Banks have been working on a significant core payments system project to extend the processing of electronic payments to 365 days a year. This upcoming change will mean Kiwis will be able to receive as well as send payments between banks every day of the year.
This change is a further evolution of Aotearoa’s payments system, enabling more flexibility for individuals and businesses to pay or be paid any day they want, including weekends and public holidays.
Currently the banks who are part of this system change are: ANZ, ASB, Bank of China, BNZ, Citi, HSBC, ICBC, Kiwibank, TSB and Westpac. Collectively they offer financial services to most Kiwi.
Payments in a changing world
We now live in a world that’s highly connected, always on and is underpinned by continuous economic activity. Customers expect fast, accessible, and uninterrupted services across all industries and sectors, regardless of the day of week or time of year.
Moving electronic payments (such as automatic payments, bill payments and direct credit payments) to 365 days a year will help meet these evolving customer expectations. A major payments system initiative like this forms one of the key building blocks for us to modernise payments across the ecosystem. It is part of a greater body of work we’re doing that sets out a future view of our payments ecosystem to 2030 and identifies what future capabilities are required so we can continue to meet the changing needs of Kiwis.
By moving to 365-day payments, commerce will no longer have to wait for a traditional business day to be completed. Businesses providing services over weekends and public holidays could see improved cashflow. Extending availability will also create opportunities for more innovation, allowing businesses to have the opportunity to look at ways to innovate within their business model.
Getting prepared for the change
Banks are encouraging all businesses and payment service providers to start thinking about what the implementation of 365-day payments could mean for their own organisations, internal processes and customers. In the meantime, participating banks will be working through their solutions and will get in touch with their customers to provide more detailed information as this change is rolled out.