For years, payment processing has been one of the biggest and most unavoidable costs for New Zealand retailers. Studies show Kiwi merchants pay more on average than retailers in many comparable countries, including Australia and the UK. Often, these costs are passed on to customers as surcharges.

Over the last decade, a wave of new companies have offered cheaper ways to pay - but none have truly solved the trade-off between

• Convenience for customers

• Security of payments

• Cost to the merchant

• Customer adoption (getting people to actually use it)

• Ease of integration for the retailer

The Payment Landscape in New Zealand

• EFTPOS - Kiwis have loved EFTPOS since it launched in 1989. It’s safe, relatively cheap for merchants, and accepted everywhere. But EFTPOS hasn’t kept pace with how we shop online and can’t offer the benefits of a digital solution to retailers and consumers alike.

• Credit Cards - Credit card usage has steadily increased. Since 2022, regulation has capped merchant fees, but costs remain high. PayWave technology has made credit cards more convenient, and customers have embraced the tap-and-go experience.

• QR Code Payments - In China, QR codes have leapfrogged EFTPOS and credit cards, offering low cost, convenience, and deep integration with social apps.

• Non-API bank transfer platforms – Unlike Open Banking, some providers require customers to enter their internet banking credentials into a third-party platform. This raises security concerns for consumers using the service and NZ banks have publicly warned this may breach terms and could affect fraud protection.

Open Banking: A Turning Point for NZ Payments

Now that Open Banking is available in New Zealand, merchants and consumers can finally get the best of both worlds:

• Many of the values of NZ’s beloved EFTPOS - low cost, security, and trust

• The convenience and reach of digital payments - integration into online and physical POS.

Open Banking payments connect directly to customers’ banks via secure APIs - no need to share banking usernames or passwords. Payments are authorised inside the customer’s own banking app, so credentials never leave the bank’s system.

It’s not surprising then that, in the UK, adoption rates have soared with around 1 in 5 individuals using Open Banking for payments – this has increased steadily with a 50% year-on-year increase in adoption just from late 2024 to early 2025.

We’re expecting New Zealanders to follow suit.

How Qippay Fits In

Qippay is built from the ground up on modern Open Banking APIs, with direct, secure integrations to ANZ, ASB, BNZ, and Westpac. We never see, store, or handle your customers’ banking credentials.

Our system is regulated and built to New Zealand’s Open Banking standards and is ISO/IEC 27001 certified, giving both merchants and consumers confidence their payments are safe.

Our solutions include:

• Account-to-account payments - One-off bank-to-bank payments for e-commerce, utilities, retail acceptance, and more

• Recurring and variable payments( Enduring consent) - Recurring or variable recurring payments (subscriptions, memberships) - launching in 2025

Integration options:

• Hosted - Quick setup with redirection to a Qippay payment page

• Embedded - Keep customers in your own checkout flow

• QR Code Initiated - With dynamic QR codes for secure in-person payments

Why Qippay Works for Retailers

• Typically lower transaction costs than traditional providers

• No direct or indirect cost to consumers

• Formal agreements with ANZ, ASB, BNZ, and Westpac for secure, reliable connectivity

• Preserves consumer protection - credentials remain with the bank

• Flexible integrations to suit your business model

The bottom line

With Qippay, retailers no longer need to choose between protecting their customers and saving on fees. You can have both - and you can have them today.

To learn more or schedule a demo, please Get in Touch