‘Exorbitant’: NZ Reserve Bank Spent $6,300 a Day Maintaining Website

Some departments are spending large amounts on their online presence, with four others spending around $1.5 million a year.

The $10 banknote on display at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand in Wellington, New Zealand, on Sept. 1, 2015. Mark Tantrum/Getty Images

New Zealand’s Reserve Bank (RBNZ) is spending $2.3 million a year—$6,300 (US$3,587) a day—on its website, while also substantially increasing staff numbers, according to data submitted to Parliament.

The Bank also spent $19 million on software licencing fees, up 178 percent from the $6.8 million cost in 2020 and equivalent to around $27,000 per head.