# Banking, Paying US Bills, and US Business



## mdutton (Mar 26, 2010)

Kia Ora everyone. I was wondering if you might be able to help me with some items.

1) I need to pay US bills while being in NZ (I'll arrive in October) and I'm curious how others have done this? Any advice will be appreciated.

2) Ties into the first one, what's the best bank for this? If I have the swift bank code will my company be able to deposit funds into an international bank? I've noticed there's a Chase Australasia bank and I have a Chase US Bank ~ can they play nicely without the wire fees?

3) I'm thinking about setting up a US based Business so that my girlfriend can work through that US firm doing consulting in the US and Australia from New Zealand. Anyone else done this or know if I need to tell NZ about it since she's technically not working in NZ and will be paying US taxes on the business?

Thanks for any feedback.


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## pdxtonz (Jun 25, 2012)

Hey there - just moved from the states as well, and have been paying bills online - we've left our us bank account open and so far have found that we are able to log-in and pay for things without much hassle. Our domestic mail is being forwarded to a trusted family member, so I've put our us bank address as their address. I've only had to make a couple phone calls to sort things out. We'll continue to use a us-based credit card for some online transactions, so we've left that open as well. 
We've wired money from NZ (National Bank) to the US in previous years (and vice versa), and it goes without hassle - but there are wire fees. Not sure if someone has a better suggestion for lower fees/free money movement.
Can't help with the biz side of things, unfortunately. Good luck!


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## escapedtonz (Apr 6, 2012)

mdutton said:


> Kia Ora everyone. I was wondering if you might be able to help me with some items.
> 
> 1) I need to pay US bills while being in NZ (I'll arrive in October) and I'm curious how others have done this? Any advice will be appreciated.
> 
> ...


Hi,
1. Don't expect the US to be any different from the UK in this respect. We still have our UK bank account, visa cards etc and bills remain being paid monthly direct debit. Luckily we have an income from house rental in the UK that keeps our UK bank account topped up to pay those bills so we don't need to send money back from NZ.
We also still purchase a lot of items from the UK as its cheaper to buy on the Internet and have them shipped over to NZ than purchase in NZ.

2. My company allows me to specify two accounts to pay salary, however I assume they both have to be NZ accounts ?
Never really investigated any further since I don't have the need to send money back to the UK. If I remember next time I'm in work I'll check.

I'd say all the major high street banks in NZ are similar in how they operate and their facilities - ANZ, BNZ, Westpac etc.
We with ANZ and not had any problems with receiving money we sent over from the UK before we arrived.
I would advise you to open account/s in NZ before you get here and transfer some funds so you have access to cash without the need to bring a wad with you.
We set up a bank appointment on the first working day back - did the ID checks and our ATM cards were ready and waiting for us.
It's also ideal opportunity to order NZ visa credit cards, buy insurance etc etc.
Don't think for one minute the same financial institution will play nicely and not charge you to transfer money.
We have good friends who bank with Westpac in the UAE and NZ and they are charged every month to send money by way of a fee then they lose out again on the exchange rate.

We found the cheapest way to send money to NZ to be with companies who only deal with foreign exchange. 
The rate is always better than a bank and there is no fee as their commission is built into the rates they offer. 
The higher the transfer, the better the rate. 
You can also pre-order and specify the rate you are willing to deal at with a time limit. We did this since the rate was so volatile.

3. Sorry cant help you with the business side of things. 
Don't take this the wrong way - opening a US business from NZ and having your girlfriend working as a consultant for it but whilst in NZ sounds a bit suspect to me but what do I know!!! I've never had a business 
Maybe there are restrictions or rules with your visa's on this ? Try INZ customer services or how about the IRD tax people in NZ


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## mdutton (Mar 26, 2010)

Thanks everyone!


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