Programme

Re-imagining the future of payments

Tuesday 22 September, 3.00pm - 4.30pm

The first session of our special online series was opened and facilitated by our Chief Executive Steve Wiggins. Steve opened the series by sharing his thoughts on the impact of COVID-19 on New Zealand’s payments industry. This included highlights from the customer insights research we’d commissioned, plus emerging and future trends from our Payments Direction strategic work.

Our guest speakers Brett King, Futurist, Author and Founder of Moven from the USA and Shaun Drylie, Group Chief Executive of SBS Bank, then offered a deep dive into the challenges and opportunities facing both the New Zealand and global payments community. They discussed how COVID-19 has and will continue to change the way we pay and get paid, shared how industry players can adapt and evolve, and how and where fintechs fit into the picture.

Programme outline

The challenge of data sharing in the new normal

Tuesday 29 September, 9.00am - 10.00am 

The ability to share data more easily can provide new ways of solving problems, give businesses and consumers more choice, and be used for a greater purpose. But with this growing, more seamless and open approach to data sharing also comes greater responsibility and the need to build more trust.

Our first speaker in session two was Miles Cheetham, a key figure in the UK’s open banking journey. Miles discussed how the open banking ecosystem in the UK has evolved, and how it was a driver for innovation and improving customer experiences. He also provided insight into how data was being used and the opportunities moving forward, including use cases from the Open Up 2020 challenge, a national campaign to raise awareness of open banking solutions for UK consumers.

Glen Hildreth from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) then talked about their discussion document on New Zealand’s having a customer data right (CDR). The document was open for feedback at the time of Glen's presentation. 

Session programme outline

Emerging technology and business models in a COVID world

Tuesday 6 October, 9.00am - 10.00am 

The world of payments was undergoing steady technological transformation even before COVID-19, but some of these changes were accelerated due to the pandemic. Many organisations had to adapt or change their business models to fit the times. The new environment had the potential to open even more innovation opportunities, especially for next-generation financial services, as Kiwis left behind older or more traditional ways of doing things and looked to emerging technologies and new business models.

In session three, we looked at the ways COVID-19 drove and accelerated business transformation. Tom Goodwin, international keynote speaker and commentator on the future of business, joined us from the US as our first speaker. Tom talked about the emerging technologies and new business models the payments industry should be aware of, and discussed different ways to approach innovation.  

Dave Corbett, CEO of P^werFinance, then joined us to discuss their B2B2C fintech platform which allows anyone to innovate in finance. The platform enables New Zealand businesses to grow their finance offerings by integrating it into their existing customer experience journeys to improve the overall experience.

Session programme outline

The future importance of interoperability for economic recovery

Tuesday 13 October, 9.00am - 10.15am 

New Zealand’s payments system is interoperable, secure, and efficient which means Kiwis can rely on it to ensure their money gets to where it needs to go. Interoperability in payments is crucial to ensure the smooth operation of the system and the economy, but it is a network that needs continued innovation and investment.

In this session we talked about how the industry should respond to new and evolving expectations for how Kiwis want to make and receive payments. How do we get the right level of innovation to ensure payment networks remain interoperable and are resilient against a rapidly transforming landscape? What capabilities would we need for the desired payments system of the future and why? And how does payments interoperability lay a solid foundation for New Zealand’s payments system and networks as we head towards economic recovery?

Our opening speaker was Geoff Bascand from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ). The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of a sound and efficient financial system that is able to respond to serious shocks and disruption. Geoff discussed the RBNZ’s renewed focus on payments systems, with an emphasis on the regulatory and supervisory regime established by the Financial Market Infrastructures (FMI) bill, and their appointment as chair of the Executives Meeting of Asia-Pacific Central Banks (EMEAP) working group.

He was followed by Julie Bolan, SWIFT’s Head of Payments Markets Oceania. The world has embraced new waves of digitisation intensified by the exceptional challenge of a global pandemic. New competition, propelled by innovative technology has disrupted the payments business and, in a global economy, the ability to seamlessly and quickly move value across borders is expected. Julie talked about how payments should be instant, frictionless and transparent, with global interoperability. She also talked about how payment processes underpinned by end-to-end integrity, predictability and smarter data to improve automation will enable the delivery of mutualised services for their customers. SWIFT was our Principal Sponsor of The Hub online series.

Following SWIFT's presentation, our GM of Strategy and Corporate Affairs, Jane Retimana, then provided an overview of our Payments Modernisation Plan discussion document and talked about how the industry could get involved in the next steps of the plan’s development.

Programme overview

Purposeful payments – Kiwi wellbeing in the new normal

Tuesday 20 October, 9.00am - 10.00am 

Consumer financial wellbeing emerged as a key concern during COVID-19, and the expectations of Kiwis when it comes to who will fulfil this role and to what extent also shifted. With consumer habits evolving and payments becoming increasingly electronic, governments worldwide are focussed on creating more inclusive and equitable financial systems. In this session we looked at the role technology innovation can play when it comes to driving wellbeing initiatives and connecting communities. 

We know that New Zealand is a diverse society with many different communities, each presenting their own unique set of needs and challenges. What can the industry do to support these communities in a meaningful way?  Where does the industry fit in when we talk about solving these issues, and how can we contribute towards ensuring Kiwis financial wellbeing?

Craig Hudson, from Xero, was the first speaker in the final session of the series. Craig highlighted some of the key stressors impacting small businesses in the wake of COVID-19. He also explored the role technological innovations can play in alleviating some of these stressors and how leading with empathy in our workplaces and communities was more important than ever. Craig also shared some wellbeing tools and resources.

We then had Julia Jackson from Kiwibank, and Natalie Vincent from the Ngā Tāngata Microfinance Trust join us together to talk about the trust, which is New Zealand’s first formal microfinance initiative that provides small, safe and fair loans to households nationwide. Kiwibank has supported the initiative since it began in 2012 by providing the capital used for microloans as well as essential business support and advice. They told us more about how this initiative works and how it has helped Kiwis to reduce financial stress and build a better future for themselves and their families.

Programme overview