New card performs just fine

PAULA OLIVER faced a battle to open her Kiwibank account last month but is relieved to find that her splashy new bank card performs just fine.

The bosses at Kiwibank might not want to reveal how many customers have joined them, but they will be glad to hear that transactions at the bank's first pilot branch are running quite smoothly, thank you very much.

Clutching a bright green plastic card that proudly proclaimed my status as a "Foundation Customer" of the country's newest bank, I made my first attempt yesterday to tinker with my brand new account.

I had marvelled at the brash green newcomer to my wallet since it arrived in the mail two weeks ago - but still couldn't work out why its designers had decided to put a strange clear strip through the middle of it.

The best way to describe the green that shouts at me whenever I open my wallet is that it looks a bit like a crisp granny smith apple.

But the real test for the new piece of plastic came when I approached an ANZ automatic teller machine yesterday and tried to take out some of my hard-earned cash.

In went the card, and out popped my money. Easy.

Gosh, it's just like my other bank.

Then I was off to see the staff at the bank's first pilot branch in Church St, Palmerston North.

The screaming green theme continued inside, where there were no queues but lots of eager Kiwibank deposit slips awaiting use.

After I quickly filled in my deposit details, a relaxed teller furrowed her brow when I realised I didn't have my account number with me. But within seconds she had worked out a way to complete the transaction and down went her heavy stamp.

"There we are, we both learned something," she giggled, the furrowed brow gone.

Out I walked with my receipt, safe in the knowledge that my account was okay at the Kiwibank.

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