opening a bank account

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Young people in Youth Service can access support through the Westpac extra care team to open a bank account when they don’t have proof of address or the right ID.

Westpac has made it easier for taiohi in Youth Service to open a bank account

Young people who are enrolled in Youth Service can access support through the Westpac extra care team to open a bank account.

how to support taiohi to get a bank account through the Westpac extra care team

Young people without family support can have challenges in accessing banking, which can put them at a significant disadvantage.

It can take time to get the right ID and proof of address documents to open an account.

The Westpac extra care team provides support to make the process easier. This means that young people in Youth Service only need a Birth Certificate plus a letter from MSD to open a Westpac bank account, get an EFTPOS card, and get set up on online banking.

when you identify a young person who needs a bank account

If the young person would like to open a bank account with Westpac through this process

  1. Support the young person to complete the consent form so we can share information and documents that they have provided to us with Westpac (such as proof of ID, full name, date of birth and address).
  2. YSSU will email a letter to the Westpac extra care team and copy in the youth coach. The letter will confirm the young person’s address. YSSU will also send a copy of the young person’s proof of ID so Westpac can check the documentation.
  3. Westpac will confirm with the youth coach an appointment time for the young person at the local branch.
  4. The young person attends the branch appointment. They can bring a support person to this appointment. The young person will need to bring their original ID and they’ll need to complete an account opening form at the appointment. At this appointment they’ll find out about their bank account, get set up for online banking (if they want), get an EFTPOS card, set up a PIN for their EFTPOS card, and be shown how to use an ATM.
  5. After 2-3 weeks, Westpac will contact the young person to check in about their bank account and make sure everything is going OK (if the young person has agreed to this at their branch appointment).

 

If you have any questions, you can contact the Westpac extra care team at extra_care@westpac.co.nz

If the young person wants to open a bank account with another bank

You’ll need to support them to follow their chosen bank's process for opening new accounts.