You might start hearing more about open banking this year, so I wanted to break it down in plain English.
From 1 December 2025, New Zealand officially moved into open banking. It started with the big banks, ASB, ANZ, BNZ and Westpac, with the rest set to follow throughout 2026. Open banking is designed to give you more control over your financial information, while making banking services faster, smarter, and more competitive.
Essentially, open banking gives you the ability to securely share your banking information with trusted third parties, but only if you give them permission. Instead of downloading and emailing bank statements back and forth, or hunting down documents, your information can be shared safely through a regulated system.
Everything is overseen by MBIE, who accredit any business that wants access, so there are proper checks in place. If you don’t give consent, there’s no access. Simple. This follows models already in use in Australia and the UK, so it’s well tested and not something brand new or risky.
But how does this actually help you?
It can mean faster applications, easier comparisons, smoother switching between banks, and better budgeting tools. All good things, especially if you’re looking to buy your first home, upgrade, or refinance.
Less paperwork, fewer back-and-forth emails, and a smoother process overall. And if you’ve got accounts with more than one bank? Even better, open banking helps pull everything together in one place.
If you’re thinking about a mortgage or just want to understand how this could work for you, I’m always happy to chat it through, no pressure, no cost, just good advice.