u/Basic-Brother-96

Hello,

I'm sure many of you have heard of this card and how it pays 2.25% p.a. on what ever you have on your account plus its ability to divide your money into different stacks/envelopes without losing any of its ability to earn interest. It sounds great on paper, and I've seen it getting recommended a lot on MoneyHub and in some of my posts but what I don't hear a lot about are nightmare stories from using it and the downsides e.g. card's system being down preventing you from being able to pay for something you need (e.g. groceries/petrol) or transfer money in the app when you really need to.

So before I commit into signing up for this card, does anyone have any advice on whether signing up is worth it or not or whether it's too risky?

I'm aware it's only been less than 5 years old /available to public but I'm having a bit of trouble getting it out of my head as I'm debating on whether to use Savvy or Heartland Bank as a place to put some of my emergency savings (e.g. use barefoot investor's buckets system which I read about in in HappySaver's article - source below). I think Savvy shines on the bucketing system, but because it's not DCS protected (as it tracks a cash funds index) and its parent company Booster is under the eye of FMA, I have decided to not jump immediately to it yet.

Still, I would love to hear from you guys. e.g. Are my fears justified in that I should be skeptical about this product?

I know this post sounds like i'm looking only for downsides, but I would also enjoy hearing from those whose money management have changed as a result of using the app/card. For me I'd likely only play with baby amounts of money on it if I decide to get it e.g. to top up my snapper and haircuts and small stuff.

(Note: I've already heard from a few of you about Booster Savvy from my other post about heartland bank accounts so feel free to ignore this post if you want).

(Note 2: I don't own a house, so I don't have a revolving mortgage to put my emergency funds into)

What are your thoughts?

Thanks

Happy Saver article:

https://www.thehappysaver.com/blog/applying-the-barefoot-investor-in-nz-update?rq=heartland

Hello,

Is it worth the trouble setting up bank accounts with Heartland Bank for storing and accessing emergency funds?

I'm looking to setup a YouChoose and Digital Saver account with Heartland Bank for their 0.5% and 2.05% p.a. interests.

I am currently with Westpac and am aware of their 32-day notice saver PIE, but wondering if going with Heartland to store some of my emergency funds would be worth it. For now I am using Kernel's Cash Plus fund to store roughly $10K of my emergency funds despite slightly lower interest rate (2.97% vs 3.00%) and also thinking of using their Smart Save (2.25% + DCS) for a more accessible kind of emergency funds, but I'm not sure if making another account with a different bank and slightly lower interest rate (2.05% p.a.) with better accessibility/transfer time (e.g. Digital Saver to YouChoose vs 1-5 business days with Kernel) is worth it with a bank that has BBB credit rating and tiny number of branches.

I understand that BBB credit rating means the bank is more likely to be at risk of defaulting than an AA- and there exists Depositor Compensation Scheme that guarantees $100K to be returned to you in case the bank collapses. But for day to day stuff and like transferring money to family and paying for groceries/utilities, I'm not sure how this rating plays e.g. does higher rating mean they are more reliable when I need to pay for stuff or access my funds online?

Happy for anyone to give me perspective on their experiences with this bank. So far I have not experienced anything bad with Westpac (don't own have any loans + live with parents) except for that one time where I forgot my pin and password when I was at year 9 lol. I'm just not very happy with their Everyday Account that give a tiny 0.05% and Bonus Saver accounts earning 1.25% p.a. provided you do not miss transferring $20 every month to keep you balance up by that amount and virtually never withdraw (if I understand this correctly?). I'm thinking their their PIE 32-day notice (3%) is very slow to take money from when you can get almost the same returns with Kernel's Cash PIE (both not DCS covered, I believe).

I'm also keen to hear from people who have experiences with similar banks that have low credit ratings and don't have a lot of branches but give decent rates e.g. are you happy banking with them and do you miss not having branches to fallback on?

I feel I should just keep things simple and stick with Westpac + Kernel for my emergency funds. e.g. Keep ~$5-$10K on hand with Westpac and store the rest in Kernel's save/cash funds, as I already have a good amount of money with them, but I'm open to suggestions too.

Thanks

Is Booster Savvy Card worth it?

Heartland bank accounts any good?