Category: innovation

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BNZ expands digital payments capability

Source: BNZ statements

BNZ today announced an investment in New Zealand payments technology company Centrapay to enhance digital payments capabilities across both organisations.

It builds on the established partnership between the organisations, which has led to the development of Payap – New Zealand’s first digital wallet and Point of Sale app compatible with all New Zealand banks. Payap is due to be launched in March next year.

Centrapay CEO Greg Beehre will continue to lead the company.

“With BNZ’s support, we can go further, faster. This enables us to continue delivering for our clients and partners while accelerating growth and development,” Beehre says.

BNZ CEO Dan Huggins says the investment builds on BNZ’s existing payments and open banking infrastructure.

“Payment technology continues to evolve rapidly, and our partnership with Centrapay helps further position us to serve our customers’ changing needs.”

The post BNZ expands digital payments capability appeared first on BNZ Debrief.

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New app set to slash merchant payment fees and transform how NZers manage their money

Source: BNZ statements

Imagine running a bustling café where every transaction not only saves you money on fees, but also automatically updates your loyalty programme, provides smart sales insights, and even puts you on the map for potential new customers.

Meanwhile, your regulars can pay their brunch bill without even bringing a wallet, quickly send their share of the brunch tab to friends, manage their bank accounts, loyalty cards and gift vouchers seamlessly in one place, and easily track their daily flat white habits.

Soon this will be the reality for New Zealand businesses and their customers with the launch of Payap – the country’s first digital wallet and Point of Sale (POS) app compatible with all New Zealand banks.

Leveraging the power of open banking, Payap offers a new lower cost, contactless way to pay and get paid. Payap makes transactions effortless: users simply scan QR codes dynamically generated on an EFTPOS terminal, enabling instant cash transfers directly from their bank account. It also provides a low-cost ecommerce solution, making it easy and affordable for businesses to accept payments online.

     

With Payap’s 0.39% payment acceptance rate, a retail business turning over $100,000 monthly could save up to $7,320 annually compared to the average 1% merchant service fee reported by the Commerce Commission. For ecommerce businesses, Payap’s 0.59% fee is approximately 80% cheaper than the percentage fees charged by some other providers.

  • Businesses using Payap also have access to a suite of powerful features, including:
  • The ability to create and manage loyalty programmes, making it easy to reward customers and build brand loyalty
  • Enhanced visibility over transactions and the ability to manage discounts and refunds through a dedicated portal
  • Increased visibility with Payap’s ‘store finder’ map, showcasing location, business details, and available offers to app users
  • Use existing hardware – Payap is supported by all leading EFTPOS providers

For consumers, Payap brings together all your accounts from New Zealand banks, as well as loyalty, and even gift cards in one easy-to-use digital wallet. It allows seamless payments from any linked account and offers a range of features that simplify money management:

  • Manage your bank accounts, loyalty, and gift cards in one place
  • Split a payment across multiple sources, combining different bank accounts, debit cards, or gift card balances, all managed seamlessly within Payap
  • Easily split bills or manage shared expenses with friends with peer-to-peer payments
  • Log all your receipts in one place and get smart insights to gain a clear view of your spending patterns
  • Level up your loyalty, with rewards automatically applied during transactions

      

Powered by New Zealand fintech Centrapay and backed by BNZ, Payap is now available for business sign-ups ahead of the March 2025 consumer launch. The onboarding process is quick and free, and businesses are encouraged to register their interest. Payap is available to all businesses regardless of who they bank with.

“Payap is the country’s first comprehensive digital payment service that leverages the power of open banking to fill a clear gap in the New Zealand market,” says Centrapay CEO Greg Beehre.

“We’re excited to introduce this innovative solution that will transform how businesses accept payments and how we manage our money.”

BNZ Executive Customer Products and Services, Karna Luke, says the potential Payap offers to both businesses and consumers is impressive.

“Our team is working closely with our business customers to onboard them before the consumer launch, and we expect thousands of businesses to be on the platform on day one when their customers start using the app.

“Payap is designed to benefit businesses across Aotearoa, and we welcome all interested businesses – from small street vendors to enterprise retailers and everything in between – to get in touch with us to explore how it can enhance their payment system and customer experience.”

Core payments, acceptance and rewards features will be available at launch, with additional capabilities like peer-to-peer payments being rolled out progressively throughout 2025.

Businesses interested in learning more about Payap can visit www.payap.com or www.bnz.co.nz/payap

The post New app set to slash merchant payment fees and transform how NZers manage their money appeared first on BNZ Debrief.

