The API Centre has published an updated Minimum Open Banking Implementation Plan which sets dates for Aotearoa New Zealand’s five largest banks to be ready to partner using updated open banking standards.
Under the updated plan, ANZ, ASB, BNZ and Westpac must be ready by 30 May 2025 with the API Centre’s v2.3 Payment Initiation standard, and by 28 November 2025 with its v2.3 Account Information standard.
All four banks have now partnered with at least one third party based on the v2.1 Payment Initiation standard, which was required under the first implementation date at the end of May 2024. They must also be ready with the v2.1 Account Information standard by the end of November this year.
Kiwibank is also included in the plan, with an implementation timeline to be live with the v2.3 standards in May and November 2026.
Several open banking functions which were optional under earlier versions of the standards are now mandatory under the v2.3 standards. These include enduring payment consent, decoupled authentication flow, and ‘party’ and ‘statement’ resource endpoints for the Account Information standard.
These changes are designed to give standards users and the wider open banking industry greater certainty about the minimum functions supported by API providers using the standards.
An overview of the v2.3 standards can be found here.
First published in May 2023, the API Centre’s Minimum Open Banking Implementation sets out timelines for the country’s largest banks to be operationally and technically ready to partner using the Centre’s standards.
The updated implementation plan was set by Payments NZ’s self-governing API Council, following consultation with standards users earlier this year.
See our Minimum Open Banking Implementation Plan page for more information.
What is open banking?
Open banking refers to a system in which customers can make payments and instruct their banks to share their financial data, such as account information and transaction data, with third party providers like fintechs.
The safest and most secure way to share customer data is through standardised Application Programming Interfaces, or APIs. These allow two different systems (for example, a bank and a fintech) to safely communicate with each other and share information within a secured channel.
API standards are essential to open banking because they address concerns around security, privacy, and customer authentication and consent.
Open banking is available to consumers in Aotearoa now, with banks and fintechs already partnering and offering solutions based on API Standards developed by Payments NZ’s API Centre.
What is the API Centre?
Working with the industry (from banks to startups), the API Centre is co-designing Aotearoa’s open banking future by creating the framework that will ensure fast, secure, user-friendly data sharing – for all New Zealanders.
There are many open banking models around the world. The Centre has created and continues to develop a fit-for-purpose open banking framework for Aotearoa. This framework creates a world-class foundation for businesses to provide leading, cost-effective products and services and give consumers confidence in how their data is accessed and shared.
The API Centre is governed by an API Council made up of representatives from across the industry. The API Council fosters a self-governing API standards service, and all Council members are required to act in the best interests of the API Centre.
What are the API standards?
The API Centre’s Payment Initiation and Account Information standards allow customers to set up and make electronic payments, and share their banking data, with third party businesses of their choice with their consent.
The two standards are supported by the API Centre’s security profile, which ensures the highest level of safety and security for consumers when sharing their data and consenting to third parties acting on their behalf.