Banking Issues in the Community Sector

Months and months to change a signatory...

Chasing down Board members that live across the country for their signatures...

Conflicting and contradictory information and guidance from banking staff...

Endless hoops to jump through, paperwork to complete and problems to solve...

Travelling significant distances to the nearest bank branch...

Do these issues sound familiar? Tell us!

As a representative and advocate for the community sector, here at CNA we always have our ears to the ground, listening for and gathering the concerns of the community organisations of Aotearoa New Zealand. One issue keeps cropping up time and time again - difficulties dealing with banks. So, our latest project involves investigating how banks and changes to banking systems are affecting the work of community organisations.

The first step in addressing this issue is consulting with our network - that means we want to know whether you, your organisation or community members have experienced banking difficulties.

Thank you to everyone who has already submitted responses. We've received stories of months spent getting one thing done; changing signatories; inconsistent forms; EFTPOS problems; depositing cash; branch closures; staff not knowing sector information - let alone our obvious money laundering! Some organisations noted that making any changes at all to how they did banking was a time-consuming and confusing process. 

How we interact with banks and deal with money is changing fast, such as the digital transformation of IRD, clsure of rural and suburban bank branches, the Reserve Bank considering a digital currency and more. CNA wants to ensure community organisations' concerns and perspectives are heard amid these changes. 

We want to hear about any problems or negative experiences you've had. Fill out this survey to tell us about your experience.

This is the start of a collaborative project with our member organisations across the motu, including Community Waikato, Community Waitakere, Taupō Council of Social Services, SociaLink, ANCAD and more...