Kiwibank standardising time of benefit payments

Monday, 24 February 2020

All beneficiaries will receive their payments at 11pm if they are Kiwibank customers.

Kiwibank customers receiving payments from the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) will receive them at 11pm every time, from March.

Regular government payments are made the day before they are officially due, on the basis that clients have access to funds early on the due date.

At the moment, payments can arrive at varying times throughout the day. The majority is processed during the evening before the official Ministry due date.

From March 19, 2020, Kiwibank customers will be able to access their payments from their accounts at 11pm on the day they are used to receiving them, which the bank said would give customers more certainty and control over their finances.

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Kiwibank's chief operating officer Paul Chambers says regardless of the type of government payment they received, customers should know with certainty when funds would arrive into their bank account.

'Due to the varying times payments are received, many customers are making multiple enquiries to our contact centre to see if their funds are available, some in precarious circumstances.

'MSD payments, such as benefits, Accommodation Supplement, NZ Super/Veteran's Pension, StudyLink and Youth payments, will now arrive into customer accounts at the same time, every time,' Chambers said.

'For most of these customers, the official due date for their MSD payment is on a Tuesday, meaning they could receive payment on Monday anytime between 6pm and midnight. Therefore, they will notice this change for the first time on march 23, 2020, when the payment will arrive in their account at 11pm.'

Kiwibank is contacting affected customers.

Banking expert Claire Matthews, of Massey University, said she did not think it would be well-received by customers if they would receive their payments later than they were used to.

'However, I think the change will be better, as customers will have the certainty as to when they will receive the payment. It is unfortunate that the payment time could not have been set earlier, as it does effectively mean customers will not have access in practical terms until the Tuesday morning.'

Soraiya Daud, spokeswoman for FinCap, which supports budgeting services, said In the initial stages there might be some issues as people get used to the new payment schedule.

'But it's our understanding that under the current system there was a lot of uncertainty for people about when their payments would come, resulting in stress for customers. Certainty about when payments will be in people's accounts may help to reduce stress. We appreciate that Kiwibank is trying to communicate these changes to customers by reaching out to community organisations that work people receiving payments from the Ministry of Social Development.'