Using N'wide FlexAccount in New Zealand

scfsk

I am travelling to New Zealand for a month soon. I opened a Nationwide Flex Account as recommended by Martin. I was wondering if anyone had any experience of using the card to withdraw cash in New Zealand. Are there plenty of places you can use the card to withdraw cash and do the ATM's charge for this? I would really appreciate hearing about your experiences as I am a bit wary of putting my holiday cash into the account and then not being able to access it or being hit with charges. Thanks.

pin

Have used it in NZ with zero problems. Cash points are pretty easy to come by in the bigger towns in NZ.

Go to the Visa website, which has an ATM locator, so you can see where the cash points are.

scfsk

Thanks so much for that. It makes me feel a lot easier knowing I'll be able to get at my money while I'm away! Do you remember if there was a charge made for using the ATMs?

pin

scfsk wrote:

Thanks so much for that. It makes me feel a lot easier knowing I'll be able to get at my money while I'm away! Do you remember if there was a charge made for using the ATMs?

Not with Nationwide!!

scfsk

Aaah! Didn't realise that Nationwide had branches in NZ. Doh!

nilocmac

scfsk wrote:

Aaah! Didn't realise that Nationwide had branches in NZ. Doh!

I don't think there are Nationwide branches in NZ what the previous poster probably meant was that Nationwide don't charge you for using another banks ATM. (Although the other bank might but they are supposed to tell you before you complete the transaction).

mr_fishbulb

I was in New Zealand over the summer (their winter) for 6 weeks. I travelled all over with my Nationwide card and had no problem finding ATMs and was charged no fees.

Don't use the ATMs in the pubs though as you will be charged a fee (by the ATM company, not Nationwide).

frankie

Used nationwide Flex and credit card over 4 months last winter in NZ, OZ Malaysia, Thailand & Hong Kong.

No worries in any of these places.

Have a great time!

Paul_Varjak

My girlfriend successfully uses my Nationwide Cirrus Debit Card in Russia - but you have to find an ATM that accepts Cirrus cards - not many do. If you arrive by air - search the airport for a suitable machine. Train Stations often have Cirrus card machines as well.

Nationwide levy no charges for withdrawls overseas but some non-Nationwide ATMs may levy their own charge.

My girlfriend is not charged by the ATM (not Nationwide) she uses in Russia.

The exchange rate is somewhat better than with most other credit cards and debit cards - and a lot better than using Travellers cheques.

grumbler

pin wrote:

..Go to the Visa website, which has an ATM locator, so you can see where the cash points are.

Paul_Varjak wrote:

... Nationwide Cirrus Debit Card in Russia - but you have to find an ATM that accepts Cirrus cards - not many do...

Just want to clarify this contradicting information for the OP.

• Nationwide debit card is Visa.
• Nationwide cash card is Cirrus.
• Flex-account comes with either debit card or cash card depending on applicant's credit score. Both cards can be used abroad without currency conversion fee.
• AFAIK Cirrus card can be used with most of (all?) ATMs displaying Mastercard logo, although I am not sure.

Paul_Varjak

You are correct Grumbler!

The Nationwide Cirrus Card is a cashcard and not a debit card!

You can only use a Cirrus Card on machines that display the Cirrus logo.

The Mastercard website lists their ATMs but, unfortunately, does not distinguish bewtween ATMs that accept MasterCard and those ATMs that accept both MasterCard and Cirrus cards.

Only relatively few ATMs that accept MasterCards also accept Cirrus - at least that is the case in Nizhny Novgorod. In St. Petersburg, more ATMS seem to accept Cirrus as well. I am not sure about other Russian cities.