Our Hui Taumata 2026 brought Aotearoa New Zealand’s fintech ecosystem together in Wellington for 1.5 days of thoughtful discussion, shared insight, and collective momentum. With leaders from government, regulators, global fintechs, banks, startups, scale‑ups, and investors in the room, the Hui focused on a central kaupapa: how we move forward together to build a trusted, future‑ready financial system for New Zealand.
From foundations to delivery
We opened with our Touchdown Day, offering delegates a choice between ecosystem tours or participation in the Insights Forum. Our facilitated discussion brought senior regulators, policymakers, and industry leaders into direct, productive dialogue. Across both pathways, the message was consistent: New Zealand has strong foundations, but impact now depends on coordination, clarity, and pace.
A recurring theme was that collaboration is strong across the ecosystem, and the next step is translating our alignment into action. The challenge is maintaining momentum through execution.
This theme carried onto our main Hui Taumata, where sessions shifted decisively from frameworks to delivery. Discussions on open banking and Consumer Data Right explored New Zealand’s transition from policy design into operational reality, with a focus on trust, transparency, and real‑world outcomes.
Alan Carby and Lisa from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) emphasised stewardship and responsibility, noting that “what we put in place now will shape trust, competition, and innovation for years to come.”
Designing systems that work together
A recurring theme throughout the day was infrastructure. Conversations on payments, digital identity, and data showed these are shared foundations that need to work together over time.
During the Payments panel, speakers noted New Zealand’s challenge is no longer capability, but coordination. “Payments are a network problem,” one panellist observed. “Without clear direction and mandate, progress slows to the pace of the slowest participant.”
The identity and Know Your Customer (KYC) panel reframed trust as something that must persist beyond onboarding. With fraud increasing globally and AI‑enabled crime accelerating, panellists argued that static KYC models are no longer sufficient. As one speaker put it, “Trust can’t be bolted on. It has to be designed into the system from the start.”
Global perspective, local opportunity
International speakers added valuable context. Dr Scott Farrell, King & Wood Mallesons, challenged the ecosystem to stop treating payments, data, and digital identity as separate tracks. “These are all communication systems,” he said. “The real question is whether you design them to work together.”
Rich Tong demonstrated how AI agents and open models could allow smaller countries to compete at global scale, provided sovereignty, skills, and governance are embedded early. “A country like New Zealand can fight at global scale,” he noted, “if it builds the right foundations.”
The closing keynote from Swyftx CEO Jason Titman reframed crypto and digital assets as maturing infrastructure rather than speculation. His provocation landed clearly. “My goal is for crypto to become the most boring technology in the room,” he said, arguing that true success comes when technology fades into the background and simply works.
A shared conclusion
Across keynotes, panels, masterclasses, and corridor conversations, a clear conclusion emerged. New Zealand’s opportunity lies in building trusted infrastructure, strengthening capability, and moving forward together with purpose.
Our Hui Taumata 2026 was not about hype. It was about making informed choices that support long‑term prosperity, inclusion, and innovation for New Zealand and beyond.
We look forward to welcoming you back next year. Register your interest here to be the first to know when we’ve set a date!