New Zealand Payments Market Size, Share and Forecast Trends - Growth Analysis and Outlook Report (2026-2035)

Market Overview

The New Zealand payments market is being reshaped by regulation and infrastructure change rather than by volume alone. Lower interchange caps, regulated open banking and a government-backed real-time payments programme are widening the choice of rails, while cards remain the everyday default.

Three forces are at work: bank-to-bank payments through open banking, which are growing from a small base; margin pressure on card acquiring, as interchange caps pass through to merchant pricing; and consolidation, with Cuscal buying Paymark and Zip leaving the country.

In December 2025 the banking rules under the Customer and Product Data Act took effect, and in May 2026 Kiwibank opened payments and data sharing to all customers. In July 2026 open banking payments passed 401,000 in a month.

Key Market Trends and Insights

• Steady card spending: Stats NZ reported on 16 October 2026 that September card spending was NZ$9.2 billion, down 0.5% on August but up 0.3% for the September quarter.
• Open banking momentum: Payments NZ data showed more than 401,000 open banking payments worth over NZ$130 million in July 2026, up 11% on June, with 221,000 customers taking part.
• Lower card pricing: Stripe cut its terminal rate for New Zealand cards from 2.70% to 2.60% on 1 December 2025, after the Commerce Commission lowered interchange caps on credit cards.
• Buy now pay later shake-out: Afterpay New Zealand lifted 2025 revenue 17.4% to NZ$143.2 million, while Zip decided in July 2026 to close its New Zealand buy now pay later operations.

New Zealand Payments Market Size and Forecast

Cards still carry most spending, yet account-to-account payments gain share as banks complete their interfaces and merchants look for lower-cost checkout. Payment gateways and orchestration software grow ahead of terminal hardware because online and in-app selling needs more methods behind one integration. Online and e-commerce checkout expands faster than store payments, although tap-to-pay terminals remain essential for hospitality and retail. Auckland keeps the largest share, while Waikato grows quickest on logistics, dairy-sector and small business activity. Regulation points to a durable change in the mix of rails: interchange caps squeeze acquiring margin, open banking widens competition, and a national real-time payments system could reset pricing later this decade.

Key Takeaways: New Zealand Payments Market

Regulation Is Redrawing the Revenue Pool

Revenue is on course to expand by about 95% across the decade, from USD 1,900.00 million in 2025 to USD 3,702.80 million in 2035 at a 6.9% CAGR. Lower interchange caps trim card margins, yet rising online selling and new payment methods keep total revenue growing.

Bank-to-Bank and Online Payments Lead Growth

Credit and Debit Cards hold the largest share, but Account-to-Account Payments grow at an estimated 13.5% CAGR and Payment Gateways and Orchestration at an estimated 9.1% CAGR through 2035. Online and E-Commerce is the fastest channel at an estimated 8.4%, helped by wider wallet and instalment options at checkout.

Consolidation Follows Regulatory Change

Ownership of core infrastructure and the buy now pay later field both shifted in 2026, and standards for open banking passed to a government agency.

• Cuscal completed its Paymark purchase on 29 May 2026
• Zip decided to close its New Zealand operations in July 2026
• Payments NZ closed its API Centre on 30 September 2026

New Zealand Payments Market Report Summary

Key Insight

Demand is shifting towards bank-to-bank and online payments as regulation lowers card margins and widens choice. Auckland leads, while Waikato grows fastest from a smaller base.

Key Trends in the New Zealand Payments Market

The New Zealand payments market is being reshaped by open banking rules, lower card pricing, an exit from buy now pay later and a national real-time payments programme.

October 2026 - Open Banking Payments at BNZ Near 90,000 in August as Industry Volumes Climb

• BNZ processed almost 90,000 open banking payments in August 2026, 12% above July, according to a report published on 16 October 2026.
• Payments NZ data showed account information requests rising from 8.7 million in May to 19.2 million in July 2026.
• Fast growth in data and payment requests shows banks are now able to serve merchants that want lower-cost checkout.

September 2026 - Payments NZ Closes API Centre and Hands Open Banking Standards to MBIE

• Payments NZ announced on 21 August 2026 that its API Centre would stop operating at the end of September 2026.
• The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment takes over standards under the Customer and Product Data Act, and Payments NZ agreed terms to transfer its version 3.0 specifications.
• A single government standards owner should speed up accreditation of fintechs and reduce bank-by-bank differences.

