The Council of Financial Regulators (CoFR) has released a joint issues paper exploring the concept of basic transaction accounts as a potential mechanism to improve financial inclusion.
The release of the CoFR Issues Paper provides the industry and the public with an opportunity to share their views on basic transaction accounts and pathways for action in New Zealand. We want to find out which deposit takers want to help design and implement basic transaction accounts, to make basic transaction accounts widely available and better serve customers.
The consultation is open until 18 June 2025 and we welcome feedback from stakeholders across the financial sector, as well as communities and individuals who would like to share their perspective on access to basic transaction accounts.
Share your feedback by making a submission
Key findings from the report
The CoFR Issues Paper summarises the problems identified, international approaches for improving access to basic transaction accounts, and opportunities within New Zealand.
The primary problem identified is that there is a significant unbanked population in New Zealand. The World Bank estimates that around 51,000 adults in New Zealand do not have a bank account, more than double their estimate of the number of unbanked adults in 2014.
We have also drawn 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 see 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 see 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.
Westpac NZ has begun to pilot a basic bank account with the aim of improving access to banking services. We would like to see other banks pilot basic bank accounts, as an important contribution to financial inclusion for underserved and excluded customers.
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]