Important Member Update

Posted December 2020

We are making some changes that may impact how you use some of our products and services. These changes come into effect 1 December 2020, please read through carefully and let us know if you have any questions, we are here to help.

Coming together as one

Over the next year, we are bringing all four banking systems, from our merged credit unions, into one. This enables us to fully unite under one brand and one credit union for all New Zealanders. An early step in this is consolidating our product suite and aligning all services, rates and fees to provide a consistent service to all members.

What's changing?

We’re simplifying our transactional and savings accounts to ensure we have relevant products to meet your needs. We are also updating our fees, ensuring all 60,000 members will be charged consistently.

Key changes to accounts

a)  New Everyday saver account

If you have a Goal saver or Success saver account, this will become an Everyday saver account.

Everyday saver is perfect for short term saving goals. The tiered interest structure means the more you save the more you earn. And it’s easily accessed when you need it with no penalty withdrawal fees. See the rates and fees flyer for full details.

b)  New account names

  • Jimmy J will now be called Kids saver
  • Bfree will become the Freedom account
  • Loyalty Saver, for managing your loan payments, will be called Loan payment account

Updated fee structure

To help deliver fair fees to all members we have taken the opportunity to compare against others in the market (other credit unions and member-owned co-operatives), assess any impact on profitability (and therefore our ability to reinvest into better services for our members) and, most importantly, ensure we can deliver the best outcome for all 60,000 members across the merged Unity.

The changes outlined below will allow us to align our fees across the entire organisation, benefiting more members with fairer fees.

Fee FREE banking for selected members

Aged under 18 or studying? Great news! We are pleased to confirm that you are eligible for free transactions. We also have fee benefits for members over 65 and those with an Unity home loan. See our fees guide for further details.

Please note, we no longer provide fee free transactions for members with term deposits, unless they also sit in another fee free category.

24/7 access to your accounts

With mobile banking and internet banking you can check your balance, transfer funds, pay bills and setup recurring payments for free. Talk to us today to easily set you up with 24/7 access to your accounts and fee free transactions.

Key changes to fees

a)  Electronic transactions

Electronic transactions include EFTPOS, Automatic Payments and Direct Debits. From 1 December 2020 members will be charged 35 cents per electronic transaction.

b)  Everyday account

Receive 20 free electronic transactions per month on your Everyday account. After the first 20 transactions you’ll be charged 35 cents for each EFTPOS, AP and DD transaction.

c)  Everyday unlimited

If you are a high transaction user, why not switch over to an Everyday unlimited account? You can conduct as many electronic transactions as you need, for a fixed monthly fee of $12. 

d)  Other fee updates

Please check out our rates and fees guide for full details on all fees effective from 1 December 2020.

How can you save money on fees?

  • Ensure you’re using the right account for your needs. Talk to us about which accounts will suit you best
  • One off and recurring payments and transfers are FREE when you set them up with internet or mobile banking
  • Request cash out when using EFTPOS
  • Minimise staff assisted transactions, instead try using phone banking, internet banking or mobile banking
  • Opt for FREE email statements to avoid the cost of paper statements

If you have any questions about the changes outlined above or details about the new rates and fees guide, contact your Unity team on 0800 229 943.

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The article published on this page is not financial advice and should not be relied upon as such. The opinions published in this article is not those of Unity Credit Union.