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Education key to open banking success, BNZ survey finds

Source: BNZ statements

While many New Zealanders have heard of open banking, few understand its benefits, according to new research from BNZ.*

Open banking gives bank customers the power to control and securely share their financial data with trusted third parties like fintechs.

Access to that data means banks and fintechs can create highly tailored products and services, such as apps that offer insights into spending habits, budget planning and savings goals, or that instantly share financial information with multiple lenders, making it easier and faster to apply for a loan.

“Our survey found that while 60% of respondents have heard of open banking, only a quarter (26%) have some understanding of what it means,” says Karna Luke, BNZ Executive, Customer Products and Services.

“However, after learning more about its capabilities, nearly three-quarters (73%) expressed an interest in using open banking services.

“This shows that New Zealanders are very open to new ways of managing their finances but need the right information to feel confident about using the technology,” says Luke.

The survey also shed light on some risky practices highlighting a need for greater education. Two-thirds (66%) of respondents reported having used payment services that rely on screen scraping. This practice puts users’ data at risk by requiring them to share their online banking login credentials with third parties to access certain services.

“Open banking provides a safe and secure way to share your financial data with trusted third parties without ever having to disclose your banking login details. It’s much more secure than screen scraping, but our survey shows a big gap between awareness and understanding of open banking’s benefits, particularly around security,” says Luke.

Bridging the knowledge gap

Luke says education is key to building the trust and confidence needed to drive greater adoption of open banking and realise its benefits.

“At BNZ, we’ve been collaborating with fintechs since 2018 to develop innovative products and services that showcase open banking’s potential, and we’ve developed content and resources to inform and engage our customers about the benefits. Already, more than 250,000 BNZ customers are using apps and other services made possible through open banking.”

“While we’ve made good progress, there’s still more work to be done to educate New Zealanders about the benefits of open banking and build trust in its capabilities. This will be crucial to ensure that everyone can take advantage of the huge potential open banking offers.”

Luke highlighted the importance of the Consumer Data Right (CDR), which is currently progressing through Parliament as part of the Customer and Product Data Bill. The CDR sets rules around how customer data is shared and managed and ensures legal safeguards are in place to protect New Zealanders.

“While banks have been working hard to build the technology needed for open banking, the CDR will provide the rules and protections necessary to ensure people feel secure and confident using these new services,” Luke says.

“The Government’s commitment to investigate opportunities for early adoption of open banking by government agencies, in line with recommendations from the Commerce Commission, is also a welcome move which could significantly boost public trust and understanding.

“We’re committed to working alongside regulators and the wider industry to ensure that open banking delivers on its promise of greater financial empowerment and choice for all New Zealanders.”

For more information about open banking and BNZ’s initiatives, visit bnz.co.nz/openbanking.

*Source:  BNZ Voice customer panel survey, 18th to 28th July 2024. Total responses: n=355. The profile of participating customers was not controlled for this survey.

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Country’s first Cardiac Pulsed Field Ablation procedure successfully completed at Waikato Hospital

Source: Waikato District Health Board

In a national first, a Waikato Hospital cardiology team successfully completed a Pulsed Field Ablation (PFA) procedure yesterday to treat atrial fibrillation.

The Waikato Cardiology team involved in Tuesday’s procedure

Cardiologist, Associate Professor Martin Stiles, described PFA as a minimally invasive procedure involving a physician team threading a catheter (a thin, flexible tube) through a vein in the groin, guiding it into the patient’s heart and “ablating” veins at the back of the heart.

“Traditionally, we delivered hot or cold energy into the patient’s heart tissue, creating scars that help to break-up electrical signals which cause irregular heartbeats.

“PFA achieves the same thing using a ‘non-thermal’ electrical pulse to irreversibly damage the target cells while sparing the non-target tissue, which conveniently have a higher threshold for damage. PFA is faster and safer as adjacent structures are not heated or frozen.

“While recovery times between the two types of treatment are similar, due to PFA procedures being faster, we anticipate more day-stay rather than overnight stays being required which will free up hospital beds.”

While PFA has been used in cancer treatment for about a decade, Assoc Prof Stiles said it has only recently been used in treating the heart.

“The technology is brand new. It has been used in Europe since mid-2021, was introduced in Australia last year, and, as of Tuesday, is now here.

“Using the previous technique we used to complete two cases a day. Tuesday was our first day and we did three. I expect that eventually we will be able to complete four per day.”

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