General Currency Info - New Zealand dollar
The New Zealand dollar is informally called the ‘kiwi’ by foreign exchange traders and analysts due to the kiwi bird, which is native to New Zealand, being something of a national symbol for the country. The kiwi bird is also depicted on New Zealand’s one-dollar coin.
Although the New Zealand dollar is considered one of the eight FX ‘majors’, it is actually only the world’s eleventh most traded currency. Further to the other seven majors – the US dollar, euro, yen, pound, Australian dollar, Canadian dollar and Swiss franc – the New Zealand dollar also falls behind the Mexican peso, the Chinese yuan and the Swedish krona in its share of the foreign exchange market (around 2%). The currencies of China and Mexico are not considered majors due to their emerging market status, while the krona’s market share has only exceeded that of the New Zealand dollar fairly recently (in 2016, according to the Bank for International Settlements) and is therefore not yet considered ahead of New Zealand’s currency.
In the past two decades, the New Zealand dollar’s lowest value against the US dollar occurred in October 2000 when the NZD/USD exchange rate traded at just 0.3901. The currency’s two-decade high occurred in August 2011 when NZD/USD reached 0.8842.
Among the majors, the New Zealand dollar is considered a riskier currency, which means that its value will fall against the larger majors (especially JPY, USD, CHF, GBP and EUR) during periods of economic uncertainty or when global geopolitical risk is elevated, or during bouts of high market volatility.
NZD News, Forecasts and Trends
Forecasts
NAB’s forecast for NZD/USD is for the kiwi to rise to 0.76 by the end of the year against the greenback. NZD Markets
For more NZD currency market forecasts you can read the full article New Zealand dollar Forecasts.
US dollar to New Zealand dollar - Historical Rates
USD/NZD | Change | Period |
---|
1.4211 09 Apr 2021 | 1.5% ▼ | 1 Week |
1.3789 17 Mar 2021 | 1.5% ▲ | 30 Days |
1.4005 16 Jan 2021 | 0% ▼ | 90 Days |
1.6668 16 Apr 2020 | 16% ▼ | 1 Year |
1.4502 17 Apr 2016 | 3.5% ▼ | 5 Years |
1.2695 19 Apr 2011 | 10.3% ▲ | 10 Years |
USD/NZD 10 year historic rates & change to 16-Apr-2021 : 1.3999
$10,000 USD
=
NZ$13,980 NZD
Converted at USD/NZD interbank rate,
compare
Send Money
and
Currency Exchange
exchange rates.
US dollar to New Zealand dollar - Quick Convert
USD |
NZD |
$ 1 |
NZ$ 1.3980 |
$ 5 |
NZ$ 6.9900 |
$ 10 |
NZ$ 13.98 |
$ 20 |
NZ$ 27.96 |
$ 50 |
NZ$ 69.90 |
$ 100 |
NZ$ 139.80 |
$ 250 |
NZ$ 349.50 |
$ 500 |
NZ$ 699.00 |
$ 1,000 |
NZ$ 1,398 |
$ 2,000 |
NZ$ 2,796 |
$ 5,000 |
NZ$ 6,990 |
$ 10,000 |
NZ$ 13,980 |
$ 50,000 |
NZ$ 69,900 |
$ 100,000 |
NZ$ 139,800 |
More amounts |
USD |
NZD |
$ 0.7153 |
NZ$ 1 |
$ 3.5765 |
NZ$ 5 |
$ 7.1530 |
NZ$ 10 |
$ 14.31 |
NZ$ 20 |
$ 35.77 |
NZ$ 50 |
$ 71.53 |
NZ$ 100 |
$ 178.83 |
NZ$ 250 |
$ 357.65 |
NZ$ 500 |
$ 715.30 |
NZ$ 1,000 |
$ 1,431 |
NZ$ 2,000 |
$ 3,577 |
NZ$ 5,000 |
$ 7,153 |
NZ$ 10,000 |
$ 35,765 |
NZ$ 50,000 |
$ 71,530 |
NZ$ 100,000 |
More amounts |
Frequently Asked Questions
What currency should I use in New Zealand?
The domestic currency in New Zealand is the New Zealand dollar.
What is the New Zealand dollar currency code and symbol?
The three letter currency code for the New Zealand dollar is NZD — symbol is NZ$.
Which countries use the New Zealand dollar?
It is the domestic currency in  
New Zealand, Cook Islands, Niue, Pitcairn and Tokelau.
Is the New Zealand dollar a closed currency?
No, the New Zealand dollar is freely available and convertible. See guide: What is a closed currency?
Travel, Currency and Money saving tips for New Zealand
New Zealand is a popular destination and is inexpensive and offers a lot of ways to save money. The locals are friendly and helpful. Getting around by bus is also fairly cheap, however eating out can be expensive so budget travelers may want to learn to cook. Getting around with flights is also fairly expensive as there is not much competition among airlines.
Credit cards are accepted across the country and ATMs are frequently available in cities and towns, though some of New Zealand's highlights are in its beautiful countryside. If you prefer not to carry your main credit card on you at all times a Prepaid Travel Card can be useful to purchase before arrival.
Travel money for New Zealand
Save money and time by Ordering your New Zealand dollar online from Travelex, you get better rates and can pick
up the NZD cash locally or even on travel day at the airport.
Another popular option is to
use a Pre-paid Travel Card. Your Debit/Credit Card provider will charge you 2% from market mid-rate,
but your bank may also charge an extra 3% as an “Overseas Transaction Charge” plus “Overseas ATM” fees for withdrawing cash.
For card purchases if offered a choice of currencies always select to
Pay in New Zealand dollar otherwise you may get much worst exchange rates.
Send Money to New Zealand - Best Rates
To get a good (and fair) exchange rate when sending money to New Zealand you need to find and compare exchange rates for International Money Transfers (IMTs).
The available FX rates for sending money abroad can be very different to the mid-market (wholesale) rate which you see reported online and in the News.
You should especially compare your own bank's exchange rates to those available from Money Transfer specialists to see how much you can save - we make that calculation easy in the below table.
Get a better deal for foreign transfers to New Zealand
When sending money to New Zealand it’s important to compare your bank’s rates & fees with those we have negotiated with our partner money transfer providers.
To get a better deal you should follow these 4 simple steps :
- Open an account with a BER reviewed FX provider (id docs may be required)
- You specify the local or New Zealand dollar amount you want to transfer
- Make a local currency domestic transfer for the requested amount to the provider's bank account in your country
- Once your funds are received by the provider the converted NZD amount will be transfered to the recipient account you specify in New Zealand.
Use the above Send to New Zealand dollar calculator to compare the exchange rates of FX specialist providers rates versus your bank's standard rates you can hopefully save around 5% and maybe more -
end result is more New Zealand dollar deposited into the recipient bank account and less margins and fees kept by the banks!