Eroad squeaks back into the black, co-CEOs address tariffs, 3G shutdown
The Auckland-based firm reported a $1.4 million net profit for the year to March, versus an
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RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
BlinkPay launches real-time payments technology in open banking initiative
BNZ bought BlinkPay in 2024 and has committed to adopting the technology. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi New Zealand's open-banking initiatives took another step forwards today as local financial technology (fintech) company, BlinkPay launches its instant payment technology. Open banking allows consumers to share bank account information with third party financial services companies to manage money, payments, or offer alternative financial products. BlinkPay said its technology would allow transactions to be settled in seconds, instead of half-hourly or overnight using the present payment system. Chief executive Adrian Smith said its technology used the existing payment infrastructure more efficiently. "This capability is ready to go and represents a potential game-changer for New Zealand's payments landscape." BNZ bought BlinkPay in 2024 and has committed to adopting the technology, although it operates the company independently. Chief executive Dan Huggins said the technology offers the potential to give people and business more choice in how they send and receive money. "This technology works alongside the existing payment system, expanding the range of options rather than replacing what already works really well." Smith said the technology would allow tradies to get paid as soon as a job was finished, consumers to pay for a car instantly and driving it off the forecourt, or distributing emergency funds in a civil emergency in real-time. Other uses might include instant property settlements, rental bond transfers, and insurance claims. Smith said that any bank or open-payment provider that met Payment NZ standards could use its service, and he wanted more big banks to pick it up to improve efficiency. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
Why OCR decision may be good news for home loan rates
The Reserve Bank's monetary policy committee took the decision to vote on whether the OCR should be cut by 25 or 50bps. Photo: RNZ A signal from the Reserve Bank that there could be two more cuts in the official cash rate to come could help drive down home loan rates over the coming weeks. The bank cut the official cash rate by 25bps to 3 percent on Wednesday, as widely expected. But what came as a surprise was news the monetary policy committee took the decision to a vote on whether the cut should be 50bps or 25. The bank has also lowered its forecast track to indicate a 2.6 percent OCR through next year. It had forecast 2.9 percent previously. Because the bank cuts in 25bps increments, that indicates it thinks it is possible that the rate could drop to 2.5 percent. Squirrel chief executive David Cunningham said that was likely to mean that one-year swap rates dropped 15 to 20bps in the near term and could bring one-year home loan fixes down to 4.5 percent over the next month or two. He said the market was likely to be surprised by the fact that a 50bps cut was considered. Jarrod Kerr, chief economist at Kiwibank, has been a vocal proponent of getting the rate to 2.5 percent. "Then hopefully things start picking up because what we've seen so far is relief - business going 'thank God I'm not paying interest rates that I was paying last year. But it's not at levels that get them excited and get them to invest. "The Investment Boost from the government is great but you need businesses willing to spend money on the investment and they're not and I think interest rates are part of that." ANZ senior economist Miles Workman said banks had moved interest rates ahead of the OCR so they might not shift a lot in the immediate term. But he said there should be an impact on floating rates. Infometrics principal economist Nick Brunsdon agreed the 25bp cut had been fully priced into home loan rates in cuts over the past two weeks. "Immediate cuts are unlikely to follow today's announcement. "However, there were broader signals in the Reserve Bank's announcement which imply further cuts to the OCR - and home loan rates - later this year. The Reserve Bank's projection effectively allows for two further 0.25 percent cuts before 2026. Markets won't treat this as a dead certainty, but we would expect to see banks to start moving rates part of the way down before the next review in October." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Techday NZ
5 hours ago
- Techday NZ
WatchGuard names top ANZ partners for 2024 awards recognition
WatchGuard Technologies has named the recipients of its 2024 ANZ Partner Awards, acknowledging partners across Australia and New Zealand for their achievements in customer service, business growth, and platform adoption. Annual awards The awards, in their 11th year, aim to recognise the strength of WatchGuard's partner ecosystem in the SMB, mid-market, and Pacific Island sectors. Over 150 certified partners were considered before four winners were selected by WatchGuard's Asia Pacific and Japan leadership, based on criteria such as revenue contribution, technical proficiency, marketing involvement, and competitive success. The Partner of the Year award was granted to Sydney-based Systemnet. Systemnet achieved the distinction after delivering nearly 50% of its annual revenue during the second half of the year, reflecting increased adoption of WatchGuard's full security stack and broad integration across its cyber portfolio. Other award recipients include Manux Solutions, which received the Next Level Excellence Award for its early implementation of both managed detection and response (MDR) and network detection and response (NDR) and alignment with WatchGuard's technology roadmap. Clearly IT was recognised with the Competitive Win of the Year award for deploying a comprehensive WatchGuard solution for a major client, replacing older security systems. VITG received the Marketing Program of the Year award for a successful campaign centred on the AISA Cyber Security Conference, which resulted in lead generation and year-on-year growth. Channel-focused approach WatchGuard operates a 100% channel-driven model throughout Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. This approach is supported by local enablement programmes such as roadshows and bootcamps, the roll-out of new security offerings like ThreatSync, MDR and NDR, and flexible licensing provided through the FlexPay scheme, all delivered via the WatchGuardONE programme. This programme aligns with established frameworks, including the Essential Eight, and over the last 12 months has contributed to a 20% increase in partner certifications and engagement in the ANZ region. WatchGuard's channel partner model has also contributed to its third consecutive year as a Champion in the Canalys Cybersecurity Leadership Matrix for 2025, based on partner evaluations of the company's ease of business, profitability and support. Industry feedback "Our partners are central to how we deliver security outcomes across Australia and New Zealand. These awards recognise the commitment, capability and impact our top performers delivered - from competitive wins to marketing execution. We're proud to support such a strong ecosystem, and we'll keep backing our partners with the tools, insights and flexibility they need to grow." Systemnet's Operations Manager, Bruno Ianni, provided insight into the company's approach, saying: "Being named ANZ Partner of the Year by WatchGuard is a real nod to the way we do things - long-term thinking, deep technical knowledge, and a no-nonsense focus on what works for our clients. The flexibility of the platform lets us deliver full-stack solutions without the usual complexity, and the strength of that approach really showed in the second half of last year, where we saw nearly half of our annual growth. We're excited to keep building on this momentum." Darren Grant, Director, Clearly IT, reflected on his company's recognition: "This was about backing our instincts and delivering the right solution from the outset. We saw a clear opportunity to replace complexity with something smarter and more unified - and it resonated. We're proud to be recognised for our first major deployment with WatchGuard, and the partnership helped us deliver a rollout that hit every requirement without unnecessary overhead."
