We have parity between the NZD and the AUD !
But not on wholesale markets - yet.
In the past hour Westpac will only pay you NZ$1 for each AU$1 you want to sell them.
This rate applies for when you convert foreign currency coming to you in an international wire transfer. (It will not apply if you try to sell the bank notes or travellers cheques - you will likely get less.)
Remember, fees and fee minimums will almost always apply, and will reduce your net return.
You can see all main bank BUY rates here.
The wholesale rate is NZ$1 = 98.2 AUc as we publish this. But that is a "mid-rate" from which banks and other foreign exchange dealers price their BUY and SELL rates from. In other words, no-one can actually get the mid wholesale rate; you get one based on it, plus a margin.
At retail for telegraphic transfers, Westpac now prices parity between the two currencies when you want to sell them AUD. The other local retail banks will likely follow very soon. And in turn, the specialist currency trading companies will get there as well at some time, although they don't work on such wide margins.
There will be volatility around bank offer rates and exact parity may come and go as markets move.
The arrival of 'parity' throws into focus the substantial margins banks and other currency traders charge for their transfer services.
While Westpac will give you NZ$1 for each AU$1 you sell them via a telegraphic transfer, at the same time they will charge you NZ$1.0395 for each AU$ you want to buy. Transaction fees may also apply. Parity is still a way off on the bank BUY side.
| as at this point in time: | Retail | Market | Retail |
| 7:45am, March 31, 2015 | Bank BUYs | mid-rate | Bank SELLs |
| NZ$1 = AU$ ... | TT | TT | |
| 0.9815 | |||
| ANZ | 0.9984 | 0.9652 | |
| ASB | 0.9833* | 0.9650 | |
| BNZ | 0.9916 | 0.9594 | |
| Westpac | 1.0005 | 0.9620 |
This is what our monitoring showed at 7:45am.
This is what the Westpac webpage showed at the same time.
At 8:15am, ANZ was at parity, while Westac had slipped slightly.
* = This is a commercial rate for cleared funds on NZD 100,000 and may not be strictly comparable to other bank rates on this page.
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