Latest news with #Kiwibank
RNZ News
3 hours ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Two banks cut rates, how much further could they go?
ASB cut some of its mortgage interest rates on Wednesday. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi Two major banks have cut interest rates in recent days but economists say it's not clear how much further retail home loan rates have to move. ANZ on Tuesday cut its 18-month fixed rate special by 10 basis points to 4.89 percent. The six-month rate dropped by 20 to 5.29 percent. Then on Wednesday morning, ASB cut a range of its fixed home loan rates by up to 20 basis points. It was the bank's seventh fixed rate mortgage drop of 2025. Its six-month rate drops by 14 basis points to 5.45 percent, its one-year by four basis points to 4.95 percent, its 18-month rate by 10 basis points to 4.89 percent, its two-year by four basis points to 4.95 percent and its three-year by 20 basis points to 5.15 percent. Jarrod Kerr, chief economist at Kiwibank, said the outlook for interest rates was not as clear as it had been. Wholesale rates had moved up a bit since the Reserve Bank's latest official cash rate review. The fact that the decision to cut the rate by 25bps went to a vote and there had been commentary around inflation risks had made markets less convinced further cuts were coming. "They're saying they're going to feel their way through from now. That's fine, I get it but the markets have taken that as a reduced likelihood of going to 2.75 percent." The two-year swap rate hit a trough of 3.05 percent and had lifted to 3.26 percent. "I do think there's more downside to retail rates across the curve but I admit we're getting close to the endpoint." He said if his forecast was correct and the OCR dropped to 2.5 percent, retail rates would have further to fall. "If I'm wrong and they stop cutting at 3 percent then I think we're pretty close to being done on the mortgage space." He said it had reached the point where forecasters were disagreeing over a difference of 50 basis points. "This time last year you had two calling for a 6 percent cash rate then you had Kiwibank calling for a 2.5 percent cash rate. That's wildly, wildly different views…. Now we're all arguing over 50bps so it's not a massive thing and it just shows you that we are getting closer to the bottom." Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen agreed rates could fall a bit further but that it was clear they were close to the lowest point. "We have said that a number of times, of course, and so there's a question mark on how much lower they will go. "Given you've now seen more of a signal from the Reserve Bank we are close to the low point for the OCR, given you are seeing a bit more activity picking up in the broader housing market, there does become that feeling there's not as much downside coming through." He said a lot could change based on global economic changes but households were increasingly locking in for longer, wanting more stability. "That suggests there are a few more adjustments to come through but most of the big bulky falls and cuts to interest rates have already emerged." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Finextra
a day ago
- Business
- Finextra
Payments NZ declares beginning of new era for open banking
We've reached a major milestone for open banking in Aotearoa New Zealand. Today, the four largest banks – ANZ, ASB, BNZ, and Westpac NZ – are due to implement version 2.3 of our Payment Initiation API standard. 0 It's the third milestone in our Minimum Open Banking Implementation Plan and a pivotal moment in the evolution of a more connected, consumer-empowered financial ecosystem. This upgraded standard has been developed in close partnership with banks, fintechs, and broader ecosystem stakeholders. It introduces enduring payment consent and decoupled authentication - functionality that's been high on the priority list for third parties and developers. These features not only provide new flexibility for customers, but set a higher bar for what's possible in digital payments. As Phil Cass, our API Centre Manager, puts it: 'Enduring payment consent fundamentally changes the landscape. It brings us closer to a secure, transparent alternative to direct debit - giving consumers greater visibility and control. This milestone proves what industry collaboration can achieve, especially when it's anchored in strong technical foundations and trust.' Kiwibank is also on track to implement the same standard by May 2026, ensuring broad coverage and consistency across the major retail banks. This achievement comes just weeks after the Customer and Product Data Act 2025 came into force, and we're committed to working with MBIE to achieve a sustainable open banking ecosystem that finds the right balance between regulation and ongoing industry leadership. Growing together: our expanding ecosystem The momentum doesn't stop with implementation. Our community is growing - we now have 7 API Providers, 27 Third Parties, and more than 500 Community Contributors. Already this year, we've welcomed several new third parties into the fold. Our four cross-industry working groups - Business, Technical, Accreditation & Partnering, and Customer & Safety - are contributing hundreds of hours of combined expertise, co-designing the future of open banking in Aotearoa. A key piece of this is our Partnering Framework. Authorised by the Commerce Commission in August 2024, this initiative is focused on making it easier and faster for third parties to establish partnerships with banks. Together with 19 Standards User organisations, we've been defining fit-for-purpose accreditation criteria, classes, and risk settings that ensure both safety and ease of access. Data handling guidelines The API Centre has partnered with Māori data scientists from Nicholson Consulting - world leaders in indigenous data sovereignty - to develop best practice guidelines for data handling, grounded in the Māori Data Governance principles and framework. Our data handling guidelines provide a universal framework that supports all users, including Third Parties and permitted users, to align their data practices with broader principles of good data governance. We look forward to publishing the guidelines in mid-June. What's next? This year we're also delivering a performance standard to ensure consistent availability, service quality, and outage management. Our new customer experience guidelines are already live, offering safer, more intuitive pathways for customer interaction, including for intermediary journeys. Consultation is imminent on version 3.0 of our standards and we will continue to support implementation of version 2.3 of the Account Information API across the major banks, expected by 28 November. And of course, we're looking forward to celebrating six years of the API Centre with The Hub | Pulse event in mid-June. We'll be reflecting on the incredible progress we've made together, while looking ahead to the next phase of industry-led open banking in a regulated world. Open banking is here. Customers are using it. And together, we're just getting started.
