Kiwibank takes competitive stand on open banking fees

• Local tech company Wych will assist us in implementing open banking.
• We will not be charging accredited third parties to make standard API requests.
• Open banking will deliver more value, choice and flexibility for customers.

Kiwibank is the first New Zealand bank to partner with Wych, a New Zealand based financial technology company specialising in providing open data services and capabilities to data holders and data recipients. Wych will provide the integration capability to connect accredited third parties with Kiwibank as it delivers open banking.

Steve Jurkovich, Kiwibank’s Chief Executive, says, “As a modern integration provider, Wych’s solution is cloud hosted and provided as a complete end-to-end SaaS solution. It’s also scalable and will enable us to easily adapt as the open banking ecosystem develops."

"As a smaller player compared to the larger banks, we're excited to partner with fintechs to drive more competition to make Kiwi better off.”

Dermot Butterfield, Wych’s Chief Executive Officer, says, “We are excited to be partnering with Kiwibank to build on the opportunity that open banking represents for their customers, including more innovation and customer-centric solutions as the market matures.”

We're proud to be supporting a Kiwi technology company and leveraging the expertise we have right here in New Zealand.

We're taking a competitive stand on open banking fees

Kiwibank exists to challenge the status quo and to create a future where banking in New Zealand is stronger and fairer than ever before.

“We see the significant value open banking can deliver for our customers and we want to enable that,” says Jurkovich. “That’s why we won’t be charging accredited third parties to make standard API requests.”

This sets us apart. While some banks are offering temporary waivers on fees charged to accredited third parties, in the longer term those costs could be passed on to customers.

“At Kiwibank, we’re committed to shaping an open banking environment that delivers real benefits for New Zealanders,” says Jurkovich. “By removing cost barriers we’re helping to unlock innovation that puts customers first – enabling more tailored, transparent, and empowering financial experiences.”

We're committed to delivering payment initiation API services by 30 May 2026 and account information API services by 30 November 2026.