FAQs

NBS 

Debit Mastercard

FAQ's

Have a look at our frequently asked questions below for more information on setting up and using your card. Alternatively, you can get in touch or call us on 0800 101 700 and one of our team will be happy to help.

About the changes

At NBS we’re committed to making your banking experience exceptional by providing outstanding Client service with products designed to meet your needs.

We are changing our card provider to ensure that you can benefit from developments in technology, that will bring improved functionality in the future.

Clients will continue to receive the existing NBS Debit Mastercard until we switch to our new card provider. If your situation requires an understanding of exact timelines, please contact your local branch for more information.

If you do not activate your new card, you will be able to use your old card for a period of time. We will contact you to remind you to activate your new card.

Receiving your NBS Debit Mastercard

We will be sending out new cards to existing cardholders fortnightly from mid to late 2023 until mid 2024. Clients who have an active card due to expire prior to the launch of our new card will receive an existing NBS Debit Mastercard.

Your card will be sent to the address we hold for you. This includes PO Boxes and international addresses.

Please feel free to check with your local branch that we hold your current address.

Please call us on 0800 101 700 or visit your local branch to update your contact details.

Your existing NBS Debit Mastercard will automatically be cancelled 7 days after activating your new NBS Debit Mastercard.

Please contact us to ensure we have the most up to date details for you.

Getting started with your new NBS Debit Mastercard

  1. Contact or visit your local branch to request your 7-digit Internet Banking user number. 
  2. At this time, our team will arrange to send you a text message with a temporary password. 
  3. Once you have your user number and temporary password, go to nbs.co.nz and select “Internet Banking Login” at the top of the homepage 
  4. Enter your 7-digit user number and log in using the temporary password. If you have not received a text message with a temporary password, please let us know. 
  5. Once logged in, set up your “Keep Safe Questions” and change the temporary password to one of your choosing, via “settings” on the left-hand side of the screen.

Keep Safe is a question and answer-based tool that provides an extra level of security above that provided by your Internet Banking password.

When you first sign in, you will be asked to create three Keep Safe questions and answers. You can either choose from a series of pre-set questions and provide your own answers or make up questions of your own. 

  • Your answer must contain at least five letters and/or numbers. It is a good idea to choose questions that you can easily remember the answer to.
  • Avoid dates (as they can be formatted too many ways) and spaces between words.
  • Each time you sign into NBS Internet Banking you will be asked to provide two missing letters from the answer to one of your Keep Safe questions.
  • Your Keep Safe answer is shown as a series of empty boxes, two of which will be highlighted. You need to fill in the two highlighted boxes with the correct characters from the on-screen keyboard.

Passwords must be:

  • A minimum of eight characters in length
  • Include at least one UPPERCASE letter
  • Include at least one number.

The password is case sensitive, which means that "A" is different from "a".

You cannot have repeated numbers or letters (eg. "11" or "ss").

Avoid these kinds of passwords:

  • Birthday (2803) or year of birth (1978)
  • A spouse or child’s birthday, or an anniversary
  • Age (3838)
  • Sequences or repeated numbers or letters (1234, 1111, ss)
  • Any sequence of numbers written on the card
  • Parts of a landline or mobile phone number
  • Parts of a driver licence number, or its expiry date
  • A locker or alarm code.

Please call 0800 101 700 or visit your local NBS branch for assistance with reactivating Internet Banking.

On the Internet Banking home screen there is an option to reset your password. You will be asked for your surname, date of birth and driver licence number. Follow the prompts and you will be sent a temporary password which you must reset straightaway.

If you require further assistance, please call 0800 101 700. A local team member will ask you some security questions and then provide you with a temporary password.

You will need to have access to Internet Banking before being able to download the NBS Mobile App to your phone.

To get the NBS Mobile App, download the latest version to your phone from the App Store (for Apple devices iOS 14 and above) or from Google Play (for Android devices version 8.0 and above). Simply search “NBS Mobile Banking” and follow the prompts to install. 

Activating and setting a PIN

You can set or change your PIN via Internet Banking or the NBS Mobile App by completing the following steps:

For the NBS Mobile App

  • Go to the NBS Mobile App on your phone
  • Enter in your security PIN 
  • Select Services
  • Go to “Manage Cards”
  • Click on “New Card”
  • Click on PIN
  • Enter in 4-digit PIN
  • Confirm 4-digit PIN

In the NBS Mobile App all cards will be shown as soon as they are ordered instead of only when they are Active. A status of ‘New’ or ‘Active’ can be seen.

This is to allow you to set a PIN for the new card even if you have not received it yet. 

For Internet Banking

  • Go to Internet Banking at nbs.co.nz
  • Enter in your username & password
  • Enter your keep safe information
  • Go to “Cards” 
  • Click on “New Card”
  • Click on PIN
  • Enter in 4-digit PIN
  • Confirm 4-digit PIN

The process is the same to reset your PIN.