Scoop
3 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
The Return Of The Alliance 2025 – A Surprise Contender In Local Body Elections
The Alliance Party is back in the fight, ready to shake up the political establishment, and put working people first in local communities across Aotearoa. After years of a lack of a genuine left-wing voice, the Alliance is re-emerging to endorse candidates in the upcoming local body elections. 'For too long, ordinary New Zealanders have been ignored and their needs sidelined,' says Alliance Party spokesperson Quentin Findlay. 'We've watched as political decisions made by a select few fail our communities. That's why we're aiming to elect dedicated, community-focused candidates to local councils.' The Alliance, a strong presence in national politics through the 1990s and early 2000s, last contested national elections in 2014. Mr Findlay says an influx of younger members has led to the resurgence of the party, whose past achievements include paid parental leave and the establishment of Kiwibank. "The failure of our current political direction and a rising energy from a new generation demanding real change have spurred us back into action," he says. 'New Zealanders are crying out for a different kind of politics – one that isn't afraid to stand up for them.' The Coalition Government was pursuing a far right agenda, and was dominated by its minor partners such as ACT, says Mr Findlay. He says the Labour Party opposition had lost its way and was failing to connect with its traditional support base. 'The Alliance is bringing an unapologetic social democratic agenda back to the table – a tradition with deep roots in Aotearoa New Zealand.' Mr Findlay says 'It's time we had councils, and a country, that work for working people. The Alliance is here to help make that happen.'
The Spinoff
5 days ago
- Business
- The Spinoff
When the Facts Change: Dissension in the RBNZ ranks
Kiwibank senior economist Mary Jo Vergara joins Bernard Hickey to unpack this week's monetary policy statement, and look ahead to an uncertain future for rates in Aotearoa. The Reserve Bank cut the Official Cash Rate this week, as expected, but one of the six members of the bank's rate setting committee voted to hold the OCR. That surprised markets and pushed up the wholesale interest rates that drive fixed mortgage rates. Bernard Hickey speaks with Kiwibank's Mary Jo Vergara about a very uncertain outlook for rates in the wake of Donald Trump's Liberation Day shock.
1News
6 days ago
- Business
- 1News
Are credit card rewards schemes worth it?
Credit card reward schemes are likely to be scaled back further as pressure goes on interchange fees, Consumer NZ says, but most aren't delivering value for many New Zealanders, anyway. On Tuesday, Kiwibank and Air New Zealand announced they were cutting ties and Kiwibank would no longer offer an Airpoints credit card. Kiwibank pointed to increasing regulation of interchange fees, which are the fees paid by the bank that processes a transaction to the card issuer. The Commerce Commission has already introduced new standards to reduce these fees, which led to a reduction in some credit card rewards in 2022. More reductions are expected to be announced soon, to come into force at the end of the year. ADVERTISEMENT Consumer NZ said its analysis showed that credit card reward schemes were only benefiting big spenders who used their cards frequently and paid off the balance in full every month. People would generally need to spend $25,000 on their cards over two years, and not pay interest on it, to make a rewards scheme worth the fees that the cards charged. "Low spenders, and those with interest-bearing debt, don't benefit from rewards and are effectively subsidising high spenders. We don't think this is fair so we have supported the regulation of interchange knowing this would likely result in card issuers scaling back rewards programmes, increasing card fees or cancelling schemes altogether," a spokesperson said. "Interchange regulation will also reduce the cost for merchants of accepting card payments. This should, in theory at least, result in lower card payment surcharges for consumers. Unfortunately there's no guarantee these savings will be passed on to consumers though so we have been calling for surcharge regulation for a number of years. The commission is expected to consult on this later in the year." Banking expert Claire Matthews, of Massey University, said it was to be expected that rewards schemes would be pared back as interchange fees reduced. "Although it does depend on the level at which they are capped and how that is split between the parties. However, those fees have been a key source of the revenue to fund the rewards so any reduction can be expected to be passed on."
