Covid 19 FAQ

Mortgage holiday is not a holiday and does not mean waiver of payments. It only means for the time that you are on mortgage holiday you don’t have to make mortgage payments however you will still accrue interest. This accrued interest will be added to your loan amount and at the end of your mortgage holiday period your loan amount will increase and so will your repayments.

We recommend you should only choose this option if you are in financial distress and cannot service your mortgage at all. 

Your mortgage repayments is made up on two components namely principal and interest, when you switch your payments to interest only you only pay the interest component of the repayment. This can help you reduce the payments and have extra cash available for other expenses and necessities.

For e.g. if you have a $500K mortgage @3.49% for a 30 year mortgage and you make your payment fortnightly, your normal repayment will be $1033 however on interest only this would come down to $671.

This is a good option for people who can continue to pay some amount towards their mortgage and making sure that your loan amount does not increase. 

Yes, some of you by the way of restructure or extra payment may have reduced your loan term. If you want, you can request your bank to increase your loan term to the maximum period. This may allow you to bring the repayments down and manage your cash flow during this period of uncertainty. 

Yes, a lot of our customers have been taking advantage of the low interest rates and making extra payments to pay off your mortgage faster, for the time being you can easily reduce your payments to the required amount and increase if back again once things go back to normal. 

Yes, we have sourced a easy calculator for you to find out what will be the impact of choosing a mortgage holiday or interest only option.

Please click here to access the calculator

ASB has created a dedicated page which will answer all your questions and advise of the process, they also have series of FAQ's that is quite helpful for everyone to get some basic queries answered. You can access this link by clicking on the button below and from there on click on the button that says " Apply for Support"

You can click here that will take you straight to ASB’s Covid 19 assistance page.

If you are existing Fundmaster customer than all you need to do is fill a form and one of our team members will get in touch with you to explain you all the options and forward your request to dedicated teams at the ANZ. Click here to fill the application form

If you are not an existing Fundmaster customer you can still call us on 0800 386 362 to understand your options however you need to fill this form yourself to send a request to ANZ

If you are existing Fundmaster customer than all you need to do is fill a form and one of our team members will get in touch with you to explain you all the options and forward your request to dedicated teams at the BNZ. Click here to fill the application form

If you are not an existing Fundmaster customer you can still call us on 0800 386 362 to understand your options however you need to fill this form yourself to send a request to ANZ https://www.anz.co.nz/here-to-help/banking-updates/

If you are existing Fundmaster customer and want to apply for financial assistance all you need to do is fill a form and one of our team members will get in touch with you to explain you all the options and forward your request to dedicated teams at the Westpac. Click here to fill the application form.

If you are not an existing Fundmaster customer you can still call us on 0800 386 362 to understand your options, however you need to call Westpac directly to make the request, customers can call 0800 606 606 to speak with their contact centre teams. Please note that they are experiencing high call volume so if your repayment is couple of weeks away try contacting them closer to the payment date.

There is no blanket policy adopted by banks to assist business customers despite the business banking finance guarantee scheme launched by the government recently. Banks are considering the following options on a case by case basis to provide some cash flow relief to businesses:

1. Temporary Overdraft – Banks are providing a temporary overdraft for up to 90 days for businesses depending on your current account operation history. Most banks are accommodating but it is assessed on a case by case basis. If this is granted the bank shall review the facility at the end of the 90 day term and may grant a further extension depending on individual circumstances.
2. Business Loan – As part of the guarantee scheme the banks are able to provide a 3 year business loan subject to a full lending assessment. This loan is provided at a discounted transparent rate. The bank requires a declaration that this loan is to be used for business cash flow and that they can share all information including personal information with any government body
3. Business Loan Interest Only – If you have an existing business loan the banks are able to assist by placing the loan on interest only for a period between 3 – 6 months. This will assist with business cash flow.
4. Merchant Fees (Contactless payments) – Some banks are offering a heavily discounted fee structure for businesses for taking contactless payments from customers. This may be of assistance for those businesses operating in a retracted capacity and enables compliance with “safe distancing” principles.

A full application for funding is required to be made to the bank, normal lending criteria applies and all financial information like 2019 financials, year to day profit & loss and projected cash flow statements may be required. Again, the documents required may be different for individual businesses. These requirements may change within the banks but overall the above shall be required.

The grant of loan facilities are subject to individual bank’s eligibility criteria. If the bank determines post a formal assessment it cannot approve the loan then the government is offering various support options as listed on the website already.

Each individual bank will have their own lending criteria, so far apart only BNZ has provided the details about this scheme.

Click here to learn more about support available for business customers

We will update the section when we have details from other banks

The loans are intended to provide for businesses’ current and upcoming operating cash flow needs, including things like rent and staff expenses.

A Supported Loan will not be available to fund:

• Capital assets/projects other than business as usual expenditure which does not exceed 5% of the principal amount of the loan
• Dividends to be distributed outside the Borrower’s guaranteeing group
• Re-financing existing debt advanced before March 16th
• On-lending outside the Borrower’s guaranteeing group, or
• Excluded Activities (see below).

Activities excluded from the Loan Scheme:

• Property development and property investment
• Manufacture of cluster munitions civilian automatic, semi-automatic firearms, magazines or parts and anti-personnel mines
• Manufacture or testing of nuclear explosive devices (NEDs)
• Manufacture of tobacco
• Processing of whale meat
• Recreational cannabis
• Agriculture

Yes, the repayments will be spread over 3 years and commence once loan is drawn down.

Businesses impacted by COVID-19 can apply for a loan under the scheme from Thursday 2 April, with loans drawn down on or before 30 September 2020, or until the scheme funds have been allocated.