Consumer NZ says no bank reached threshold for its People’s Choice Award for first time in a decade

Consumer NZ says no bank qualified for its People’s Choice Award this year, citing widespread dissatisfaction with banking value, pricing and trust.

The usually annual People’s Choice Award is given to service providers that rate above average for customer satisfaction and meet other Consumer NZ performance criteria.

Consumer NZ says it's the first time in a decade that no bank has reached the customer satisfaction threshold for this award, with Consumer NZ research suggesting 43% of customers believe bank profits are unacceptable, with lower-income New Zealanders the most critical.

"Everyday banking hasn’t kept pace with what customers expect. Many customers don’t feel they’re getting fair value, especially when it comes to fees, interest rates and how banks respond when something goes wrong," Consumer NZ CEO Jon Duffy says.

However, only 4% of New Zealanders switched banks over the past year, with Duffy saying the hassle involved in changing banks has been overstated.

"It’s consumer behaviour that helps encourage competition and put pressure on banks to sharpen pricing, lift service and earn trust. By always keeping an eye out for the best deal and moving when you find a better one, New Zealanders will find they have more options and better leverage," Duffy says.

Westpac last, but says it's improving

Consumer NZ says Westpac NZ brought up the rear in its banking survey, ranking lowest for responsible lending, value for money, timely responses, fees and charges, phone banking, branch banking, and the number of customers rating themselves "very satisfied."

Westpac NZ CEO Catherine McGrath told interest.co.nz in 2024 the bank was focused on improving things for customers after placing last for the third consecutive year in the Consumer NZ survey. Last year The Co-operative Bank topped the survey with ANZ NZ last.

On this year's Consumer NZ survey Helen Ryder, Westpac NZ's Managing Director of Consumer Bank and Wealth, says bank staff are "working extremely hard" to offer good value to customers and continually improve customer experience.

"Industry surveys of major bank customers for the last three months show our customer experience is improving and that we rank second for branch satisfaction and third for our contact centre, with significantly reduced wait times. We have very competitive housing products and same day turn around for home lending with our direct teams," Ryder says.

"We are also investing in a refreshed digital experience for our customers. However, we acknowledge there is more work to do. We value customer feedback highly and will look closely at the Consumer NZ survey findings."

Meanwhile, in its press release on this year's survey Consumer NZ says Kiwibank trailed in trust at 70%, below the average of 75%.

Consumer NZ's annual research was based on an online survey of 1,958 people conducted between 20 February and 23 March 2026.

Duffy spoke to RNZ about the survey earlier on Wednesday. He said The Co-operative Bank was the one Consumer NZ would call out for being the best on customer service. He said Westpac NZ was especially seen as lacking value for money for the fees it charges.

"Open banking is here and, while it’s early days, it could lead to cheaper ways to make payments and more competition. But consumers won’t see that until it’s widely adopted," Duffy says.