Category: Business

Source: Radio New Zealand

Leaving your credit card on the bar to run up a tab this summer might be an expensive mistake.

Financial Services Complaints Ltd, an external dispute resolution scheme for some of the country’s financial service providers, said it was common practice but could be a breach of your card provider’s terms and conditions.

In one case it dealt with recently, a couple were in Miami on holiday with friends.

They booked a table at a day club with a minimum spend of $3000.

They handed over their card when they arrived and it was charged when they ordered food and drinks.

“[They] said they ordered a drinks package and some food for their guests, totalling around US$1700 (NZD$2,941).” FSCL said.

They collected their credit card on the way out but did not receive a receipt. They expected the bill to be US$3000 (NZD$5190).

“When they got home and checked their credit card statement, they saw that they had been charged over US$7500 (NZD$12,110).”

FSCL said they asked for a receipt and planned to dispute the charge but did not get a response. They then applied for a chargeback with their card provider.

“The credit card provider initially issued the chargeback. However, they later reversed the chargeback after the day club provided their response and copies of several signed receipts. The card issuer said that these signed receipts, along with the fact that the charges were processed in person with the card present, supported the day club’s view that all the charges, totalling US$7500 (NZD$12,110) were ‘authorised’.”

They complained to FSCL that the signatures on the receipts were not theirs and they had been overcharged by US$4700 (NZD$8,131).

FSCL looked into it and found the credit card providers’ terms and conditions said a consumer would not be liable for unauthorised charges if they complied with the card terms and conditions.

But that included keeping the card in their possession and secure at all times, and not letting anyone else use the card, as well as taking their card back after they made a charge.

“We acknowledged that it may be common practice for some venues, particularly hospitality venues, to ask to hold onto the consumers credit card, and that it may even be required at some venues.

However, allowing anyone else to take possession of your credit card is a risk, and a risk that [this couple] willingly took. By allowing the day club to hold onto their card, [they] compromised the security of the card, and breached the card terms and conditions.

This meant that [they] were liable for the charges even though they claimed they had not authorised them.”

FSCL said the credit card provider had done what it could to help by attempting to charge back the disputed charge.

“However, when the day club provided evidence to support the charge, the credit card provider was required to reverse the chargeback.

“We acknowledged [the couple’s] comments about the validity of the receipts the day club submitted. However, it was not our role to investigate the day club’s actions and assess whether the receipts were valid. We explained that our role was to look at whether the credit card provider had to refund the unauthorised charges. [They] could continue to dispute the charges with the day club directly.”

FSCL ombudsman Susan Taylor said it was a good reminder for credit cardholders.

“With the holiday season upon us, people may be tempted to leave a card behind the bar when hosting parties.

“It might feel normal to let a venue ‘babysit’ your card to keep a tab running, but that convenience can come at a high price,” she said. “If you hand your card over and walk away, you are risking someone using your card and charging items to it without your knowledge.

“Your credit card is effectively a direct line to your money. You’re responsible for all the charges, even those made without your authority, if you’ve breached the terms and conditions,” Ms Taylor said.

“Keeping it in your hands is the simplest way to stop a fun night out from turning into a very expensive one. Remember to get a receipt for the items you’ve bought and check statements promptly so any surprises are picked up early.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

• Economy in recovery mode for 2026 – ASB Bank
• Lower interest rates, exports, tourism, consumers drive growth
• Growth forecast to average 2-3 pct over next couple of years
• Inflation back at 2 pct target mid-2026, unemployment above 5 pct all year
• Official cash rate starts rising end of 2026.

ASB Bank has raised a flag of confidence over the economic outlook for next year, driven by a mix of lower interest rates, solid exports, and consumer spending.

Chief economist Nick Tuffley said the economy has turned the corner after recession.

“We’re seeing clear signs that the recovery is gathering pace. Consumer spending is up, especially on big-ticket items like cars and electronics, and rural incomes are holding strong despite global uncertainty.”

He said the benefit of falling interest rates would continue to be felt as households refix their mortgages, which would likely support consumer spending.

Tuffley said the rural sector would retain strong incomes even as milk prices eased from highs, Fonterra shareholders had the added bonus of a $3.2 billion capital return, and beef producers were currently exempt from US tariffs.

He said the growth outlook for country’s main trading partners was still below average, which had been caused by the US tariffs, but New Zealand has been diversifying markets, while tourism had shown only slight growth.

“Continued tourism recovery will be linked to improvements in global growth and confidence, which will both take time to come through.”

