Three Months On: How Have The Open Banking Changes Changed Kiwis’ Finances?

Three months into New Zealand’s open banking rollout, the change isn’t loud, but it is starting to show up where it matters most. In the admin that people used to accept as part of the process.

Regulated to provide open banking access

When the Consumer Data Right framework began taking effect late last year, the promise was straightforward. Give Kiwis more control over their financial data, make it easier to switch or apply for products, and reduce the paperwork that slows everything down. That shift is now underway, even if it still feels gradual when many of the OECD countries have had open banking technology for years.

For many consumers, the most noticeable difference is how they share financial information. The old approach of exporting statements, emailing PDFs, or in some cases handing over banking passwords is being replaced by consent based connections.

That is where platforms like Akahu come in. Akahu provides secure API connections to major banks and financial institutions, allowing users to grant read only access to their accounts without exposing login details. It is a subtle shift in behaviour, but a meaningful one in terms of both security and control.

A new wave of financial technology services

Those connections are now forming the backbone of a new wave of tools. Budgeting apps, wealth platforms, and lending services are plugging directly into live financial data, with user permission, rather than relying on static documents.

One of those is Dashr, a locally built platform that pulls multiple accounts, transactions, and liabilities into a single verified view. Instead of rebuilding a financial picture every time someone applies for a loan or refinancing deal, users can authorise a live feed of their data.

“Open banking is the foundation for this change,” Filmer said. “It allows us to deliver transparency and efficiency in a way that simply wasn’t possible before.”

That matters in a housing market where first home buyers and refinancers make up a large share of activity, and where advisers say chasing documents remains one of the most time consuming parts of the job.

“Every time a borrower jumps ship to chase a better rate or cashback, the process starts all over again,” said Tom Filmer, founder of Dashr. “A trail of accounts, statements, and disconnected data gets left behind.”

By replacing PDFs and email attachments with continuously updated data feeds, brokers and advisers are getting a clearer and more consistent view of a borrower’s position. That can mean fewer follow ups, earlier identification of issues, and a smoother path through the application process.

“We’re also seeing a growing number of Kiwis who want ongoing visibility of their financial position, even when they’re not actively applying for lending,” Filmer said.

The industry-wide impact

The impact is not limited to lending. For everyday users, having a consolidated and always on view of income, spending, debts, and assets shifts financial management from something reactive to something more continuous. Instead of scrambling to assemble information when a bank asks for it, the data is already there.

Some platforms are also beginning to turn that into a longer term asset, helping users build a verified financial history over time. In theory, that could make future applications faster and give providers a more reliable picture of risk.

More confidence in data compliance

On the industry side, open banking is also changing expectations around how data is handled. Access is no longer implied. It is explicitly granted and can be withdrawn. There are clearer audit trails and stricter standards around how information is stored and shared.

That is putting pressure on banks, advisers, and lenders to move away from manual, spreadsheet driven workflows that were never designed for a regulated data sharing environment.

None of this is fully embedded yet. Many processes are still hybrid. Consumer awareness is uneven. Legacy systems are still doing a lot of the work.

But three months in, the direction is becoming clearer. Financial data is starting to behave less like something Kiwis hand over, and more like something they actively control and permission.

For companies building on top of those rails, including Akahu, Dashr, and others, the next phase will be about proving the upside. Faster approvals, fewer errors, better deals. The infrastructure is in place. Now it just has to deliver.

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