UK-based Open Banking technology platform obconnect has been chosen by the New Zealand Banking Association to build and manage the country’s Confirmation of Payee (CoP) ecosystem.
New Zealand’s retail banks will begin rolling out the new service by the end of November this year as part of a phased delivery to ensure proper testing.
When making domestic payments from one bank account to another, CoP will enable bank customers to check that the account name matches the account number before proceeding with the payment.
Customers will be provided with a match, partial match or no match notification and, in instances where the payee’s bank does not yet offer the service, the payer will receive a ‘cannot check payee details’ notification.
In a press statement, obconnect said: “As the chosen provider, obconnect will play a critical role in ensuring the integrity of payments and preventing fraud, furthering New Zealand’s mission to enhance security and trust in its financial systems through cutting-edge Open Banking technology.”
Banks participating in the new CoP service are ANZ, ASB, Bank of China, BNZ, CCB, The Co-operative Bank, Heartland Bank, ICBC, Kiwibank, Rabobank, SBS Bank, TSB, and Westpac.
New Zealand Banking Association chief executive officer Roger Beaumont said: “Banks have been working together at pace to start making the service available before the end of the year.
“Due to the size and complexity of payments services the banks offer, some banks are adopting a phased approach to ensure thorough user testing and customer understanding.
“The technology build and integration of the new service differs across banks, so it’s unsurprising that each bank’s testing and delivery phase looks slightly different.”
He added: “It’s crucial that all banks gain assurance the system is working as it should, across their online and mobile banking platforms and services, before rolling it out broadly. This will ensure a smooth implementation particularly, in New Zealand, where so many people have more than one bank.”
He confirmed that the country’s banks are working to have the service available across all online personal banking channels by Easter 2025.
Andrew Bayly, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs of New Zealand, said: “This new system will give Kiwis greater peace of mind by allowing them to confirm that the name of the person they’re paying matches the bank account details before they send any money.
“The CoP service is a practical step towards making payments more secure, reducing the chances of errors or potential fraud where funds are mistakenly sent to the wrong person.”
Further reading: Design of Australia’s Confirmation of Payee service reaches completion