Inflation, unemployment down, rates up or down

Tuffley expected the slack in the economy would keep pressure on prices, which would see the annual rate fall from the current 3 percent level, at the top of the Reserve Bank’s target zone, towards the 2 percent midpoint around the middle of next year.

Unemployment, currently at 5.3 percent, was forecast to take longer to recover, not falling below 5 percent until 2027.

“The jobs market is also stabilising after a period of overall job losses … Job ads are on the way up, and 2026 should bring strengthening employment prospects.”

A modest lift in the housing market from lower borrowing costs, plenty of listings, and still relatively flat prices.

“Mortgage rates are about as low as they are likely to go. People who have been waiting for interest rates to reach the lows before acting have nothing further to wait for.”

Prices are expected to rise 3-4 percent.

Tuffley doubted there would be any more rate cuts by the Reserve Bank unless the recovery stalled.

“The RBNZ has very likely done enough to get the recovery going sufficiently strongly, even if it has taken longer than anticipated to show through.”

ASB forecast the official cash rate to be held at 2.25 percent through next before a couple of rises in early 2027.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

This year’s Visa Wellington On a Plate (WOAP) and Beervana festivals delivered a $10 million boost to the capital’s economy.

The economic impact of the event came from ticket sales, visitor nights, burgers purchases, and out-of-town visitor spending throughout both festivals, according to data from WellingtonNZ, WOAP and industry reporting.

Out-of-town visitor spending also jumped 44 percent in September at venues which had been Burger Wellington finalists.

Wellington Mayor Andrew Little said the results reinforced the crucial role events played in the city’s economic and cultural vitality.

“This significant injection into the local economy is welcome news – especially for our hospitality sector – and contributes meaningfully to revitalising our CBD.

“The festivals showcase culinary creativity, innovation, and the sheer joy of sharing good food with friends and whānau,” he said.

Heidi Morton, general manager events and experiences at WellingtonNZ, said that as the nation’s culinary capital, it was great to see the ongoing creativity and innovation from Wellington’s hospitality industry during WOAP and Beervana.

“Wellington is known nationwide as having a fantastic food and beverage offering to delight all tastes and budgets, and these two festivals really help bring that unique offering to life,” she said.

“The increase in out-of-region visitor nights during these festivals shows their appeal beyond Wellington, and that brings greater opportunity for economic benefit to the region across industries – including accommodation, retail and transportation.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Got questions? RNZ has launched a new podcast, [https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/no-stupid-questions ‘No Stupid Questions’, with Susan Edmunds].

We’d love to hear more of your questions about money and the economy. You can send through written questions, like these ones, but even better, you can drop us a voice memo to our email questions@rnz.co.nz.

You can also sign up to RNZ’s new money newsletter, ‘Money with Susan Edmunds’.

Is it realistic or just a pipe dream to consider taking out a mortgage to buy a beach house in our mid-50s? What level of debt should/could one take on, considering retirement is on the 10-year horizon?

People do take on home loans in their 50s and even beyond. The important thing to think about is what your strategy will be to deal with the repayments.

I checked in with Link Advisory head Glen Mcleod about this.

He says banks will generally want you to think about what your exit strategy is, if your debt is likely to hang around longer than you’ll be working.

Can you cope with payments once you retire? Do you plan to sell at that point?

Can you generate enough income from renting it out when you’re not using it that you can cover the loan? Can you pay the loan down quickly, so that you no longer have repayments in retirement?

If you already own your own home and have built up a good amount of equity in it, you should be able to borrow against this for your purchase.

There’s definitely no harm in asking a mortgage adviser or your bank what might be possible here.

I have been in Australia since 1979, I’m a New Zealand citizen, not an Australian citizen, but I’m a Australian resident.

I’ve just turned 65 look like going back to New Zealand to live in 2026.

I just would like to know the ins and outs of me be able to get the pension there. I think they call it ‘super’ over there.

Your situation would probably be similar to that of people I responded to in November.

New Zealand and Australia have a Social Security Agreement, which means people can use time spent living in either country to meet the pension residency requirements of the other.

Just note, though, if you are relying on time in Australia to meet the requirements for the New Zealand pension – it sounds like you are, because you haven’t spent five years here since you turned 50 – you can’t qualify for NZ Super until you reach the Australian age of eligibility, which is 67.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Financial Markets Authority chair Craig Stobo has stepped aside temporarily, as an investigation into unspecified matters is launched.

The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE), which monitors the FMA, said it would conduct an independent investigation into matters that have been raised.

