Frequent debit-card user: ANZ (no transaction cap). Saving aggressively: Westpac (higher savings rate). About to buy a house: Negotiate both, take the better cashback. Want to consolidate: Whichever your KiwiSaver is already with — moving the salary often gets you 0.10% off the mortgage rate.

Comparisons3 June 20269 min read

ANZ vs Westpac NZ in 2026: Fees, Apps, Mortgage Rates Compared

ANZ and Westpac hold ~50% of NZ banking between them. A head-to-head on transaction fees, mortgage rates, app quality, and the small differences that matter when you're picking an everyday account.

ANZ and Westpac bank buildings side by side with a comparison checklist

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If you've got a paycheque landing in NZ and you're choosing between ANZ and Westpac, you're picking between the two biggest retail banks in the country. Combined they hold roughly half of all NZ deposits, and most Kiwis end up with one or the other by default — not by choice.

Here's the head-to-head as of June 2026, based on the published rate cards on both banks' websites.

Everyday accounts

ANZ Go: No monthly fee, no transaction fees on EFTPOS or in-app transfers. ATM withdrawals at non-ANZ machines: $0.50.

Westpac Choice: Same headline ($0 monthly fee), same in-app transfers free, but pings you $0.30 per transaction once you exceed 30 in a month — a soft cap that catches frequent debit-card users.

Winner: ANZ for transaction-heavy users. Otherwise it's a tie.

Savings accounts

ANZ Serious Saver sits at 3.10% p.a. (May 2026) with bonus interest if you grow your balance month-on-month and make zero withdrawals. Miss either condition and it drops to 0.10%.

Westpac Bonus Saver pays 3.25% with similar hoops — grow the balance and skip withdrawals.

If you're disciplined, Westpac edges ahead by 0.15% — about $15/year per $10,000 saved. Not life-changing, but real.

Mortgage rates (1-year fixed)

As of June 2026:

ANZ: 5.99%
Westpac: 5.95%

Westpac sits 0.04% cheaper — roughly $20/month on a $500k mortgage. Both will negotiate down 0.10-0.20% for new lending or a $10k+ cashback for switching from another bank.

Don't pick a bank based on the headline rate. Negotiate. The published rate is rarely the rate you actually pay.

Apps

ANZ goMoney is the older, more reliable app — fewer crashes, biometric login works first time. Search transactions back ~7 years.

Westpac OneAnswer has had a 2025 redesign that looks cleaner, but a few users still report intermittent login bugs. Transaction history caps at 5 years.

For an automated view across both banks — including investments and KiwiSaver — Steady connects via Akahu open banking so you don't have to flip between two apps.

Which to pick?

Frequent debit-card user: ANZ (no transaction cap).
Saving aggressively: Westpac (higher savings rate).
About to buy a house: Negotiate both, take the better cashback.
Want to consolidate: Whichever your KiwiSaver is already with — moving the salary often gets you 0.10% off the mortgage rate.

For everything else, the broader 2026 comparison covers the other big-3 names too.

Steady tip: Whichever bank you land on, connecting it to Steady means your spending categorisation and budget rules survive any future switch — your data lives with you, not the bank.

Written by Sam Wilson

Founder, Steady

Sam is a New Zealand founder building Steady — a personal finance app designed for Kiwis, integrated with every major NZ bank via Akahu. He writes about money, bank integrations, and what actually works for everyday New Zealanders.More about Sam