What is open banking in New Zealand?

What does open banking actually mean?

Open banking means your bank can pass your account information straight to an app you have chosen, over a direct connection the bank itself approves. You give permission once, the bank confirms it is really you, and the app receives only the information you agreed to share.

The important part is what does not happen. The app never sees your internet banking username or password, because you type those into your bank's own screen, not the app's. Nothing is guessed, stored, or copied on your behalf.

How is that different from giving an app your bank login?

Older budgeting tools sometimes asked for your internet banking username and password so they could log in as you and copy what they found on screen. That approach is called screen scraping. It hands over full access to your account, and it usually breaches your bank's terms and conditions.

An open banking connection is narrower by design. It is read-only, it is limited to the specific permissions you granted, it expires, and both you and your bank can see it and cancel it. Your login details stay between you and your bank.

Is open banking regulated in New Zealand?

Yes. The Customer and Product Data Act 2025 created New Zealand's consumer data right, and banking was the first sector brought into it. Under the accompanying 2025 regulations, ANZ, ASB, BNZ and Westpac were required to comply from 1 December 2025.

Kiwibank follows on a later timetable. Its designation starts on 1 June 2026 for payments, and Kiwibank customer data is out of scope until 1 December 2026. Other banks and deposit takers can opt in by giving notice to MBIE.

This is newer in New Zealand than in the UK or Australia, so coverage is still growing. It also means the connections available today are built on genuine bank infrastructure rather than workarounds.

What can an app see once you connect?

It depends on the permissions you approve, and you see the list before you agree to anything. A budgeting app typically asks for three things: your account names and types, your balances, and your transaction history.

Paagaa asks for exactly those three permissions and nothing else. It reads roughly the last twelve months of transactions so it can show your spending by category and work out your income from real direct credits rather than asking you to type it in.

• Account names and types, so your accounts can be listed
• Balances, so your money picture is current
• About twelve months of transactions, so categories and trends mean something

What can an app never do?

A read-only data connection cannot move money. Paagaa cannot make a payment, set up a direct debit, change your details, or transfer anything between your accounts. Reading and paying are separate permissions, and Paagaa only ever asks for reading.

• Move money, make payments, or set up direct debits
• See or store your internet banking login
• Change anything at your bank
• Sell your information or pass it to advertisers

Do you have to connect a bank to use a budgeting app?

Not with Paagaa. Connecting a bank is what makes your spending picture automatic, but it is optional. You can set goals, use the guides, and meet an adviser without connecting anything.

That matters because open banking coverage in New Zealand is not universal yet. If you bank somewhere that is not yet available, skipping the connection is a normal way to use the app, not a lesser one.