“Mr Stobo has agreed to temporarily step aside as FMA chair, while the investigation is undertaken,” it said. “He will also step aside from his other crown governance and advisory responsibilities.”

Stobo’s other official position is chair of the Local Government Funding Agency and he was a founding director of Auckland Council’s Future Fund.

MBIE said it would make no further comment, until the investigation was complete.

Stobo is a 35-year veteran of the finance sector, with a wide range of roles in investment banking and taxation, and directorships of listed companies.

He been on taxation advisory groups to Labour and National-led governments, which led to the current approach tax system for Kiwisaver funds and was extended to overseas investors.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Authorities in New Zealand and China are investigating claims that nearly 200 Chinese New Zealanders have lost about $600,000 in an airline ticket scam.

Around 180 people have joined a group on social media platform WeChat claiming to be victims of a travel agency based in Xingyi, Guizhou province, in southwestern China.

Carriers believed to be unknowingly caught up in the scam included Cathay Pacific Airways, China Eastern Airline and Air China.

Police in New Zealand and China have launched an investigation in the allegations.

The Chinese consulate in Auckland issued a statement Friday, encouraging those who thought they might be a victim of the scam to file a report with the police.

Auckland woman Mia Liu bought a pair of airline tickets from Guizhou Yiqifei Tourism Information Ltd through Yanjing Shen, a local agent for the company.

Shen introduced Liu to the company after telling her she had started a new job as a tourism agent.

In August, Liu bought tickets for her son and his girlfriend to return to New Zealand from Tokyo via Beijing from Shen.

She paid just over 10,000 yuan (about $2500) for the tickets, an amount that was a little cheaper than more recognisable agencies.

Guizhou Yiqifei Tourism Information sent Liu the flight itinerary the following day.

In early November, Shen told Liu to check her flights as the tickets might not have been secured.

Liu asked a relative in China to help confirm the booking but neither China Eastern nor Cathay Pacific were able to do so.

Upon contacting Shen, Liu was told she could cancel the tickets, but it would take seven to 15 working days to process a refund.

Liu has yet to receive a refund for the tickets she had paid for, and Shen was not responding to her messages.

Mi Xiang, administrator of the WeChat group of victims, also bought airline tickets from Shen, having known her for more than a decade.

In September, Xiang paid around ¥24,000 yuan (about $5900) to Guizhou Yiqifei Tourism Information for return tickets to China for her family of four.

She was also advised to check her booking in early November, with the airline confirming the tickets were fake.

“China Eastern says it doesn’t have the tickets,” Xiang said. “The tickets did not exist.”

Xiang started the WeChat group after hearing that Liu and a couple of other acquaintances also bought tickets from Shen.

She claimed victims who had joined the WeChat group had lost more than 2.4 million yuan (about $600,000) in the ticket scam.

Auckland woman Nahong He, who claims to have lost 17,000 yuan (about $4200) paying for fake bookings, was in China helping those who had been affected to submit evidence with local police.

Chinese police told He they suspected the bookings to be a scam.

Police reports

Shen said she stopped selling airline tickets as soon as she sensed something was wrong.

She said she had filed a report with New Zealand Police on 4 November and flew back to China the next day to report the case to police in her hometown.

Some victims questioned this, claiming local police in Shen’s hometown didn’t have jurisdiction to investigate a case in Guizhou province.

Shen said she had also been a victim of the scam, claiming to be assisting the police investigation in China.

“I have handed over all the bank transfer records and all the chat histories to police,” Shen said.

Another agent, Ella Chen, who sold nearly 20 tickets, including a few for herself and her family, repaid clients from her own pocket after learning that the bookings were problematic.

She started to work for Guizhou Yiqifei Tourism Information in September after seeing an advertisement recruiting agents in Chinese media.

Chen said the advertisement looked legit, and she also checked the company’s authenticity before signing a contract with them.

Bookings through most of October largely proved to be unproblematic, but certain issues started to appear in November.

“There seemed to be two possible issues,” Chen said. “[Either] the ticket was issued but later cancelled, or the ticket was never issued at all. They only created a booking reference number.”

Chen first learnt of problems with bookings while she was on holiday in China.

She claimed to have reported the case in person to local police in Xingyi on 13 November.

She also visited the physical address of Guizhou Yiqifei Tourism Information after local police shared the information with her.

“I … saw that the office was already empty with no one around,” she recalled.

A couple of days later, Shen and another agent also arrived in Xingyi to report the case to police, Chen said.

Authorities investigate

A staff member at the Public Security Bureau in Xingyi said investigations were ongoing, although they refused to disclose more details.