Once you have set your PIN, simply make an in-person purchase or use an NBS ATM, enter your PIN (i.e. not online or with payWave/contactless) and complete the transaction as normal.

Please call 0800 101 700 or visit your local NBS branch for assistance

Please ensure that your PIN is unique. 

When selecting your PIN, you must choose a number that you'll be able to remember easily as you must memorise it.  

You must not choose unsuitable numbers such as: 

  • birth dates 
  • months or years 
  • parts of your telephone number 
  • parts of your card number  
  • sequential or easily identified numbers (e.g. 2345 or 2222) 
  • personal data such as your driver licence 
  • passwords or other numbers easily connected to you. 

As long as your PIN follows the rules set out above, you can use the same PIN as on your old card.

You should consider having a different PIN for different cards or devices.

You have 60 days to activate your new card before it is cancelled.

Using your card

You can use your NBS Debit Mastercard at over 34 million retailers, over 1.9 million ATMs in more than 210 countries. Just look for the Mastercard symbol.

Mastercard® and the Mastercard brand mark are registered trademarks of Mastercard International Incorporated.

Yes, you will need to update any existing recurring payments or subscriptions you have setup on your existing card with your new NBS Debit Mastercard details. You will need to contact each merchant directly to do this.

Apple Pay and Google Pay are not currently available on your NBS Debit Mastercard.

If you don’t have mobile reception to receive a fraud challenge text when making an online purchase, you will not be able to complete the transaction.

However, we may have a solution for you. WiFi Calling lets you send and receive texts over WiFi (wireless internet) when there is a weak or no mobile signal. This is a service provided by mobile service providers such as Vodafone and can be used in NZ and overseas.

It is a great option if you have poor mobile reception but have WiFi available.

WiFi Calling works in the same way as making or receiving a regular mobile call or text. The only difference is that the call or text is received via the WiFi network instead of the mobile network.

WiFi Calling is part of your plan and most mobile providers do not charge additionally for this service. Please check with your provider.

It’s easy to set up and even easier to use. Visit your mobile service provider’s website to see if this service is available to you.

Please contact or visit your mobile service provider’s website for information about whether WiFi calling is available and for information on how to set this up on your mobile phone.

Your NBS Debit Mastercard works the same as a credit card online or over the phone – the only difference is that the money comes directly out of the account your NBS Debit Mastercard is linked to.

A pre-authorisation is a transaction that:

  • Checks to ensure the card is current and is not blocked
  • Checks you have available funds and reserves them for a period of up to 5 working days.

All transactions without PIN present will process as pre-authorised e.g. contactless, online purchases, mail order, telephone order or card not present.

The CVV number is short for Card Verification Value. This is a three-digit number printed on the back of your card.

The purpose of the CVV is to provide added security when making purchases online. It helps to verify that you’re in possession of the card.

You should never be asked for your CVV for card present transactions.

NBS Debit Mastercard Conditions of Use apply. They are in addition to and are to be read in conjunction with the NBS Terms and Conditions. New Conditions of Use will be issued when you receive your new card.

Subject to your available credit limit and available funds in your nominated account(s), your daily transaction limits are:

  • Up to $12,000 daily for Online EFT transactions from all accounts that can be accessed by your card
  • $3,000 daily for ATM cash withdrawals from any account, or combination of accounts, that can be accessed by your card, less the amount of any EFT transactions made in the same day*
  • Up to $12,000 daily for card present transactions from all accounts that can be accessed by your card.

When using PayWave, the limit per transaction is $200. For purchases over $200 you will need to enter you PIN to complete the transaction.

Where your electronic transactions exceed the $3,000 (ATM limit), there will be no availabitlity to withdraw funds from an ATM.

If you have misplaced your card, you can temporarily block it via Internet Banking or the NBS Mobile App (new cards issued from May 2023 only) and then reactivate it if you find your card.

Please note that you won't be able to reactivate your card if you have cancelled it via a branch. 

If your card has been lost, stolen or damaged, call us immediately on 0800 101 627 or 64 3 548 9928 (collect) to cancel your card.

If you find the card after it’s been cancelled, you’ll need to destroy it.

An offshore margin is charged by us when you use your card overseas. For overseas transactions made using your NBS Debit Mastercard, Offshore Service Margins of 2.25% of the converted NZ dollar amount of the transaction are applied.

For purchases refunded back to your NBS Debit Mastercard Offshore Service Margins of 2.25% are charged to your account. The margins that are charged may differ from the margins that were charged for the original transaction due to fluctuations in the conversion rate. The converted amount and the Offshore Service Margin will be debited from your nominated bank account and detailed on your statement.