One of the concerns customers have when wanting to switch banks is re-establishing reoccurring payments such as direct debits, automatic payments, direct credits, bill payments and other electronic credits.
Payments NZ has industry standards and protocols in place around the transfer of accounts and reoccurring payment instructions from one bank to another. The standards and protocols ensure that reoccurring payments are quickly moved from a customer’s old bank to their new bank.
Payments NZ, working with representatives from ANZ Bank, ASB Bank, Bank of New Zealand, Citibank, Kiwibank, HSBC Bank, TSB Bank and Westpac New Zealand Limited, developed these standards and protocols to make it easier and faster for customers to switch banks in Aotearoa New Zealand.
In August 2024, the Commerce Commission’s market study on personal banking called for greater transparency and promotion of switching. Payments NZ has a dedicated industry working group which works to identify areas for improvement to the process.
We launched a consumer-facing website in June 2025, which explains the switching process and how to get started, at www.readytoswitch.nz.
How it works
- The customer opens an account with their new bank
The customer needs to open an account with their new bank before switching payment instructions or saved payees. - The customer asks their new bank to start the switch
The new bank asks the customer to complete a simple form. This gives them authority to move payment instructions, saved payees, and the customer’s account balance if they are closing their account at their current bank. - The new bank supports the customer to make the switch
The new bank arranges the transfer of payment instructions and other information – with a few tasks for the customer to complete themselves. The customer’s payment instructions will stay active at their current bank until the switch date.
Industry standards and protocols
Payments NZ’s industry standards and protocols for switching include:
- A timeframe of five business days for the current bank to provide information to the customer’s new bank, once a valid switching request is received
- A common switching form and authority to re-establish customer payment instructions by the new bank
- A team responsible for processing customer account switching requests, at each participating bank.