Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) has announced the acquisition of BlinkPay , a New Zealand-based Open Banking fintech company. The investment is expected to support BlinkPay's growth and facilitate the development of its technology and products by leveraging BNZ's resources.

Under the new ownership structure, BlinkPay will maintain its independent leadership and decision-making processes. BlinkPay officials noted that as a Māori-led organisation, the company brings a distinct approach to financial innovation. They added that BNZ’s investment allows the company to maintain its foundational principles while advancing its goal of making financial services more accessible for New Zealanders.

BNZ officials emphasised that the bank has been an active participant in New Zealand’s Open Banking sector since 2018, with a customer base exceeding 250,000 benefiting from BNZ-enabled Open Banking solutions. Huggins stated that the partnership with BlinkPay represents a further step in BNZ's commitment to developing new services and tools aimed at improving financial access and outcomes across the country. The collaboration will focus on creating Open Banking capabilities that cater to both consumer and business financial needs throughout New Zealand, supporting BNZ’s mission to innovate within the national financial ecosystem.

Other developments from BNZ In August 2024, Bank of New Zealand implemented the Payments NZ Account Information API v2.1 standards, enabling clients to share their information safely with approved providers. This was set to enable customers in the region to safely and efficiently share their financial information with approved providers, only when Open Banking is fully operational. Payments NZ represented an important step in the process of establishing the Open Banking system, as it set New Zealand’s major banks and financial institutions the task of implementing Account Information API v2.1 standards by November 2024.

This initiative followed the one that took place in May 2024, when FIs and banks were required to support payments via APIs, enabling direct account payments through third-party apps. Source: Link .