BNZ acquires open banking fintech BlinkPay
Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) has acquired open banking fintech BlinkPay for an undisclosed sum.
BlinkPay acquired by BNZ
Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Auckland, BlinkPay offers New Zealand businesses a suite of open banking payments and billing solutions.
Last year, driven by the implementation of the Consumer Data Right (CDR), the fintech teamed up with BNZ and other New Zealand banks to support the rollout of open banking in the country.
In a statement, BNZ says it is now the “new owner” of BlinkPay, adding that the deal will enable the fintech to leverage the bank’s “resources and expertise” to enhance its open banking functions and drive new product development.
Additionally, BNZ says BlinkPay’s co-founder and chief product officer, Adrian Smith, will take on the role of CEO, ensuring the firm “retains its own leadership and decision-making, along with its entrepreneurial spirit and start-up culture”.
Dan Huggins, BNZ CEO, says the deal “represents the next phase in our journey” as BNZ looks to build on its “leadership in open banking”.
Huggins says that the bank has been involved in New Zealand’s open banking space since 2018, claiming that over 250,000 customers are already using financial services supported by the bank’s open banking technology.
This acquisition follows the news that Payap, a new digital wallet and point-of-sale (POS) app leveraging open banking technology and backed by BNZ, has opened for business sign-ups ahead of its planned consumer launch in the country in March 2025.
