Market update for the year ending 31 March 2019.
The twelve-month period up until 31 March 2019 was an interesting time for investment markets. Overall it was a strong period, but there was a general increase in ups and downs – also known as market volatility, particularly in comparison to the year before. Here’s a look back at the year and what we could expect in the year ahead.
Continue reading “A year in review”BNZ and YouOwn have teamed up to offer New Zealanders a new and innovative option that may be an answer to getting into their first home faster.
In December BNZ announced it was working with a trusted industry partner to support customers into shared ownership as a home ownership option.
Today, BNZ’s Chief Customer Officer Paul Carter announced the partner is YouOwn – a privately funded organisation established with the sole purpose of delivering a co-ownership product to New Zealanders.
“We’ve been working to create a unique option for new home owners. YouOwn’s Nigel Spratt already has experience offering shared-ownership options through his previous work with the New Zealand Housing Foundation. He understands intimately how shared-ownership works”, says Mr Carter.
With 12 years of experience working with shared ownership programmes, Executive Director of YouOwn Nigel Spratt says the opportunity to offer shared-ownership to more New Zealanders has been carefully thought out and meticulously prepared.
“Working closely with the team at BNZ, we’re able to deliver an exciting new product that will lend a helping hand to some home buyers through a concept that’s easy to understand and simple to engage with”, says Mr Spratt.
Since announcing the shared-ownership plans in December, BNZ’s animation explaining how shared-ownership works has had more than 34,000 views and close to 200 potential customers have registered their interest on the BNZ website.
“New Zealanders are interested in exploring different ways of getting into their first home and shared ownership is another way we’re supporting them”, says BNZ’s Paul Carter.
“We’ll be getting back in touch with those who’re registered and together with Nigel’s team at YouOwn – we’re aiming to get people into our Auckland pilot programme within a few weeks” says Mr Carter.
With his extensive experience in shared-ownership, YouOwn’s Mr Spratt understands the benefits of starting small. “Shared-ownership is new to many New Zealanders, so we’ll be taking the time to make sure everyone understands how it works. After we launch we’ll be looking to expand the Auckland pilot programme to other areas and other types of properties beyond new-builds.”
New research has revealed New Zealanders’ love affair with cards hasn’t wiped out their connection with cash
New Zealanders are known for leading the world in taking up new payment technologies. We led with EFTPOS 35 years ago and cards are still the most popular way to pay, with card transactions increasing year-on-year. But Kiwis are still keeping some cash in their purses and wallets.
Bank of New Zealand’s new research, the BNZ Consumer Insight Special Report, shows just how much and why we still use cold, hard cash.
The amount of cash most New Zealanders like to have handy is $70.
“How much cash we carry, what we use it for, and how we use other payment technologies differs by age, gender, and interestingly where we live,” says BNZ Chief Customer Officer Consumer & Wealth, Paul Carter.
“This report shows us New Zealand is in line with global demographic trends. Around the world, studies show that young people are typically less dependent on cash and are more likely to have adopted electronic and cashless options than older people.
“Understanding the changing dynamics of our population and the ways they choose to engage with the world is crucial for all businesses of all sizes to succeed,” says Carter.
Some of the findings about how New Zealanders differ when it comes to carrying cash include:
Gender:
Age:
Region:
Income:
“The main reason Kiwis carry cash is for emergencies, with 40 per cent telling us that’s why they keep cash handy. They also keep some for small transactions and for those times when the kids are after a bit of spending money,” says Carter.
There’s also a clear relationship between the way we pay for things with cash and their cost.
“If you’re going to buy something like a cup of coffee, around 40 per cent of people say they’ll use cash for those small transactions under five dollars. But that quickly drops away – just 20 per cent use cash when spending up to $20. If you’re going to buy something big, only one per cent of us use cash for purchases over $500.
“We also asked people if they were offered $1000, how they’d want it. Nearly 70 per cent of people wanted to keep their options open and get it as a transfer into their bank account, with only about 20 per cent of us wanting it in cash,” says Carter.
Read the full BNZ Consumer Insight Special Report [PDF 374KB]