BNZ launches MyProperty to help home loan customers plan ahead

Bank of New Zealand has launched MyProperty, a new online tool to help home loan customers plan ahead for future interest rate changes.

BNZ Executive Customer, Products and Services Karna Luke says, “we know that rising interest rates and the impact these can have on mortgage repayments is top of mind for many New Zealand homeowners.”

MyProperty is a simple tool that automatically groups a customer’s mortgages together so they can see their all payments in one easy-to-understand chart. Customers can then enter different interest rates so they can see the impact these could have on their repayments.

Unlike other mortgage calculators which require users to manually add their details, MyProperty automatically provides an estimate based on BNZ customers’ actual data, factoring in details such as customers’ loan rollover dates and their projected loan balances at that time.

“Empowering our customers with knowledge and information on their repayments can give them more comfort, help them manage their finances and allow them to have early conversations with their banker if needed.”

For those with BNZ home loans split across different interest rates, MyProperty looks at repayments across all of a customers’ loans and shows them how they might be able to increase or decrease repayments on different loans in order to manage their total repayments.

“BNZ is focused on serving its customers brilliantly,” says Luke. “Investing in innovative tools that help them better manage their finances is another way we can deliver on that commitment.”

An additional benefit of MyProperty is that it also helps customers understand when they’ll be mortgage-free and provides options showing how they can be mortgage-free faster.

“Even in the current economic environment, our customers are still telling us they haven’t lost sight of the goal of being mortgage-free,” says Luke.

“For many, the idea of being mortgage-free is more than simply a significant financial milestone. From talking to customers, we know that being mortgage-free carries with it a sense of emotional freedom and overall peace of mind. So, it’s not surprising that paying off their mortgage as soon possible continues to be the primary goal for the majority of home loan customers we talk to.”

MyProperty is available to BNZ home loan customers via Internet Banking.

*The tool is not currently available for customers with interest only loans or loans which are split across different payment frequencies (for example, weekly and monthly).