Westpac NZ has announced a strategic agreement with online payment provider POLi to bring secure open banking payments to life for thousands of New Zealand consumers and businesses.
The agreement marks a major milestone in Westpac's open banking journey, enabling POLi's over 2,000 merchants to immediately access Westpac's open banking capabilities through POLi's existing platform. This relationship brings instant scale and volume to Westpac's open banking ecosystem, with millions of transactions and billions in payment value already flowing through POLi annually.
POLi, which has operated in New Zealand for over 15 years, has long provided a popular direct-from-bank-account payment service.
With this new integration, POLi transitions to secure, bank-approved open banking APIs, allowing Westpac customers to authenticate and authorise payments directly within Westpac's secure digital banking environment.
This means customers can now use POLi with peace of mind, knowing their credentials are never shared and their transactions are endorsed and supported by their bank.
"This is a significant step forward for our customers and for open banking in New Zealand," says Russell Jones, Westpac NZ Chief Information Officer.
"POLi brings immediate volume and proven demand to the table. By enabling secure API-based payments, we're giving our customers more choice, more control, and greater protection when transacting online."
Andrew Simmonds, Commercial Director at POLi says the move is a win for all involved.
"We're thrilled to team up with Westpac to deliver a secure, scalable open banking solution. We also want to acknowledge Westpac for waiving API fees for at least 12 months, which provides tangible support to POLi and other fintechs innovating in this area.
"The transition to open banking will be seamless for Westpac customers and merchants alike. For most, the experience will remain familiar-same POLi interface, same convenience-but now backed by the security and endorsement of Westpac's open banking infrastructure."
Westpac customers will begin seeing POLi's open banking payment option across merchant sites in the coming weeks, with full rollout expected within three months.
This agreement reinforces Westpac's commitment to innovation and customer safety and highlights the bank's leadership in making open banking real and relevant for everyday New Zealanders.