“The relevant department is handling the case,” they said. “They will contact the relevant departments when there are any results … and will release information if necessary.”

Detective senior sergeant Craig Bolton from the Auckland City Financial Crime Unit said reports of a scam involving Guizhou Yiqifei Tourism Information had been made in November.

“To date, we have collated 33 complaints from right across the Auckland region,” Bolton said, noting that the unit was in its early stages of the investigation.

“In total, these victims have been scammed out of around $176,000. The Auckland City Financial Crime Unit is liaising with our police liaison officer in China via Interpol.”

He believed the perpetrators of the scam were residing in China, and officers had been working through Interpol to better understand this.

“Police urge the community to be vigilant around sales or services being offered at bargain or heavily discounted rates, particularly on social media or messaging applications,” he said.

“Please be extremely cautious when these sorts of services are offered. Do your research on whether the organisation is legitimate.”

People who suspected they had fallen victim to the scam were encouraged to file a report with police, Bolton said.

The Chinese Embassy in New Zealand told RNZ it was watching the case closely.

“The Chinese police have launched an investigation into the relevant case,” the embassy said in a statement.

“The Chinese government attaches high importance to protecting the lawful rights and interests of Chinese citizens and stands firm in combating crimes of telecom and online fraud.

“The Embassy and Consulates-General of China in New Zealand will continue to provide necessary assistance to the Chinese citizens concerned in accordance with the law.”

Simon Pope, head of fair trading and product safety investigations at the Commerce Commission, warned consumers to ensure they knew who they were dealing with.

“A good way to do this is by checking independent review sites, social media and trusted resources such as Scamwatch to learn about other people’s experiences before sharing personal information or making payments,” Pope said.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Women are still more than two-and-a-half times as likely to experience sexual harassment compared to men in the finance sector.

Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand’s (CA ANZ) latest two-yearly diversity, equity and inclusion report showed 13 percent of women respondents reported sexual harassment in the workplace, compared to 5 percent of men.

That compared to 11 percent of women in 2023 and 19 percent in 2021.

CA ANZ general manager for New Zealand, Charlotte Evett, said the findings – based on a survey of nearly 2000 members – did not reflect a structural problem in the profession.

“The profession is not without fault, because it’s not zero percent, but I think it’s reflective of a broader societal issue – but absolutely, we’re not going to wait for other people to fix it.

“We have a responsibility, as Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand, to help address it across the accounting profession.”

Evett said the biennial survey aimed to shine a light on issues and uncomfortable truths such as harassment.

Despite reports of sexual harassment against women dropping from 2021 levels, Evett said it remained too high.

“We’ve seen some great improvements across other negative behaviours, but we continue to shine a light on the uncomfortable truths so that we can work with members and our profession to do something about them.

“The right percentage of sexual harassment cases is zero.”

CA ANZ chief executive Ainslie van Onselen said 51 percent of its provisional membership were women, compared to 43 percent of its full members, and it was clear the demographic sands of the profession were shifting.

“Therefore, it is imperative for us to collectively address the issues facing women if we are to retain and develop key talent within the profession.”

Encouraging more Māori and Pasifika accountants

CA ANZ data also showed Māori made up 4 percent of membership, compared to 18 percent who identify as Māori in the wider population.

Evett wanted their membership to reflect the communities they serve, noting that the Māori economy had grown from $17 billion in 2018 to $32b in 2023.

“It makes absolute business sense, as well as being the right thing to do.”

CA ANZ was developing partnerships with Iwi and educators, and had introduced a “learn while you earn” pathway to formal accounting qualifications.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Fletcher Building has simplified its funding structure as debt remains above its guidance range.

The building materials firm prepaid all outstanding United States Private Placement notes and associated cross-currency interest rate swaps at a total cost of $7.2 million, along with measures to increase its liquidity over the next three years.

Fletcher Building managing director Andrew Reding said changes to its funding structure would give it greater flexibility, lower the ongoing cost of capital, while supporting its strategic reset.

He said there were no internal concerns regarding compliance with its standard bank covenant level, but dividend payouts would be suspended as long as debt remained above its target.

“We remain committed to reducing leverage and ensuring the business is well positioned to navigate current market conditions and return to sustainable, long-term performance,” he said.

“Simplifying our funding structure and extending key facilities gives us greater flexibility, lowers our ongoing cost of capital, and supports the disciplined execution of our strategic reset.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

More than 4000 people have been affected by an Inland Revenue error that could have meant they paid the wrong amount of tax.

RNZ was contacted by a reader who said he had noticed the error when he went to finalise his tax return.

