Kiwibank reveals how much easier it is for couples to save compared to singles
Thursday, 23 July 2026
Kiwibank chief executive Steve Jurkovich talks to The Post about why it’s a couple’s world when it comes to saving.
ANALYSIS: It’s a tough world for singletons when it comes to saving money, new data from Kiwibank shows.
Research here and overseas consistently shows it’s more expensive to live as a single than as half of a couple - from rent to power bills, food to digital subscriptions, travel to dating.
But now, Kiwibank has published survey data on saving habits in the depressingly subdued economy held back from recovery by high fuel prices.
But, the bank found that single people were more likely to say they're prioritising survival (69%) over savings than those in relationships (55%).
And while 14% of couples were able to say they had substantial savings tand didn’t “need” any more, just 4% of single people could say the same.
Single people were more likely to have no savings at all (18%) than those in relationships (9%).
It’s not all roses for those in couples when it comes to savings; 41% say managing money with a partner makes saving easier, 41% say it makes no difference, and 14% say it makes saving harder.
Read more:
National vs Labour: Who’s ‘most’ responsible for the economy?
Household confidence remains low even as data shows fewer are struggling
But then, the data shows, not all couples manage money the same. Just over half (52%) made money and savings decisions together, and a further 23% mostly managed their money together, while keeping some things separate.
QUESTION: There has been a modest rise in people claiming to save regularly (up from 41% two years’ ago to 44%), but it’s couples who are doing best. What do you see in the savings data?
JURKOVICH: Couples are a function of their individual choices, so we know people who save are often really good at sticking with their goals, and people who find it hard tend to keep finding it hard. If you bring a couple together where one part of the partnership is really into saving, and has a strong habit, they’re likely to stick to it. If you’re both like that, then obviously there’s harmony and you probably get on with things.
The other side is that when you’re younger it takes a bit of time to get a good understanding of how you’re going to think about money together, and you’re often tackling issues for the first time. I don’t find it surprising.
The overall thing is that people are still finding it difficult, economic times are hard, and saving is really about incremental activity, not a big transformation.
What we continue to see is that many people are making small changes where they can, and those small changes add up over time. I think that applies for couples too.
Couples would probably say the same as others in the survey, which is that products are too complicated and banks don’t make saving as easy as they could.
Q: Many people say that not only aren’t they saving, but they are dipping into savings and, even worse, taking on debt to buy essentials. Do you see that among Kiwibank customers?
J: Yes, I do. The data reveals what we would expect. When I’m out and about, the amount of shops that have a buy now, pay later facility has gone from “I want a new shirt because I’m going out tonight” to more everyday essentials.
I don’t feel like this is about people being frivolous with what they’re spending their money on. It’s about customers getting by and managing costs. In tougher times, people are having to borrow for things that are essential. When you think about the percentage of people who can’t cover a $500 cost, one of the options they’re going to have is borrowing.
If it’s an essential thing they need to fix, like a flat tyre to get to work, and they don’t have the cash available, then really their only option is to borrow.
Q: I was struck by the variety of arrangements couples had for co-managing money, and how little people argued seriously about it. 54% said they disagreed about money often or sometimes, and 8% said they disagree often. Did the couples data surprise you and what, if any, insights did you take from it?
J: I think this goes back to what people say in the survey. In my own life, sometimes a disagreement might really look like something that grinds your gears, but you don’t even talk about. Sometimes a disagreement is what we traditionally think about, which is an argument and clashing perspectives. People experience these things differently. For some couples it’s an argument, for others it’s tension or frustration.
We see from the data around the number of people who don’t qualify for bonus rates at some of the other banks. When life happens, you need to access accounts, and you can see how there might be disagreement around, “Are we going to lose our bonus interest?”, “Do we really need to spend money on that?”, or “Have we made our minimum contribution this month?” For me, it comes back to whether we can make banking fairer and clearer.
Q: Coupledom does seem to make it easier to save. I wonder what you thought of that, and why it might be.
J: I’m probably going outside the lane of banking here, but ultimately when you’re a couple, and particularly a couple that has been together for a while, you get to learn each other’s strengths and “work-ons”. Having a shared goal about what you want to achieve matters, whether that’s the desire to get on the ladder, achieve savings goals, or pay down debt faster.
If you’re in it together, you can help each other build financial resilience. Sometimes you might be contributing more than 50% of the energy towards saving, and another day your partner might be doing it. It probably gives you a little bit of a conscience on your shoulder sometimes, or a little bit of enthusiasm when enthusiasm is waning.
Q: Does the information about couples have any implications for the way Kiwibank goes about providing banking to customers?
J: It makes us think carefully about what that data tells us, what the research is showing, and how we bring our products and services to customers in a clear and simple way, while recognising there can be complexity in how a couple thinks about money versus one customer, one segment, one point of view.
The research tells us that, in a couple, we have an opportunity to think about whether the product needs to be a little more flexible to allow for different perspectives about how that couple works together. Again, the simpler and clearer the product can be, the better, because that allows both parties to understand how it works. The research shows many Kiwi don’t fully understand the hoops and hurdles they might be facing.
We need to think about what the data can tell us and how we can be more active around that but also be more tuned into whether we’re meeting the couple’s needs, because in this example that’s the customer, rather than just meeting an individual’s needs.