Fintech & digital payments rules in New Zealand (2026)

ANZ, ASB, BNZ and Westpac became mandatory designated data holders under the Customer and Product Data Act 2025 and supporting regulations, required to share account information and enable payment initiation via accredited third-party fintechs. New Zealand's mandatory, consent-based open banking regime entered its first operational phase; Kiwibank follows for payments in June 2026.

New Zealand enacted a statutory Consumer Data Right (CDR) framework giving consumers the legal right to instruct data holders to share their data with MBIE-accredited third-party fintechs. The Act sets a phased, sector-by-sector rollout starting with banking in December 2025, with electricity, telecommunications and insurance sectors to follow.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand launched a public consultation on introducing a retail central bank digital currency that would coexist alongside physical cash, be privacy-preserving, and foster competition and fintech innovation in the payments sector. An indicative business case for government is targeted by 2026, with any launch no earlier than around 2030.

Designation and oversight of payment and settlement systems formally transferred from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989 to the FMI Act 2021, completing a three-year legislative transition. RBNZ is now the sole regulator for pure payment systems; RBNZ and FMA jointly oversee broader FMIs under CPMI-IOSCO-aligned international standards.

The Commerce Commission granted a competition-law authorisation for Payments New Zealand (the industry body) to collaboratively develop open banking API standards and governance rules, providing a safe harbour from the Commerce Act's prohibition on competitor coordination. This allowed industry-led API Centre standards to advance in parallel with the government's CDR legislation.

The Act granted the Commerce Commission powers to designate, monitor and regulate retail payment networks; it immediately designated Visa and Mastercard credit and debit networks and set initial pricing standards capping interchange fees (effective 13 November 2022). Early assessments found the caps saved New Zealand businesses approximately NZ$140 million annually, with a further NZ$90 million reduction ordered in July 2025.

The FMI Act replaced Parts 5B and 5C of the RBNZ Act 1989, creating a modern co-regulatory framework with RBNZ as sole regulator of pure payment systems and a joint RBNZ/FMA regime for central counterparties, securities settlement systems, and trade repositories. The Act introduced powers to set enforceable standards, gather information, and manage distress in systemically important infrastructure.

Amendments to the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 came into force requiring all financial advice providers — including robo-advice platforms and algorithm-driven digital services — to hold an FMA-issued Financial Advice Provider (FAP) licence. This created New Zealand's first explicit licensing category directly applicable to app- and algorithm-based fintech financial services.

The second implementation phase of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 introduced FMA licensing for equity crowdfunding platforms and peer-to-peer lending services, making New Zealand one of the first jurisdictions globally to create a dedicated statutory licensing regime for marketplace fintech investment and lending.

Phase 1 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 took effect for banks, life insurers, and non-bank deposit takers, subjecting all payment-service providers in those categories to mandatory customer due diligence, suspicious transaction reporting, and AML risk-programme obligations supervised by RBNZ and FMA. This compliance layer forms the mandatory baseline for all fintech payment providers operating in New Zealand.

The Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008 registration requirements became operative, mandating that all businesses providing financial services in New Zealand — including payment services, money transmission, and issuing means of payment — register on the publicly searchable FSPR and join an approved dispute resolution scheme. Because New Zealand has no dedicated payment institution or e-money licence, FSPR registration combined with AML/CFT compliance remains the mandatory baseline for digital payment and fintech entrants.