Kia ora,
September has been another busy month across the fintech community. It has been particularly encouraging to see strong engagement across our recent events with Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), the Financial Markets Authority (FMA), Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) and Banzpay. This is a clear sign of the community’s appetite to engage on the issues shaping the future of finance.
Regulated open banking continues to gain momentum, while the RBNZ has set out several plausible futures for banking in Aotearoa. Behind the scenes, we are also progressing the FinTechNZ Manifesto, which is nearing completion and will be shared in the coming weeks.
The FinTech and Finance Working Group is continuing to develop its core focus and agenda across its three streams. We look forward to sharing more with the community when that work is ready. In the meantime, we encourage members to engage with the RBNZ’s payments modernisation consultation, outlined below.
We are also gearing up for our Annual meeting and Executive Council elections, gearing up for Auckland Startup Week, preparing for Singapore FinTech Festival, with around 30 people already interested in joining our delegation, and building towards FinTech Hui Taumata 2027.
Let’s get cracking.
FinTechNZ Updates
Executive Council elections – make your vote count
FinTechNZ’s Executive Council helps guide our priorities, advocacy and community direction. This year’s election is an important opportunity for members to help shape the next phase of our work.
Nominations close at 5pm on Tuesday, 6 October. Voting opens on 13 October. If you are considering standing, nominating a colleague or simply want to understand the process, now is the time to engage.
Read the election information and submit a nomination.
FinTech Hui Taumata 2027
Open Finance | The Next Frontier
17–18 March 2027 | Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wellington
FinTech Hui Taumata 2027 brings together fintech, financial services, government, investors and innovators to explore the next frontier of open finance.
This year’s programme will cover AI and rapid sector change, the policy and infrastructure needed to advance open finance, technology and platforms shaping customer experience, and opportunities beyond payments across savings, wealth, lending, digital assets and superannuation.
Join us for Touchdown Day events and networking on 17 March, followed by the main Hui on 18 March.
Get your tickets and be part of Hui Taumata 2027.
Explore sponsorship and partnership opportunities.
Webinar wrap: engaging with regulators on the future of finance
Thank you to the more than 350 people who registered for our recent webinars with the FMA, MBIE and RBNZ.
Our session on protecting customer money and digital assets, hosted with Blockchain Forum, explored custody settings, payments governance and infrastructure, and how regulation can protect customers while enabling responsible innovation. The FMA is seeking feedback through its review of regulatory settings for custody of client assets.
Our RBNZ session explored the Future of Banking Study and how technology, competition and changing consumer expectations may reshape banking in Aotearoa.
Watch the customer money and digital assets webinar or the Future of Banking webinar.
Banzpay event wrap: when the signals don’t connect
What if the signal that could stop a scam already exists, just somewhere else?
That question sat at the heart of When the Signals Don’t Connect, convened by Banzpay with FinTechNZ and leaders from payments, fintech, financial services, government and the wider fraud ecosystem.
The discussion explored the gaps between organisations: one may see suspicious behaviour, another hold identity or account information, and another process the payment. Each sees only part of the picture.
While fraud intelligence is already shared in parts of the ecosystem, the focus was on how the right information could reach the right organisation earlier, with the confidence to act. The next phase will explore practical opportunities to improve those handovers.
Thank you to Banzpay for bringing this important conversation together.
Regulatory Updates
Open Banking is beginning to demonstrate value
The latest MBIE Consumer Data Right uptake data shows continued momentum in regulated open banking.
In August, more than 24.6 million secure banking-data sharing requests were processed, up 28% on July. Open-banking payment requests rose 36% to more than 556,000, with a combined value of $158.5 million. Fourteen organisations are now accredited under the Customer and Product Data Act 2025.
These are meaningful signs of a market moving beyond policy ambition and into practical use. More accredited participants and more consumer activity create the conditions for better services, stronger competition and new products — while reinforcing the need for trust, resilience and clear standards.
Payments modernisation – consultation open
The RBNZ is seeking feedback on issues affecting the future leadership, governance and infrastructure of New Zealand’s payments system. The consultation is relevant to anyone working across payments, financial services and digital infrastructure.
The Payments Modernisation Issues Paper outlines the background, proposals and submission process. We will share further updates and opportunities for member input over the coming months.
Inside the FMA regulatory sandbox pilot: What comes next for fintech?
A new episode of MinterEllisonRuddWattsTech Suite is available to listen to now.
