Open Banking Q&A with BlinkPay

Episode #: S01E07 – part 2Hosts: Adrian Smith (CEO, BlinkPay) & Tim D’Shea (Head of Product, BlinkPay)
Music by Levgen Poltavskyi from Pixabay
In this second half of From Regulation to Reality, Adrian Smith and Tim D’Shea sit down with Alan Carnaby from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to unpack what the new open banking regulations mean in practice for banks, fintechs and everyday New Zealanders.
Alan shares how MBIE is turning policy into execution — balancing speed and security as Aotearoa moves toward a trusted, nationwide data ecosystem.
Together, they explore:
What “ready” really looks like by 1 December 2025, when open banking goes live.
How MBIE will measure success through critical mass adoption rather than check-box compliance.
The importance of trust, consent, and accreditation in building public confidence.
Lessons from Australia’s rollout and how New Zealand plans to leapfrog global peers.
The next wave of opportunity — expanding open data beyond banking to energy, insurance and KiwiSaver.
Adrian and Tim also share BlinkPay’s perspective on what comes next for industry collaboration — from API standardisation to showcasing real-world use cases that deliver value for businesses and consumers alike.
🎧 Tune in for a ground-level look at how MBIE is helping Aotearoa transition from regulation to reality — and how open banking can set the foundation for a smarter, fairer financial future.
👉 blinkpay.co.nz

Episode #: S01E07Hosts: Adrian Smith (CEO, BlinkPay) & Tim D’Shea (Head of Product, BlinkPay)
Music by Levgen Poltavskyi from Pixabay
In this two-part episode of Open Banking Q&A with BlinkPay, we go straight to the source of Aotearoa’s new open banking regulations.
In Part One, Adrian sits down one-on-one with the Hon. Scott Simpson, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, to unpack what the newly signed regulations really mean for everyday New Zealanders.
From “making data work harder for Kiwis” to a vision of home-grown fintechs taking the world by storm, Minister Simpson shares candid reflections on:
Why the Government took a no-fees stance on open banking APIs.
How open banking could grow the economy and spark the next wave of Kiwi innovation.
What success looks like five years from now – from frictionless payments to smarter savings tools.
The role of trust, accreditation, and security in protecting customer data.
His call for Kiwi developers and entrepreneurs to “pick it up and run with it.”
Then in Part Two (to be released later this week), Adrian and Tim are joined by Alan Carnaby from MBIE to unpack the practical side — how the new Customer and Product Data Act will roll out in real life.Together, they explore:
What “ready” really means for banks and fintechs by 1 December 2025.
The new accreditation regime and how MBIE will balance innovation with integrity.
Lessons learned from Australia and how New Zealand is designing for faster adoption.
Why MBIE is focused on critical mass and consumer trust – not just compliance.
The roadmap for extending open banking into other sectors like energy, insurance, and KiwiSaver.
From legislative intent to operational delivery, Episode 7 connects the dots between policy, practice, and people — and how Aotearoa’s open banking journey will evolve from regulation to real-world impact.
🎧 Tune in for a rare behind-the-scenes look at how government, industry, and innovators are building a smarter, safer, and more inclusive financial future for New Zealand.
👉 blinkpay.co.nz

Hosts: Adrian Smith (CEO, BlinkPay) & Tim D’Shea (Head of Product, BlinkPay)
Music by Levgen Poltavskyi from Pixabay
In this episode of Open Banking Q&A with BlinkPay, we sit down with Jane-Renee Retimana, Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer at Payments NZ (self-styled “Chief Cat Herder”), to explore the role of the API Centre in Aotearoa’s open banking journey.
Jane shares what it’s like to represent a broad and diverse membership – from major banks to nimble fintechs – and how the API Centre balances competing priorities, amplifies smaller voices, and works with regulators to create a fair, innovative, and future-ready payments ecosystem.
We cover:
What the API Centre does – and how it sits within Payments NZ’s role as the governance body for New Zealand’s payment systems.
How money really moves – the difference between high-value settlement systems and everyday retail interbank payments.
Industry vs. regulation – New Zealand’s unique “coalition of the willing” approach and the evolution toward a hybrid, regulated regime.
Challenges of collaboration – giving space to diverse voices, managing loud dissenting views, and why compromise and process matter.
Interoperability and innovation – why efficiency and Lego-brick-like connectivity drive progress for both big and small players.
Looking ahead – enduring consent, enriched data, Māori data governance, and how local innovation could leapfrog other jurisdictions.
From “road rash” lessons in governance to the art of compromise where “everyone’s a little bit unhappy,” Jane offers candid insights into what it takes to herd the cats of open banking – and why collaboration across industry, regulators, and innovators is the key to unlocking the next phase of payments in Aotearoa.
🎧 Tune in to hear behind-the-scenes perspectives from the API Centre and what success looks like for the future of open banking in New Zealand.
👉 blinkpay.co.nz