March 2026 - Surcharge Ban Stalls and Commerce Commission Sets Out Open Banking Timetable

• Retail NZ said on 26 March 2026 that the ban on card surcharges would not proceed this term, although the minister said no further decisions had been made.
• On 5 March 2026 the Commerce Commission said larger banks could start switching off screen-scraping access from June 2026, with most traffic on bank interfaces by the end of 2026.
• Merchants may keep surcharging in store for now, which supports the push to cheaper bank-to-bank payments.

December 2025 - Banking Rules Under the Customer and Product Data Act Take Effect

• The banking regulations took effect on 1 December 2025, requiring the five largest banks to deliver standardised interfaces for data sharing and payments.
• Smaller banks and non-bank deposit takers can opt in, which could extend coverage beyond the large lenders.
• Lower interchange caps on New Zealand credit cards also began on 1 December 2025, following a Commerce Commission decision in July 2025.

Key Insight

Regulated open banking, lower interchange caps and a government-led real-time payments programme are the main structural forces, while uncertainty over surcharging remains the main policy risk for merchants.

Recent Market Developments in the New Zealand Payments Market

Recent developments, presented from the most recent, show a change of ownership at the national payments switch, a buy now pay later exit, bank open banking launches and new gateway features.

July 2026 - Zip Decides to Close Its New Zealand Buy Now Pay Later Operations

• Trade press reported on 22 July 2026 that Zip would close its New Zealand operations after a strategic review.
• Zip is focusing on its Australian and US businesses and expects the financial effect of the wind-down to be immaterial.
• Afterpay becomes the larger instalment option for New Zealand merchants, which may raise its bargaining power.

May 2026 - Cuscal Completes Purchase of Paymark From Worldline

• Cuscal completed the acquisition on 29 May 2026, and the business now trades as Cuscal Paymark.
• Worldline said the unit processes about 70% of in-store transactions, serves all four major acquirers and about 40 issuers, and sold for an enterprise value of about EUR 17 million.
• Worldline continues to provide technology services for a transitional period, so clients saw no change in products.

May 2026 - Kiwibank Opens Payments and Data Sharing Across Internet Banking and Its App

• Kiwibank announced on 29 May 2026 that individual and business customers could use open banking payments and data sharing, including small and medium businesses.
• It worked with Wych, Akahu and Volley, and delivered most data-sharing features six months before the regulatory deadline.
• Its coverage brings the share of bank accounts reachable through standard interfaces to about 90%, according to the Commerce Commission.

October 2025 - Windcave Adds Afterpay for Merchants on Its Gateway

• Windcave said on 28 October 2025 that merchants using it as their payment provider can now offer Afterpay.
• In April 2025 it had added Zip on its terminals, and in July 2025 it extended Apple Pay to third-party browsers.
• One integration for several wallet and instalment methods reduces onboarding effort for small online merchants.

Key Insight

Ownership change at the national switch, a buy now pay later exit and bank launches of open banking show suppliers repositioning around cheaper, more varied payment options for merchants.

New Zealand Payments Industry Segmentation

The Expert Market Research’s report on the New Zealand Payments Market offers a detailed analysis of the market based on the following segments.

Market Breakup by Payment Method

• Credit and Debit Cards
• Account-to-Account Payments
• Digital Wallets
• Buy Now Pay Later
• Others

Credit and Debit Cards lead on value, in our estimate, with Stats NZ reporting card spending of NZ$9.2 billion in September 2026; and interchange caps that began on 1 December 2025 lower fees. Account-to-Account Payments grow fastest at an estimated 13.5%, with more than 401,000 open banking payments in July 2026. Digital Wallets expand steadily, helped by Windcave's July 2025 Apple Pay extension to third-party browsers. Buy Now Pay Later grows at 5.6%, as Afterpay New Zealand lifted 2025 revenue to NZ$143.2 million while Zip exited in July 2026. Others, including bank transfers and cheques, grow at 3.8%.

