The Council of Financial Regulators (CoFR), which includes the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, published an issues paper and opened a public consultation on the proposed introduction of basic transaction accounts intended to be available to anyone regardless of circumstances, financial position or ability to use technology. The proposal is aimed at improving access to core banking services for customer groups currently excluded under traditional onboarding approaches. CoFR set out that basic transaction accounts would differ from existing bank accounts by including additional controls, such as transaction limits, designed to make them unsuitable for money laundering and the financing of terrorism, enabling simplified onboarding as a low-risk product. The paper highlights potential beneficiaries including people who struggle to meet identification requirements, and notes international approaches to minimum standards for such accounts; it also points to Westpac New Zealand’s recently launched pilot basic bank account with simplified onboarding processes. The consultation is open for eight weeks and closes on 18 June 2025.
Reserve Bank of New Zealand 2025-04-23
Reserve Bank of New Zealand and Council of Financial Regulators launch consultation on introducing basic transaction accounts
The Council of Financial Regulators, including the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, has opened a public consultation on introducing basic transaction accounts to improve access to banking services for excluded groups. These accounts would feature controls to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing, with the consultation closing on 18 June 2025.