Hosts: Adrian Smith (CEO, BlinkPay) & Tim D’Shea (Head of Product, BlinkPay)
Music by Levgen Poltavskyi from Pixabay
In this episode of Open Banking Q&A with BlinkPay, we bring together voices at the heart of Aotearoa’s open banking journey:
Matthew Lewer, Head of Payments at the Commerce Commission
Emma Geard, Senior Associate at MinterEllisonRuddWatts
Andrew Dentice, Co-chair of FinTechNZ & Partner at Hudson Gavin Martin
Together, they unpack how regulation is shaping the future of payments and data sharing in New Zealand — from competition and consumer protection to liability, security, and trust.
We cover:
Why open banking must balance innovation, consumer safeguards, and bank participation
The 10-year journey of recalibrating regulation, not just “set and forget”
How liability and consumer protection frameworks will make or break trust in new payment flows
Lessons from overseas:US Consumer Watchdog redoes open banking rules on customer data (Reuters)FCA set to streamline payment systems oversight (Fintech Global)
Why New Zealand’s unique “coalition of the willing” gives us a head start — but also unique challenges
🎧 Tune in to hear how regulators and legal experts see policy turning into practice — and why now is a critical moment for open banking in Aotearoa.

Hosts: Adrian Smith (CEO, BlinkPay) & Tim D’Shea (Head of Product, BlinkPay)Guests: Sam Meikle of Sharesies and Stuart Wilson of Modica Group.
Music by Levgen Poltavskyi from Pixabay
What we cover:
Why Sharesies built Instant Bank Transfer with BlinkPay, and how it’s changing investor behaviour
How Modica is embedding open banking into their CPaaS platform to enable payments and data services at scale
Lessons from the UK and US on seamless top-ups and safer data sharing
Tink + Chip partnership – powering one-tap account top-ups
Citizens Bank story – moving from risky screen scraping to secure APIs
The realities (and rewards) of being early to open banking in New Zealand
What advice Sam and Stu would give to other businesses considering taking the plunge
🎧 Tune in to hear how open banking is already creating new value—and why now is the time to get on board.

Episode #: S01E03Hosts: Adrian Smith (CEO, BlinkPay) & Tim D’Shea (Head of Product, BlinkPay)Guest: Jonathan Dale from the Bank of New Zealand
Music by Levgen Poltavskyi from Pixabay
 
Episode OverviewOpen banking in Aotearoa is gathering momentum — but what does it really take to modernise decades of legacy systems, stay compliant with fast-evolving regulation, and still deliver innovation that customers trust?
In this episode, we sit down with Jonathan Dale (BNZ) to unpack the realities of building open banking at scale. Together with Adrian and Tim from BlinkPay, they explore what’s working, what’s slowing things down, and what success could look like when New Zealand reaches full ecosystem maturity.
In this kōrero we cover:
📈 UK adoption milestone: what 15 million UK users can teach us — and why NZ may be moving even faster.
🏛️ ComCom’s open letter: regulation as an accelerant (and sometimes a handbrake).
🔒 Trust & fraud: why banks and fintechs alike need to go beyond “safe enough” to truly win customer confidence.
🏗️ Behind the APIs: the real lessons BNZ have learned about scalability, resilience, and security.
🤝 Collaboration: how banks and fintechs are shaping standards together — and why partnerships matter.
🌏 Looking ahead: the customer experiences that excite the most, from seamless recurring payments to new data-driven services.
Why tune in?This isn’t about theory — it’s about the lived reality of building open banking in Aotearoa. If you’re a fintech, regulator, banker, or just curious about how APIs are reshaping finance, you’ll get candid insights, lessons learned, and a glimpse of the road ahead.
 

Episode #: S01E02Hosts: Adrian Smith (CEO, BlinkPay) & Tim D’Shea (Head of Product, BlinkPay)Guests: Jason Danner, Usable Balance; Ashley Lake-Johns, Qippay
Music by Levgen Poltavskyi from Pixabay
In today’s episode, we’re going straight to the coalface — hearing from the third parties who are living and breathing open banking in Aotearoa. Starting with news stories from abroad, to the new decoupled feature in the open banking standard, to the realities of getting banks and fintechs working together, we’ve got the real stories, the wins, and the bumps along the way.
Hot Topics – News or Noise? 
Prommt signs up for Payit by NatWest: https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/106688/prommt-signs-up-for-payit-by-natwest 
Fintech CEOs call on Trump to block banks from imposing account-access fees: https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/46453/fintech-ceos-call-on-trump-to-block-banks-from-imposing-account-access-fees
Focus topic - Decoupled feature
Today we're digging into whether decoupled consent helps or hinders consumer trust and experience.
Payments: Does approving a payment in the banking app feel safer, or just break the flow?
Data: Does approving data sharing in the banking app build trust, or distance people from the service they want?
If you enjoyed today’s kōrero, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and drop us a review so more people can discover the podcast.
Want to learn more? Head to blinkpay.co.nz or get in touch at contact@blinkpay.co.nz.
 

Episode #: S01E01Hosts: Adrian Smith (CEO, BlinkPay) & Tim D’Shea (Head of Product, BlinkPay)Guests: Dan Symons, Westpac New Zealand; 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 contact@blinkpay.co.nz
Stay tuned — the open banking journey is just getting started.