Market Breakup by Solution

• Payment Processing and Acquiring
• Payment Gateways and Orchestration
• Point-of-Sale Terminals and Hardware
• Fraud, Security and Compliance
• Others

Payment Processing and Acquiring leads in value, in our estimate, and Cuscal's May 2026 purchase of Paymark, which handles about 70% of in-store transactions, shows how central the switch is. Payment Gateways and Orchestration grows fastest at an estimated 9.1% CAGR through 2035, as Windcave added Afterpay in October 2025 and Stripe cut online domestic card pricing from 1 December 2025. Point-of-Sale Terminals and Hardware grows at 5.2%, and Stripe lowered its international terminal rate in May 2026. Fraud, Security and Compliance grows at 7.4%, supported by MBIE accreditation of open banking providers.

Market Breakup by Payment Channel

• In-Store
• Online and E-Commerce
• Bills and Recurring Payments
• Others

In-Store leads, in our estimate, because tap-to-pay terminals dominate stores, and the proposed surcharge ban of 2025 covered only in-store card payments before it stalled in March 2026. Online and E-Commerce grows fastest at an estimated 8.4% CAGR through 2035, as Windcave's October 2025 Afterpay launch and wider Apple Pay browser support improve checkout. Bills and Recurring Payments grows at 7.9%, helped by Kiwibank's May 2026 business rollout, which covers payroll uses through Akahu and PaySauce. Others, including telephone and mail orders, grows at 3.5%.

Market Breakup by Region

• Auckland
• Wellington
• Canterbury
• Waikato
• Rest of New Zealand
• Others

Auckland dominates, in our estimate, as the largest population centre and home of Windcave, and it grows at an estimated 6.7% CAGR through 2035 from a large, mature base. Wellington grows at 6.9%, anchored by Kiwibank, whose open banking launch came in May 2026, and by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, which was asked in November 2025 to lead the real-time payments programme. Canterbury grows at 7.2% as merchants there gain from lower card pricing introduced in December 2025. Waikato is the fastest-growing region at 7.6%, on logistics, dairy-sector and small business activity, in our estimate. Rest of New Zealand grows at 6.9%.

Competitive Landscape in the New Zealand Payments Market

Competition combines the national switch and acquirers, global gateways, banks with their own interfaces and instalment providers. Entry barriers include bank connectivity, scheme and regulatory compliance, merchant distribution and the scale needed to absorb falling interchange revenue.

Cuscal

Cuscal, the Sydney-based payments provider, completed its acquisition of Paymark from Worldline on 29 May 2026, and the New Zealand business now trades as Cuscal Paymark. Worldline said the unit processes about 70% of in-store transactions in New Zealand, serves all four major acquirers and about 40 issuers, and was sold for an enterprise value of about EUR 17 million. Cuscal said clients would see no change in products or services.

Windcave

Windcave, based in Auckland, provides payment gateways, terminals and online checkout for merchants in New Zealand, Australia and beyond. It added Zip on its terminals in April 2025, extended Apple Pay to Chrome, Firefox and Edge in July 2025 and brought in Afterpay on 28 October 2025. In February 2026 it added support for iDEAL and Wero, and in June 2026 it launched an ACH solution with Plaid for United States merchants.

Stripe

Stripe, headquartered in San Francisco and Dublin, serves New Zealand businesses with online payments and card terminals. Following lower interchange caps, it cut domestic online pricing to 2.65% plus NZ$0.30 and terminal pricing to 2.60% plus NZ$0.05 on 1 December 2025. From 1 May 2026 it lowered its terminal rate for international cards from 3.50% to 2.70%, which narrows the price gap for tourism and hospitality merchants.

Kiwibank

Kiwibank, headquartered in Wellington, is a New Zealand-owned bank for retail and business customers. On 29 May 2026 it opened open banking payments and data sharing across internet banking and its app, and it described itself as the first bank to offer both. It partnered with Wych and worked with Akahu and Volley, and said it delivered most data-sharing features six months before the regulatory deadline.

Other players operating in the New Zealand payments market include Afterpay, ANZ New Zealand, ASB, BNZ, and Westpac New Zealand, alongside smaller gateways, fintech payment initiators, terminal resellers and regional acquirers serving merchants across New Zealand.

Key Insight

Competition rests on bank connectivity, merchant distribution, pricing under regulated interchange and breadth of methods, while ownership changes at the switch and in instalment credit are reshaping positions.