In this episode, Financial Services Partner Jeremy Muir and Senior Associate Ken Ng discuss the FMA fintech regulatory sandbox pilot. Drawing on their insights advising several pilot participants, they explore the programme’s key outcomes, lessons learned, and what comes next for fintech regulation in New Zealand.
Upcoming Events
Payments was the easy part: what’s next in fintech
Tuesday 13 October | 5.30–7.30pm | GridAKL, Auckland
As part of Auckland Startup Week, FinTechNZ and Creative HQ are bringing together founders, investors, regulators and innovators to discuss the next wave of financial innovation in Aotearoa.
Payments have been a powerful catalyst, but open data, digital identity and core infrastructure are creating new opportunities across B2B and wholesale financial services.
The panel features Sasha Lockley of Money Sweet Spot, Adrian Smith of BlinkPay and Nicola Raynes-Pene of KPMG. The event is free, with drinks and nibbles provided.
Special pricing for NZ’s credit and leasing conference
16 October | The Pullman, Auckland
To recognise our associations’ reciprocal memberships, FinTechNZ members are eligible for a discount to the Financial Services Federation’s (FSF) conference on 16 October at The Pullman, Auckland. This has earned its reputation as an unmissable event for New Zealand’s specialist lending, insurance, and fleet leasing sectors.
For $575, members receive all access to the conference, including programme keynotes and several opportunities to connect with customers, experts and decision makers.
More info on the event’s website. Email twilliams@fsf.org.nz by this Friday 2 October to register with the discount.
Singapore FinTech Festival 2026: final call to join the conversation
18-20 November | Singapore
The Singapore FinTech Festival returns from 18–20 November, bringing together financial institutions, policymakers, investors, technology companies and fintechs from across the globe.
We are now preparing the FinTechNZ group, with around 30 people already interested in joining. For New Zealand businesses looking to build international connections, test market opportunities or stay close to the global conversation on finance and technology, SFF remains a valuable opportunity.
Express your interest to be part of the group travelling to Singapore here
Payments NZ: The Point 2026
25–26 November | NZICC, Auckland
Payments NZ’s The Point 2026: Tātai, Strengthening Bonds brings the payments ecosystem together to focus on the decisions shaping what comes next.
Across two days, leaders, decision-makers and innovators will explore the issues the sector cannot ignore: payments infrastructure and systems evolution, trust and safety, consumer confidence, operational resilience, interoperability and long-term sustainability.
The event will feature international and local voices across payments, including sessions on setting direction for the sector, confronting major trust risks, and defining the next phase of infrastructure and innovation in Aotearoa.
Find out more and register for The Point 2026.
Companies in action at NZ Tech Expo (in photo): Qippay, BNZ/Centrapay, Banzpay, Sharises, Emerge, Kernal, Taxi, Akahu, Wych, Windcave, amongst others
Community Noticeboard
Welcome to our new members!
We’ve had quite the influx of new members in the past few months! Welcome to Adiso, Aroha Pay, CAP Initiatives, Duepay, ElementX, Rush Digital, Tapara, Tata Consultancy Services, Tilify, Totara Global and WakaMoni!
Australia moves to no-surcharge card payments
From 1 October 2026, Australian businesses will no longer be permitted to apply payment surcharges on eftpos, Mastercard and Visa card transactions. The change aims to improve price transparency and reduce uncertainty about payment costs at the point of sale.
For fintechs, payment providers and businesses operating across the Tasman, it is a useful development to watch — raising important questions around merchant pricing, payment economics and transparent customer experiences.
Find out more about Australia’s card-surcharge changes.
FinTechNZ at NZ Tech Expo
It was great to attend NZ Tech Expo and see a strong showing from our members exhibiting alongside the wider technology community. The event highlighted the growing diversity of fintech solutions now taking shape across Aotearoa, from established platforms to emerging ideas tackling real customer and business challenges.
It was also great to see Creative HQ’s showcase of early-stage ventures, reinforcing the depth of talent and innovation coming through the ecosystem. Thank you to the Tech Expo team for bringing the community together, and to everyone we caught up with on the day.
The months ahead offer plenty of ways to get involved, from contributing to policy and Executive Council elections to joining us at Auckland Startup Week, Singapore FinTech Festival and Hui Taumata 2027.
I hope to see you at one of our upcoming events!
Ngā mihi nui,
Jason Roberts
Executive Director, FinTech New Zealand