How to make a repayment from overseas
What you need to know
When making any kind of repayment from overseas, you will need your IRD number.
Important - repaying overdue amounts
Ensure you specify the tax year the payment relates to. If you don't, we'll apply the payment to the current year (1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009).
Telegraphic transfer
Telegraphic transfers allow you to send money to us from an overseas bank. However, there is often a fee involved from the sending and receiving banks, and it does take a couple of days to process your repayment.
Each bank has their own unique telegraphic transfer form that you'll need to complete to make a repayment. You can use the Telegraphic transfer form (under the "Forms and guides" section) to help you fill it in.
Important
Please ensure it's completed properly (include your IRD number, tax type and tax period it is for in the payment section), or there will be processing delays.
Debit or credit card
You can make a debit or credit card payment through our online facility with a Visa or MasterCard debit or credit card. See "Get it done online" on the right.
From 1 July 2008, people who use a debit or credit card to make a student loan payment will no longer incur a 2.49% bank convenience fee.
Foreign bank draft/personal cheque
Our bank will accept a cheque or bank draft in the currencies listed in the table below. We'll credit the payment to your account in New Zealand dollars, using the exchange rate on the day we bank the cheque.
| Accepted foreign currencies | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| United States dollar | USD | Pakistan rupee | PKR |
| Pound sterling | GBP | Solomon Islands dollar | SBD |
| Australian dollar | AUD | Swedish krona | SEK |
| Canadian dollar | CAD | Singapore dollar | SGD |
| Swiss franc | CHF | Thai baht | THB |
| Danish krone | DKK | Tongan pa'anga | TOP |
| Fijian dollar | FJD | Vanuatu vatu | VUV |
| Hong Kong dollar | HKD | CFP franc | XPF |
| Japanese yen | JPY | South African rand | ZAR |
| Norwegian krone | NOK | Euro | EUR |
This list is subject to change. For other currencies, you'll need to make a telegraphic transfer.
Foreign bank drafts
The bank the funds are drawn from must be located in the country of the currency of the payment.
Personal foreign cheques
The repayment must be in the same currency that the cheque is drawn in. We can't process the repayment if the cheque is in New Zealand dollars.
Foreign postal or money orders
We can accept foreign postal orders or money orders as long as there aren't restrictions about where they can be redeemed. For example, some foreign postal orders state that they can only be redeemed in the country of purchase. In this case you'll need to make your repayment by another option.
Repayments from your New Zealand bank account
If you're leaving a bank account open in New Zealand, you can make a repayment by:
- using internet banking
- making an automatic repayment, or
- sending a cheque.
Alternatively, you can get your nominated person to make a repayment on your behalf at any branch of Westpac bank. See "Next steps" below for details about how to make a repayment in New Zealand.
Next steps
Date published: 30 Jun 2008
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