ANZ reduces money transfer fee to Pacific to $8

ANZ  announced that it has reduced the fee for remitting money from Australia to the Pacific to Aus$8 from Aus$32 – a 75 per cent saving – as part of its International Money Transfer Pacific campaign over the Christmas and New Year period until January 31, 2012.

The A$8 fee will apply to all personal transactions up to a value of Aus$1000 that are sent by a customer through ANZ’s Australian call centre to any personal account across the Pacific where ANZ has a presence.

“We understand the extremely important contribution that remittances make in the Pacific, both to the community and to the overall country’s GDP," said ANZ General Manager Retail and Wealth Management, Pacific, Claire Hopkins.

"The festive season is a time when a large number of people remit money to the Pacific, making an important social and economic contribution to their family and friends in the region at this special time of the year.

“The International Money Transfer Pacific campaign lowers the regular money transfer fee by 75% to A$8, giving customers great value when sending funds to any accounts across ANZ’s network, the largest of any bank in the Pacific.”

ANZ has a presence in American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, Guam, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga and Vanuatu.

“ANZ has the largest geographical representation of any bank in the Pacific and we want to support Pacific Islanders in Australia, including those working on the Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme, who remit money back to the Pacific as efficiently and cost effectively as possible,” said Ms Hopkins.

In 2012, ANZ will be also launching the Pacific Money Transfer Card in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Samoa. This two card pre-paid VISA solution allows ANZ customers in Australia to load funds onto their card which a family member or friend living in the Pacific can access using the other card.

Commenting on the new Pacific Money Transfer Card, Hopkins said: “We’ve responded to our customers who have said to us that they want a more cost effective way to remit money to family and friends in the Pacific.

The Pacific Money Transfer Card will make it cheaper, faster and easier for people living in Australia to remit money to selected Pacific countries.