New Zealand has a short history of less than 200 years since its founding and in those years it has only had two official currencies including its present one. The first official currency to be introduced to New Zealand is the New Zealand Pound in 1840. Prior to this, Australian and British coins were circulated in the country and continued to do so well into the 1890’s. Later on in the 1960’s the currency currently used today, the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) was introduced.
The NZD is similar to the USD but its bank notes have values of 5$, 10$, 20$ 50$, and 100$ while its coins have values of 10c, 20c, 50c, 1$, and 2$. One of the most notable differences one might notice is the lack of 1c and 5c coins from the NZD. This is a fairly recent change that was implemented in 1979 and is called Swedish Rounding. Using this system, when transactions are made and they end in 1-4 cents they are rounded down, if they end in 6-9 cents they are rounded up, and if they end in 5 cents it is up to the retailer how it is rounded. 1 USD is equivalent to about 1.40 NZD.
New Zealand is a fairly credit and debit card dominated country with almost all retailers accepting card with little to no surcharge and a possible minimum charge. New Zealanders profess that cash is still used often but in much less frequency than cards. Many small shops and all public transportation such as busses and ferries still require payments in cash though. There are many ATM’s in New Zealand and almost all of them, like retailers, will accept major international credit and debit cards such as visa and mastercard. Credit card fraud is a major problem in New Zealand but despite this it is common for those in New Zealand to give out their card and information to others. Tipping in New Zealand is not obligatory or often practiced and is completely up to the consumer.
The NZD is similar to the USD but its bank notes have values of 5$, 10$, 20$ 50$, and 100$ while its coins have values of 10c, 20c, 50c, 1$, and 2$. One of the most notable differences one might notice is the lack of 1c and 5c coins from the NZD. This is a fairly recent change that was implemented in 1979 and is called Swedish Rounding. Using this system, when transactions are made and they end in 1-4 cents they are rounded down, if they end in 6-9 cents they are rounded up, and if they end in 5 cents it is up to the retailer how it is rounded. 1 USD is equivalent to about 1.40 NZD.
New Zealand is a fairly credit and debit card dominated country with almost all retailers accepting card with little to no surcharge and a possible minimum charge. New Zealanders profess that cash is still used often but in much less frequency than cards. Many small shops and all public transportation such as busses and ferries still require payments in cash though. There are many ATM’s in New Zealand and almost all of them, like retailers, will accept major international credit and debit cards such as visa and mastercard. Credit card fraud is a major problem in New Zealand but despite this it is common for those in New Zealand to give out their card and information to others. Tipping in New Zealand is not obligatory or often practiced and is completely up to the consumer.
Sources
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g255104-i125-k5962713-Cash_vs_credit_card-New_Zealand.html
https://www.justlanded.com/english/New-Zealand/New-Zealand-Guide/Money/Cards
http://www.xe.com/currency/nzd-new-zealand-dollar?r=#
http://studyabroad.arcadia.edu/find-a-program/programs-by-country/new-zealand/know-before-you-go/financial-tips/
http://www.newzealand.com/us/feature/new-zealand-currency/
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g255104-i125-k5962713-Cash_vs_credit_card-New_Zealand.html
https://www.justlanded.com/english/New-Zealand/New-Zealand-Guide/Money/Cards
http://www.xe.com/currency/nzd-new-zealand-dollar?r=#
http://studyabroad.arcadia.edu/find-a-program/programs-by-country/new-zealand/know-before-you-go/financial-tips/
http://www.newzealand.com/us/feature/new-zealand-currency/