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Costs, money and banks
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After a few years riding the crest of an economic wave, New Zealand has recently seen a downturn in the economy and a resulting dive in the value of the New Zealand dollar. Consequently, most things will seem fairly cheap by European and North American standards. The quality of goods and standards of service you can expect are high and, on balance, the country offers very good value for money, though the instability of exchange rates introduces some uncertainty.
New Zealanders are a straightforward bunch and the price quoted is what you pay. In almost all cases, the 12.5 percent Goods and Service Tax (GST) is included in the listed price, and no tip is expected.
The
currency
is the Kiwi dollar, or "buck", divided into 100 cents. There are $100, $50, $20, $10 and $5 notes made of a sturdy plastic material, and coins in denominations of $2 and $1, and 50?, 20?, 10? and 5?; grocery prices are given to the nearest cent, but the final bill is rounded up or down to the nearest five cents. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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New Zealand |