Data sharing for lending applications gains traction as bank signs inclusion pact
Westpac NZ customers are taking up open banking at a rapid pace, with user numbers rising six-fold over the past year, and the bank is also moving to widen access to everyday banking for New Zealanders who struggle to open an account.
Together, the developments show a bank working to make banking easier both for digitally confident customers and for people locked out of the system altogether.
Data sharing gains momentum
Westpac customers can securely share specified information, such as their transaction history, to support lending applications, as well as budgeting, savings, and wealth tools.
In practice, open banking lets adviser platforms pull transaction data directly from a client’s bank, with consent, rather than relying on manually exported statements, cutting friction in income verification and serviceability assessments.
Customers are using it in growing numbers. Westpac NZ’s latest figures show more than 14,000 new users signed up in September alone, while account access requests rose 46% from August. Over the past three months, one in eight customers on its Westpac One platform used the service. The bank has facilitated more than 700,000 payments worth more than $300 million in total, and connects with 11 third parties, including Akahu, POLi, and Worldline.
“People clearly want the freedom to share the data they own with whoever they choose in a secure way,” said Russell Jones (pictured left), Westpac NZ’s chief data, digital and AI officer.
Westpac was the first bank to hit the December 2025 deadline for retail open banking, and says business customers will follow by June 2027.
Uptake is climbing across the market too. Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) data shows monthly regulated open banking payments rose from 294,000 in May to more than 604,000 in September, worth over $165 million. Data-sharing requests reached 23.4 million in September, more than two and a half times the May level.
Closing the access gap
At the other end of the market, some New Zealanders are shut out of banking by the very safeguards built into the financial system, such as requirements for standard identification or a permanent address.
To help address this, Westpac NZ has signed the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s Memorandum of Understanding on Access to Basic Transaction Services, an industry commitment aimed at improving financial inclusion. The bank was the first in New Zealand to pilot a basic banking service, and over the past year has helped more than 400 people with complex needs access it.
“Access to a bank account is like a passport to the economy,” said Louisa Brock (pictured right), Westpac NZ’s senior manager of financial wellbeing and inclusion.
Brock said Westpac planned to share what it had learned across the industry, so that anyone needing everyday banking has a fair chance of getting it, whichever bank they approach.
Stay informed with the latest housing market trends and mortgage insights — subscribe to our free daily newsletter.
