ll no longer accept foreign cheques or international bank drafts.

  • If you have a foreign cheque or international bank draft, you'll need to present it at your nearest branch before 29 April 2022.
  • If you receive regular overseas payments by cheque, including pensions or benefits, you'll need to arrange an alternative method to receive these funds.

Find out more below or on our cheques page.

Receiving an international payment

You can receive money into either an everyday account or a foreign currency account from another bank almost anywhere in the world.

How it works

The person sending you the money needs the following information:

Your details

  • Your full account name
  • Your account number. Please contact our international services team if you’d like to credit your Foreign Currency Account
  • Your physical address

Our details

  • Kiwibank Limited, Level 9, 20 Customhouse Quay, Wellington, 6011, New Zealand.
  • Swift code: KIWINZ22

Their details

We need to comply with anti-money laundering legislation, so make sure the person sending you money includes:

  • The bank account number they’re sending money from
  • Their full name – no initials as everything needs to be spelled out
  • Their full street address. Post office box numbers aren’t acceptable.

Extra information

You might be asked to provide extra information like BSB numbers, sort codes, or routing codes. These are just different terms used overseas for bank and branch. If you're asked for any of these simply use the first six digits of your New Zealand bank account number.

Some overseas banks might also ask you for an international bank account number (IBAN). Should you be asked for an IBAN, simply use your entire New Zealand bank account number. If you have any questions, you can try our international services team — call 0800 222 490 or email international@kiwibank.co.nz.

Fees

You’ll be charged an inward international payment fee of $12 when you receive a payment from an overseas bank account into your account. Other fees may also apply.

Depositing foreign cheques or bank drafts

If you’re receiving money via a foreign cheque or draft, please be aware it could take several weeks for funds to clear and appear in your account.

Please be aware that from 29 April 2022, we’ll no longer accept these types of payment so you'll need to present any foreign cheques or international bank drafts at a branch before this date.

How it works

Making a deposit

You need to go into your nearest Kiwibank to deposit a foreign cheque or bank draft. We only accept foreign cheques or bank drafts over the value of NZ$500.

Clearance times

The money from a foreign cheque or bank draft won’t be deposited into your account until it has been cleared. This can take up to four to six weeks (or longer in some cases) as we have to send the cheque back to the overseas bank that issued it for verification.

Dishonoured foreign cheques

A foreign cheque can be dishonoured if: the sender stops it, there’s not enough money in the sender’s account, it’s stolen, or it’s sent fraudulently. If a cheque is dishonoured other banks involved in processing the foreign currency cheque or bank draft will charge dishonour fees – these will vary from bank to bank and will be passed on to you.

See all fees

Download Kiwibank's Terms and Conditions (PDF 249.0 KB) for information about crediting foreign cheques to your Kiwibank NZD account.