One In Four Kiwi Couldn’t Service An Unexpected Expense

New Payments NZ survey reveals Kiwi attitudes towards finance and payments

If an unexpected expense like car repairs or a surprise bill came through today, would you be able to easily make payment? One in four Kiwi wouldn’t.

The latest Payments NZ survey looking at Kiwi attitudes toward payments found 25% of Kiwi would be unable to make a surprise expense payment, while more than a third of those surveyed are unsatisfied with the amount of savings they have (37%).

Payments NZ chief executive Steve Wiggins says financial wellbeing for all Kiwi needs to be a top priority.

“While there are broader socioeconomic discussions to be had about savings and financial vulnerability in Aotearoa, there is a spectrum of activity in the payments space to help improve financial inclusion and stability,” says Wiggins.

In fact, 82% of Kiwi surveyed wished they could make and receive payments immediately and in real time.

“Payments NZ has recently released a discussion document about real-time payments, and we’re leading conversations with the industry about real-time infrastructure and capabilities which are crucial to the future of payments in Aotearoa,” says Wiggins.

“Real-time payments are only one component of the payment ecosystem of the future. There are several other projects Payments NZ is leading with the industry which will make Aotearoa’s payments system truly world-class.

“In the shorter term, Payments NZ have been working to introduce 365-day payments, which will be rolled out next year. We’re also leading work on open banking through the API Centre, as well as other core projects which will collectively enable faster and simpler payments for Aotearoa.

“Furthermore, the Government’s recent announcement about banking as first cab off the rank for Aotearoa’s Consumer Data Right (CDR) has helped further highlight the potential of open banking. This is something our API Centre has been working on with the industry in recent years, and we’re fully supportive of a fit-for-purpose CDR.

“We’ve already built and have in place most of the tools, services and frameworks necessary for the CDR. The partnerships between banks and third parties are growing and we are starting to see open banking products and services come to market, which means as a nation we can have a strong advantage by amplifying what the industry has created.”

The survey shows that more Kiwi are keen for future products and services powered by open banking, with an app to split bills and a tool to automatically move money between accounts top of the wish list.

Safety and security top of mind

Additionally, almost 9 in 10 Kiwi consumers are concerned about their financial data being hacked (88%) or being taken advantage of by service providers using their data beyond what they agreed to (87%).

“These stats show us there is more work to be done to help educate Kiwi on why the payments ecosystem is safe and how to protect yourself,” says Wiggins.

“Educating the public is key to ensuring they feel empowered to choose the right products and services that meet their needs, whether that’s using an open banking app or in future, paying someone in real-time.”

The results of the Consumer Survey can be found here.

Notes to editors

• Online survey conducted from 16 September to 4 October 2022.
• Designed to provide insight around how Kiwi are using payments, their attitudes, preferences, and expectations of future payment types.
• Total of 1,000 people answered the survey online.
• Representative of the Aotearoa population aged 18 plus by age, gender, region and ethnicity.
• Maximum margin of error on results +/- 3%.

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