Inland Revenue now issues income tax assessments each year for most New Zealanders, which tells them whether they have paid the right amount of tax.

The man said he and his wife would fill out an IR3 every year. “Nowadays the income, tax and imputation credits are automatically filled in, whether that be from investments in bonds, equities, or bank accounts.

“Having always done this myself longhand, I still do this and thank goodness I did.”

He said between them they would have lost about $20,000 in credits if he had not noticed the problem.

“I found that my summary of Income was correct, Income, RWT, imputation credits, but when this was automatically input into the IR3 form the imputation credits were only 50 percent of what they should have been.”

Inland Revenue said it had looked into the issue and identified a problem with how returns in the myIR system were pre-populating imputation tax credits for people who received dividends with imputation credits from jointly owned shareholdings.

“We have fixed this so any returns started in myIR from November 26 will not have this issue.

“Customers were able to amend the figure before filing the return; however, we have identified that approximately 4500 customers appear to have filed the return without changing the figure – so with the incorrect pre-populated imputation credits.

“We are currently working through the best way to amend these returns for the affected customers. Once we identify the easiest way to correct this error [we] will be contacting those affected customers.”

It said it believed the amount involved was an average of about $300 per person, “all in the taxpayer’s favour. Late next week we should have a clearer picture of the exact number of customers and tax involved as we implement a fix.”

Deloitte tax partner Robyn Walker said anyone who had not noticed the problem could have paid more tax than they needed to, or received a larger refund than they should have.

“It’s interesting that the income and tax credits aren’t kept together when the amounts are halved for spouses – I would have expected that the income and credits would have both been wrong.”

She said it was a problem that a system that was meant to be able to be relied upon by taxpayers was not working correctly.

“In the scheme of the total number of people who might invest in shares receiving dividends it’s possibly not a big error population; however the existence of any error in pre-population is concerning. One of the risks associated with income and tax credit amounts being pre-populated is that there is a natural tendency to just accept what is there if it seems ‘about right’ rather than taking the next step of validating that the information is actually correct against source documents. It would seem that this is what those 4500 individuals have done.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

It’s been a patchy year for the property market.

Prices have been flat or slightly down in many parts of the country through 2025, although Southland has returned to its post-pandemic price highs, and Queenstown remains an outlier.

Real Estate Institute data shows that both the most expensive house sale of the year and the cheapest are in Auckland, where the market is more sluggish than most of the rest of the country.

64 Sentinel Road, Herne Bay, in central Auckland, sold in September for $35 million. It has five or six bedrooms over 800 square metres and 4000 square metres of land, with the harbour on three sides of the section. The property includes its own helipad and hangar. From the pool, you could look out over the water to the North Shore.

The property was designed by Fearon Hay Architects and is largely glass, with private beach access.

At the other end of the spectrum, an apartment in the Scene Three block at 30 Beach Road, in Auckland’s central city, sold in March for $15,000.

It has two bedrooms, one bathroom, access to a pool and tennis court as well as carparks. But the property is a leasehold, which means owners have to pay an ongoing ground rent, which has the potential to increase sharply at review.

The lease of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei’s downtown Auckland land at the former Railway Lands, Te Tōangaroa, came up for review in August.

Owners of two-bedroom apartments had been paying about $25,000 a year but there were [. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/524360/apartment-owners-may-have-heads-in-the-sand-about-ground-rent-increase warnings it could double].

Other units in the block have sold at similar prices.

Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen said the two sales offered some interesting insights.

“I think I saw some numbers that suggested the $35 million was roughly in line with the government value that that property had had, which probably reinforces that over time Auckland house prices haven’t sort of moved all that much in the last wee while. They have tracked sideways and that might be true even at the upper end of the market.”

The 2024 rateable valuation was $35m.

He said it was often best to take out the top 10 percent and bottom 10 percent of sales from the data because they were so unrepresentative of the rest of the market.

“Certainly, the leasehold place in Auckland at such a cheap rate does sort of highlight that when you have real limitations on the property that you’re purchasing and what you can do with it and how it operates and similar, then you get compensated for that,” Olsen said.

“You don’t have to pay quite as much because you can’t do nearly as much with it either… we’ve heard concerns over time from people over leasehold properties, how much that can sometimes cost them in the long term.

“So sometimes a shorter or smaller upfront cost, but a longer term liability they have to look after.”

He said in general, houses’ values were set by the market.

“This is true in the housing market in general, but very true at the upper end. A house is worth what someone is willing to sell it for and what another person is willing to pay for it.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand