Move will also support the design and delivery of open banking solutions
Westpac NZ’s corporate venture capital fund, Red Bird Ventures, has spearheaded a $1.4 million investment round in Akahu, alongside co-investors K1W1 and NZ7 Investments.
In addition to the investment, partnering with the New Zealand fintech firm will provide Westpac with valuable insights to support the design and delivery of open banking solutions.
A provider of open finance connectivity in New Zealand, Akahu simplifies and streamlines the connection between banks and third parties, allowing consumers to access new payment options and have better control over who can use their account data.
Mark Colley, senior manager at Red Bird Ventures, said the bank is excited to harness Akahu's open banking expertise to enhance customer experiences.
“Akahu has demonstrated its strength in innovation over the last few years and we believe it is well positioned to grow, as industry commitments and consumer data right legislation bring open banking to New Zealand,” Colley said in a media release.
“We first invested in Akahu in December 2020. This second investment underscores our support for Akahu and gives the company the financial backing to continue to help give New Zealanders more control over their banking data.
“We’re excited about the possibilities open banking will bring for New Zealand and we’ll continue to support innovation and collaboration in the ecosystem through our investments.”
Ben Lynch, Akahu founder and CEO, finds it’s encouraging to see the growing momentum of open banking.
“We’re proud and excited to be working with Westpac to deliver meaningful open banking solutions for customers,” Lynch said.
“When we started this work, there were very few examples of open banking in action – it was basically Xero, a few payment products, budgeting tools, and loan applications. Fast forward to 2023, and we’re seeing multiple new products launch with open banking capabilities every month.”
The Akahu leader said collaboration from banks is precisely what’s needed to fully unlock the benefits of open banking for their customers.
“It’s great to see Westpac leaning into this, and we’re committed to working with any bank in New Zealand that wants to enable its customers in a similar way,” Lynch said.
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