The payments system
The payments system is a network of organisations, technology, processes and procedures, all working together to enable payments to be sent and received.
In New Zealand banks, financial institutions, payments businesses and the central bank work together to keep the system running smoothly. This is so people with bank accounts can make payments to any other person with a bank account, no matter who they bank with. We call this ‘interoperability’. New Zealand’s payments system is highly interoperable, safe and efficient. This means customers can rely on the system to ensure their ‘money’ gets to where it needs to go.
People make or receive payments in different ways, from cash to electronic transactions. Aside from cash, every other sort of transaction is an instruction from a bank account holder to their bank to move money from their account to someone else’s.
The role we play
The work we do is fundamental in keeping the payments system running smoothly. We work at the core of the system with banks and others to manage three of New Zealand’s core payment clearing systems.
We set and oversee the rules, standards and procedures that govern each of the clearing systems, which cover the range of different payments methods used in New Zealand. These rules set out the requirements for how payments are processed between financial institutions efficiently and securely.