Open banking in New Zealand: the 2025–2027 timeline for business owners

For a decade, “open banking” was something New Zealand business owners read about happening overseas. Then, in the space of eighteen months, it arrived: a new Act, regulations, designated banks and a firm start date. If you are applying for business finance in late 2026, it is already part of the landscape. Here is the timeline, what each milestone changed and what it means for the way you share your bank data with a lender.

What is the legal basis for open banking in New Zealand?

The Customer and Product Data Act 2025 created New Zealand’s consumer data right. In plain terms, it gives customers the right to direct a business that holds data about them — a “data holder” — to share that data with an accredited third party, or to carry out certain actions such as payments, on their instruction.

The Act is designed to work sector by sector. Banking was chosen first. Electricity is next on the government’s list, with other sectors to follow. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) runs the regime, including a register of participants.

For a business borrower, the key idea is simple: you control who sees your banking data, and you can direct your bank to share it securely with a lender, without handing over your password.

What is the timeline, milestone by milestone?

Date	Milestone	What it means for you
2025	Customer and Product Data Act 2025 passed; banking designation regulations made	The rules are set
1 December 2025	ANZ, ASB, BNZ and Westpac designated as data holders	Customers of the big four can share account data and initiate payments through accredited providers
1 June 2026	Kiwibank designated for payments	Payment initiation available for Kiwibank customers
1 December 2026	Kiwibank designated for account information	Kiwibank customers can share account data
December 2025 to June 2027	Transitional period	Access runs through banks’ main digital channels
From June 2027	Expanded channel coverage	Access through all electronic facilities except those predominantly used by large entities
Ongoing	Opt-in deposit-takers	Other banks and deposit-takers can choose to join

Dates are as published by MBIE and in the government’s open banking fact sheet.

What data is in scope?

The regulations cover three categories:

1. Customer information — names, contact details and whether an account is held jointly or solely.
2. Account data — account number, account name, type (for example transaction or savings), balance, transactions and statements.
3. Payments — initiation of payments through the bulk electronic clearing system, in local currency, where only one customer needs to authorise.

The accounts covered are transaction, savings and loan accounts provided by the designated banks, held in local currency, which customers can already access through online or mobile banking. The government’s fact sheet also mentions credit card and lending accounts in the data categories.

What does that mean for a business loan application?

Before December 2025, a lender wanting your transaction history had two options: ask you to export and upload statements, or use a “screen-scraping” service where you typed your internet banking login into a third-party page. The first was slow and error-prone; the second made many people uneasy, for good reason.

Regulated open banking replaces screen-scraping with a consent flow inside your own bank. In practice:

• The lender (or its accredited data provider) asks for access.
• You are sent to your bank’s app or website.
• You see what is requested — which accounts, what data, for how long.
• You approve or decline.
• Data flows directly from the bank to the accredited provider.

Your password never leaves your bank, and you can review or withdraw consent later.

For lenders, the benefit is complete, verified data that cannot be edited. For you, it means fewer document requests, no missing pages and often a faster decision. Our open banking page covers how this works on a loan, step by step.

If you bank with one of the big four and want to try it, start your online enquiry and your specialist will tell you whether the lender for your situation can take a connection.

Does open banking cover business accounts?

The regulations do not explicitly limit open banking to personal customers, and the designation covers accounts customers can access electronically. The important nuance is the transitional period: until June 2027, access runs through banks’ main digital channels. If your business banks through a standard business app or internet banking, connection should usually work. If you use a specialist corporate platform, check with your bank. From June 2027, channel coverage broadens, though platforms predominantly used by large entities are excluded.

For most small and medium New Zealand businesses, that means open banking is available now, through the same app you already use.

How is this different from open banking overseas?

We will keep this short, because the details that matter to you are local. Other countries introduced open banking earlier, and New Zealand’s model draws on that experience: a legislated consumer data right, accreditation for third parties, and banking first. The practical difference you will notice is timing. Some overseas systems have years of maturity; ours is new, and lenders and data providers are still rolling out their connections. Expect some to be ahead of others through 2026 and 2027.

What should business owners do now?

Know your bank’s position. If you are with ANZ, ASB, BNZ or Westpac, open banking has been available since December 2025. If you are with Kiwibank, account information arrives from 1 December 2026. If you are with another bank, ask whether it has opted in.

Find your consent settings. Look in your banking app for where third-party access is managed. Knowing where it is before you connect makes it easier to review and withdraw later. Our page on data-sharing consent explains what to check before you tap approve.

Keep statements as a fallback. Not every lender takes every bank yet. Know how to export PDF statements quickly. See bank link versus statement upload.

Watch for scams that borrow the language. Criminals adapt quickly. Expect fake messages saying “complete your open banking verification” with links to look-alike sites. Genuine consent requests send you to your own bank’s app; they never ask for your password on another site.

What happens next for open banking in New Zealand?

The regime is designed to expand. Within banking, the June 2027 change broadens channel coverage, and more deposit-takers may opt in. Beyond banking, electricity is the next sector under the consumer data right. For business borrowers, the long-term direction is clear: more of the information a lender needs will be shareable, with consent, in minutes. The paper chase is ending.

Worked example (illustrative): in early 2025, a Tauranga plumbing company applying for a $70,000 line of credit spent an afternoon exporting six months of statements from two accounts, re-exporting one that had a missing page, and answering two follow-up emails. In late 2026, the same owner applies for a limit increase. She approves an open banking connection in her bank’s app in under three minutes, and the lender’s review is complete the next morning.

Does open banking change how lenders decide?

Not the fundamentals. Lenders still assess whether your business can comfortably meet repayments, how stable revenue is and what other commitments you have. Open banking changes the delivery of evidence, not the standard it is judged against. What it does is reduce the gaps, delays and doubts that come with manual documents — and that can make the difference between a decision this week and one next week.

How do you prepare for your next application?

If you expect to borrow in the next year, a little preparation helps whichever data route you take:

1. Keep business and personal banking separate.
2. Make sure all business accounts are accessible through online banking.
3. Keep a modest buffer so the account rarely runs close to zero.
4. File and pay GST on time, or have an instalment arrangement in place.
5. Reconcile your accounting software monthly.

Our guide to preparing an online application in an hour turns this into a checklist.

Try the open banking route with a real person beside you

Our 60-second enquiry involves no credit check and no passwords. It goes to one team — your details are not broadcast to a stack of lenders — and a real specialist reads it before calling. Tell us which bank you use and how many accounts the business runs, and we will tell you whether open banking or statement upload is the quicker route for your application. Check what your business could qualify for.