About the consultation
The Council of Financial Regulators (CoFR) released a joint issues paper exploring the concept of basic transaction accounts as a potential mechanism to improve financial inclusion.
We asked the industry and the public to share their views on basic transaction accounts and pathways for action in New Zealand.
The consultation closed on 18 June 2025. We had feedback from stakeholders across the financial sector, as well as communities and individuals, with 98% agreeing that actions are needed to improve access to transaction accounts.
Overall, we received 50 submissions from community organisations, deposit takers and members of the public. As a result of the consultation, we are progressing a Memorandum of Understanding on Access to Basic Transaction Services (MoU). The MoU seeks commitments from the banking sector to serve all New Zealanders, unless they have a recorded reason for declining a customer’s application.
Read the submissions and next steps
We are leading co-ordination of the MoU, with support from the FMA, the Banking Ombudsmen, the Retirement Commission, the Department of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, and the Department of Corrections.
Entities participating in the MoU will be expected to develop implementation plans and report data on progress. We are also preparing a Practice Note to guide entities on how they can participate in the MoU and adhere to commitments.
We are undertaking targeted engagement on the MoU and confirming a coalition of willing parties. It is expected that the MoU will be fully implemented later this year.
CoFR Consultation Summary on Access to Basic Transaction Accounts (PDF, 877KB)
Background on the report
The CoFR Issues Paper summarised problems with access to transaction accounts, learnings from international approaches taken to address problems, and opportunities in New Zealand.
The primary problem identified is that there is a significant unbanked population in New Zealand. The World Bank estimated that around 51,000 adults in New Zealand did not have a bank account in 2021, more than double their estimate of the number of unbanked adults in 2014.
We also drew on a wider set of evidence to inform this work, including research from community organisations, international evidence and a survey that was undertaken directly with frontline banking staff.
On balance, we noted that issues with opening bank accounts can impact people in a wide variety of circumstances, including recent migrants, young people, rural/remote communities, not-for-profit organisations, older people, and people living with disabilities.
Internationally, we recognised that basic transaction accounts are designed to be easier for people to open and use but have reduced features. We found it is relatively common for countries to have basic bank accounts to ensure that everyone can open a transaction account regardless of their circumstances or background. A World Bank survey of global payment systems found that 83% of participating countries have already introduced basic transaction accounts.
As part of consultation, we also wanted to find out which financial entities want to help improve access to transaction accounts for excluded and under-served consumer groups. We are encouraged by the response from industry, community organisations and the public, and we are now moving forward with the key recommendations from consultation.
More information
Read about the international case studies (PDF, 252KB) that helped to inform the key findings of the CoFR Issues Paper on Basic Transaction Accounts.
If you would like above document in an accessible format, please email [email protected]