The State of Open Banking in NZ — 2025 and Beyond

Episode #: S01E01 Hosts: Adrian Smith (CEO, BlinkPay) & Tim D’Shea (Head of Product, BlinkPay) Guests: Dan Symons, Westpac; Lisa Ibarra, Payments NZ.

Music by Levgen Poltavskyi from Pixabay

 

Episode Overview

This podcast is dedicated to all the payments and data enthusiasts in Aotearoa 😊

This week we’re diving into the recent news about API fees, the open banking regulations under the Customer and Product Data Act and the newly announced ‘instant payments’ service from BlinkPay.

From the latest headlines shaping open banking to doing a deep dive on the Enduring Consent feature, we’ll explore what it all means for banks, businesses, and consumers.

Our guests Dan Symons and Lisa Ibarra share their real-world experiences, lessons learned, and what’s coming next in the open banking journey.

 

Hot Topics – News or Noise?

We unpack some of the biggest recent stories:

• API fees: https://www.mbie.govt.nz/business-and-employment/business/competition-regulation-and-policy/consumer-data-right/open-banking
• Open banking regulations under CPD: https://www.mbie.govt.nz/have-your-say/consultation-on-exposure-draft-of-open-banking-regulations-under-the-customer-and-product-data-act
• Instant Payments: https://blog.bnz.co.nz/2025/08/blinkpay-develops-nzs-first-real-time-payments-capability-using-open-banking-seeks-industry-partners-with-bnz-as-inaugural-participant

We discuss these topical stories and share our takes on what’s news, what’s noise, and why it matters.

 

Deep Dive

Focus Topic: Enduring consent

What we cover:

• Key features of enduring consent
• Use cases it enables or amplifies
• Benefits for businesses
• Benefits for users
• Key points of difference between this feature and DDs

 

Who’s On the Mic

• Hosts:
  • Adrian Smith, CEO of BlinkPay: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriansmithnz/
  • Tim D’Shea, Head of Product at Blinkpay: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-d-shea-490b2a46/
• Guests:
  • Dan Symons, Senior Manager, Consulting & Insights, Westpac New Zealand: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dansymons/?originalSubdomain=nz
  • Lisa Ibarra, Head of Innovation, Payments NZ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-beattie/

Next Episode Teaser

Next time on Open Banking Q&A with BlinkPay — we’re joined by guests from Qippay and Usable Balance to talk real-world open banking in Aotearoa with some third parties who are in the trenches doing the hard mahi. From the latest news headlines to the brand-new ‘decoupled’ feature, we cover what’s working, what’s tricky, and what’s coming next.  

 

Until next time

Ngā mihi for tuning in to this episode of Open Banking Q&A with BlinkPay. If you enjoyed today’s kōrero, don’t forget to:

• Like, subscribe, and drop us a review
• Share this episode with your network
• Connect with us at co.nz or [e-mail]

Stay tuned — the open banking journey is just getting started.