Recurring payments are meant to make business easier. For New Zealand businesses, open banking is now making that possible in a fundamentally different way, replacing legacy direct debit and card-on-file models with consent-led, account-to-account payment infrastructure that works better for both businesses and the customers they serve.

SetPay is Qippay's modern recurring payment solution, built on open banking rails. It gives businesses a better way to collect regular payments, while giving customers a clearer, safer and more controlled way to authorise them.

The Problem with Traditional Recurring Payments

Recurring payments have traditionally relied on cards on file and direct debit. Both come with limitations.

Card payments fail when cards expire, are replaced or are cancelled. Direct debit can feel open-ended, with customers handing over account details and trusting the process works correctly. For businesses, that process can bring manual setup, payment dishonours, disputes, reconciliation headaches and support overhead.

A recent New Zealand case illustrated the risk clearly. A small business owner reportedly had thousands of dollars debited from his account by a company he was not a customer of. The cause was a weakness in some traditional direct debit models, specifically the preferred initiator arrangement, where certain approved organisations can load payment authorities without the bank first checking a signed mandate for that specific customer. That creates a window where the wrong account details, whether through fraud, a typo, or an administrative error, can result in the wrong person's account being debited.

The issue is not simply whether a payment can be reversed. It is whether the authority should have been created against that account in the first place.

How SetPay's Open Banking Model Is Different

SetPay is built around consent.

Instead of relying on a customer typing bank account details into a form, SetPay uses an open banking authorisation model. The customer approves the payment arrangement through their own bank environment, creating a verified link between the payer, the account and the consent being granted.

In practical terms, SetPay enables bank to bank payments where authority is confirmed through the customer's banking environment, not through manually submitted account details. This is what enduring consent means: the customer gives permission for future payments within agreed rules, covering who the merchant is, how often payments occur, how much can be collected and how long the consent lasts. The business collects within those boundaries. The customer knows exactly what they have approved.

SetPay's value is not just automation. It is controlled automation.

Who Is SetPay For?

SetPay is designed for any business, platform or organisation that collects regular, repeat, scheduled or variable payments. The common thread is simple: these businesses need payments to happen reliably, efficiently and with customer trust.

SaaS and Subscription Businesses

SaaS businesses live and die by recurring revenue. When payments fail, revenue is interrupted. Customers may churn without intending to. Finance teams spend time chasing failed payments. Support teams deal with access issues and billing questions.

Card-on-file payments are especially vulnerable to expired cards, replaced cards and failed authorisations. SetPay gives SaaS businesses a more stable recurring payment option by connecting payments to the customer's bank account through open banking account-to-account authorisation.

This helps reduce avoidable payment failure and improve continuity for both the business and the customer. For the customer, the benefit is equally clear. They do not need to store card details, update card expiry dates, or worry about a subscription failing because their card changed.

For software platforms that already manage customer accounts and billing cycles, SetPay can be embedded directly, meaning the payment sits inside the product experience rather than outside it.

Memberships, Gyms and Clubs

Membership businesses need payments to be simple and predictable. Gyms, clubs, associations and subscription-based communities often rely on direct debit because payments are recurring and relatively predictable. But the onboarding experience can still feel clunky.

SetPay creates a more modern experience. The customer can approve the payment authority through their bank environment, with agreed terms and limits. The business can then collect payments with greater confidence that the arrangement has been properly authorised. This helps reduce admin, payment disputes and customer uncertainty.

Utilities, Telcos and Service Providers

Utilities and telcos often deal with variable payment amounts. A customer's bill may change from month to month based on usage, plan changes, seasonal activity or service adjustments. This is where a consent-led open banking payment model becomes especially useful.

With SetPay, a customer can approve a recurring or variable payment arrangement within agreed limits. That gives the business flexibility to collect legitimate payments, while giving the customer greater confidence that the arrangement is not unlimited. Variable payments can feel risky to customers. They want the convenience of automated payment, but they also want assurance that the amount being collected is fair, expected and controlled. SetPay helps create that balance.

Storage businesses.

Self-storage customers typically pay monthly over extended periods, making payment reliability as important as the unit itself. Traditional direct debit and card-on-file models introduce the same risks they carry anywhere: expired cards, manual account detail errors and unclear authorisation. SetPay gives storage providers a consent-led open banking alternative, where customers approve the recurring payment arrangement through their bank environment with full visibility of what they have agreed to. That creates more reliable collections, cleaner onboarding and fewer payment disputes for the operator.

Hire and rental businesses.

Vehicle hire, equipment rental, machinery hire and event hire involve more than a simple upfront charge. Deposits, scheduled fees, extensions, fuel charges, damage costs and excess usage can all change the final amount collected. SetPay's enduring consent model is well suited to this variability: customers approve a payment arrangement within pre-agreed limits upfront, and the business can then collect account-to-account payments within those boundaries as the hire evolves. For hire and rental operators, this reduces manual follow-up on variable charges and gives customers clearer confidence over what the business is authorised to collect.

Insurance, Finance and Repayment Products

Insurance and finance businesses rely heavily on scheduled payments. Premiums, instalments, repayments and payment plans need to be collected on time, but they also need to be handled carefully. Missed payments can create customer stress, service disruption and compliance issues. Incorrect payments can create complaints, refunds and reputational damage.

SetPay supports structured recurring payment arrangements where customers approve the payment terms upfront and payments are then collected within agreed parameters. For finance providers, this can support better repayment flows. For customers, it creates a clearer sense of control over what they have agreed to.

