Help & Support


Opening an account for a group or society

To open a non-personal account for an incorporated or unincorporated group or society, we’ll need to know more about it and the key people that are involved and/or associated with it.

Groups and societies may include sports clubs, parent/teach associations, volunteer organisations, social groups, schools, school groups, church groups, and marae.

Open an account

Documents required

  • Certificate of incorporation (for an incorporated group or society).
  • Meeting minutes - signed and dated.

If your controllers, managers, or board consist of other organisations (such as trusts, companies, partnerships, or overseas registered entities), we’ll need foundation evidence for those organisations too. More about non-personal organisations

ID and proof of address

We’ll need ID for the key people involved in the group or society. They can prove their ID using one of three ID combinations.

Key people include:

  • president
  • chairperson
  • secretary
  • treasurer
  • other group members that hold key positions
  • other group members that need to hold account ownership or access to the accounts.

Each key person’s ID needs to be verified. Ways to verify ID include:

  • face-to-face in a BNZ branch
  • certified in writing by an approved trusted referee
  • online through RealMe or with photos of your ID.

Countries of tax residence

If you, your organisation, or any key people are tax residents in another country or countries, we’ll need tax numbers or an equivalent for those countries.

Find out more about confirming your tax residency.

For more information, please talk to your tax adviser or visit the Inland Revenue website.

Adding, changing, or removing an authorised person

We’ll need to collect and verify identification information for any new authorised person, and they may also need to fill out additional forms.

Call us on 0800 275 269 to make changes to your account.

Account opening and lending criteria, terms and fees apply. Service fees may apply. BNZ standard terms and conditions apply to all BNZ transaction and savings accounts. Details of our rates and fees can be found on our Rates and fees page. Rates and fees are subject to change.

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