By Jason Roberts, Executive Director, FinTech New Zealand
After a month away in the south of France and the UK, I found myself doing what many of us inevitably do on holiday: thinking about work.
Not because I was trying to, but because everyday experiences kept pointing back to the same themes we have been discussing across the FinTechNZ community — customer experience, cashless payments, open data, digital identity, integration, resilience and what this might mean for the next phase of open finance development in Aotearoa.
The first observation was simple: I could barely use cash.
Despite taking euros and pounds with me, I struggled to spend a single note or coin. Even buskers and small vendors increasingly had QR codes for donations and payments. The only place where cash was still visibly relied upon was among people experiencing homelessness.
That says something important. The shift to a cashless society is no longer theoretical. In most markets, it is already the default experience. For most consumers and businesses, that can be efficient, convenient and seamless. But it also raises questions about inclusion, resilience and access when digital systems do not work as expected.
I experienced that directly at an unmanned petrol station on a motorway. Running low on fuel, I pulled in to fill up, only to find that none of my New Zealand-issued cards would work. Fortunately, my son had a UK-based Monzo card, which did. Without that, the situation would have been much more difficult. I wondered whether this problem might be related to our lack of a real-time payments network and the integrations that Europe is so much more advanced in.
The point is not that digital payments are flawed. It is that a cashless environment works brilliantly until it does not. When systems fail, or when local infrastructure does not fully recognise international payment methods, people can quickly be left stranded or excluded. I
In New Zealand, the Reserve Bank has made it clear that cash will remain part of the financial system. That matters. But the practical direction of travel is also clear. As digital payments, open banking and open finance continue to develop, cashless experiences will increasingly be the norm.
It was therefore interesting to see this week’s announcement of Introducing the Open USD | Open Standard. The list of participants includes includes New Zealand-owned fintech company Immersve, alongside a select group of payments firms spanning big tech, banking and crypto. And yes, it’s a USD stablecoin which has both pluses and minuses.
A second experience stayed with me for a different reason.
At a provincial restaurant in France, the payment process was entirely QR-based. There was no counter to visit and no card terminal brought to the table. We scanned the QR code, paid through a digital wallet and just walked off- the ultimate ‘legal’ dine and dash!
The payment itself was not the most interesting part. What stood out was everything sitting behind it: the booking, ordering, table service, shared and split payment options, inventory, staffing, customer record and likely future booking processes. It was a visible example of integrated data and digital services working together in a way that felt natural to the customer.
That is where the opportunity lies.
Open finance is not simply about payments. It is about the way data, identity, consent, payments and services connect to create better experiences for people and businesses. Europe has benefited from years of focus on aligned consent, security and real-time payments, driven and supported by regulatory direction and market investment..
This also reinforces why real-time payments matter. Instant payments, mandated across EU banks from January 2025, are expected to account for a significant share of transfers by the end of 2026 and are already unlocking business efficiencies. For New Zealand, continuing to progress real-time payments is not just a technical upgrade. It is foundational infrastructure for a more competitive, connected and innovative financial system.
The same applies to open banking and open finance. In the UK, open banking payments recently passed 40 million in a single month, supported by strong growth in variable recurring payments, API calls and user connections. These are not abstract milestones. They show what happens when standards, infrastructure and market participation begin to mature.
Across the technology sector, we often talk about topics such as stablecoins, cryptoassets, central bank digital currencies, artificial intelligence, core banking and payments at a high level. That has value, but it is also important to understand how things actually work.
How do customers onboard?
How do payments flow?
How are identity, consent and data managed?
Where do integrations create value?
Where do they create risk?
What does good implementation look like in practice?
The proposed Under the Hood series is intended to bring those practical conversations forward.
We want to invite members, partners and experts to share real examples, use cases and lessons from the market. Initial topics may include stablecoins, customer experience, AI use cases, core banking, payments, open finance applications and more. Some of these discussions may also help shape the Under the Hood component of the next FinTech Hui Taumata. Contact me if you would like to be involved in this.
Launching Fintech Hui Taumata 2027
We are pleased to confirm the fifth FinTech Hui Taumata, which will be held again at the Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington on 17–18 March.. This year’s theme is Open Finance | The Next Frontier.
With a similar format to last year, the programme will include the return of the Insights Panel/forum, site visits, and both global and local speakers.
With the election having passed by this time, there will be strong interest in hearing from the new mix of elected politicians, as well as the direction of our relevant government organisations and future policy settings.
We are opening up conversations now with guest speakers, sponsors and supporters. Please contact either me or Bettina Sinclair, our Hui partner manager, if you would like to be involved.