Property, Rates and Body Corporate Payments

Property-related payments are often recurring, high value, or both. Rent, rates, body corporate fees, property management charges and maintenance contributions all rely on accuracy and trust.

A mistake in this environment can be expensive and stressful. SetPay helps create a stronger authorisation process by reducing reliance on manually supplied account numbers and supporting bank-authenticated consent. This is particularly relevant where payments are large enough that even a single error could have a major impact on the customer.

Platforms, ERPs and CRMs

SetPay is not only for individual merchants. It can also be embedded into platforms that already manage customer billing, invoicing, membership, subscriptions or account management. This includes ERP platforms, CRM systems, accounting platforms, booking platforms, membership platforms, billing platforms, property management platforms and field service platforms.

For these platforms, bank to bank payments become part of the product experience rather than a separate process handled outside the system. The platform already knows the customer, the invoice, the subscription, the account status and the business workflow. SetPay can bring the payment into that same environment, creating a smoother experience for the merchant and the end customer.

For fintech startups building payment-adjacent products, SetPay and AnyPay together represent a complete open banking payment toolkit.

See the FAQ section below for more on choosing the right open banking solution for fintech and subscription use cases.

Charities and Not-for-Profit Organisations

For charities and not-for-profit organisations, recurring giving is the foundation of sustainable fundraising. Regular donors, direct debit supporters and monthly givers generate the predictable income that allows charities to plan, deliver services and invest in their missions.

But the traditional recurring giving experience has not kept pace with what donors now expect. Paper authority forms, manually keyed bank account details and legacy direct debit processes create friction at the point of commitment and risk after it. A wrong account number entered by a donor, a supporter whose card expires, or a mandate that never loads correctly all represent lost giving and, often, a lost relationship.

SetPay offers charities a more modern, consent-led alternative. Donors approve their giving arrangement through their bank environment, with clear visibility of the amount, frequency and duration. The charity can collect regular contributions with greater confidence that the mandate is valid and the bank account belongs to the actual donor.

This is particularly relevant for hospices, community foundations, national charities and any organisation that relies on regular giving programmes. The combination of cleaner authorisation, fewer failed payments and a more transparent donor experience makes SetPay well-suited to the sector.

For charities managing donor relationships through CRM or fundraising platforms, SetPay can also be embedded directly, bringing the payment into the same environment as the relationship.

SetPay's NZ Bank Connections

SetPay currently connects to New Zealand's four major banks: BNZ, ASB, ANZ and Westpac. Kiwibank connectivity is scheduled for June 2026, bringing coverage to all five major NZ banks through a single integration.

Why This Matters Now

Payment systems globally are moving from static account details and legacy authority models toward bank-authenticated, consent-led infrastructure. In Australia, PayTo is repositioning direct debit. In the UK, open banking variable recurring payment models are growing. Bank to bank payment rails are becoming the standard, not the exception.

For New Zealand businesses, the opportunity is not just cost reduction. It is building a better payment relationship with customers: one where collection is reliable, and the customer understands exactly what they have approved.

The Business and Customer Benefits

For businesses, SetPay means fewer failed payments (no card expiry risk), greater confidence that payers are authorised to use their accounts, improved cash-flow visibility, lower admin overhead and stronger customer trust.

For customers, SetPay means knowing what they have approved before payments begin, no need to store card details with merchants, payment arrangements that operate within clear agreed limits, and fewer disruptions caused by expired or replaced cards.

Where SetPay Fits in Qippay's Product Suite

Qippay's product suite supports different account-to-account payment needs.

PayBy is designed for one-off payments. [Link to PayBy page when available]

SetPay is designed for recurring, scheduled and variable payment arrangements.

AnyPay is designed for businesses and platforms that want more flexible, embedded or product-led payment experiences, including wallet top-ups, loyalty-linked payments, click-to-pay and account funding flows.

SetPay is the natural starting point for any business with a recurring revenue model. AnyPay opens up more advanced payment journeys for those who want to go further.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best open banking solution for fintech startups in New Zealand?

It depends on your payment model. SetPay is built for fintechs that need recurring or scheduled account-to-account payments, such as subscription billing, loan repayments or regular top-ups. For more flexible, embedded or product-led flows, AnyPay may be the better fit. Both sit on Qippay's open banking infrastructure, connect to the four major NZ banks (Kiwibank in June 2026), and integrate through a single API. The core question is whether your use case is recurring and structured (SetPay) or flexible and embedded (AnyPay).

Which recurring payment service should I use for subscription-based products?

If your model relies on SaaS subscriptions, membership billing, charity regular giving, or any form of automated recurring collection, SetPay is worth evaluating. Unlike card-based models, it does not fail when a card expires. Unlike traditional direct debit, it uses bank-authenticated consent, so customers approve the arrangement before the first payment is collected. For variable billing, SetPay's enduring consent model lets you collect within pre-agreed limits, giving customers confidence without losing the flexibility your billing model needs.

Final Thoughts: Open Banking Recurring Payments for NZ Businesses

SetPay is for any New Zealand business that collects regular, scheduled, variable or repeat payments and wants a better alternative to traditional cards and direct debit.

It delivers more reliable payment operations through open banking infrastructure, while giving customers the confidence that their payment arrangement is clear, consent-led and controlled. The future of recurring payments is moving toward stronger authorisation, bank to bank payment infrastructure and greater transparency. That is where SetPay fits.

Ready to find out if SetPay is right for your business?

Register your interest and a member of the Qippay team will be in touch.

 Author: Wayne Deas – Co-founder & COO