1. How does a next generation (next gen) ecosystem benefit Aotearoa?
Next gen will enable organisations who choose to participate, to design and offer new products and services for their customers, which are fit for an always connected digital world and advance the economy of Aotearoa. This will be underpinned by real-time digital interactions, greater safety and better resilience, and the inclusion of rich information.
A next gen ecosystem is about much more than the ability to transfer money between parties (e.g., between consumers and businesses) within seconds. It is about delivering a broad set of capabilities that, when combined with other initiatives like open banking, can be leveraged to:
- Strengthen the safety and security of payments, especially in relation to fraud prevention.
- Create state-of-the-art customer experiences and services.
- Address pain points, improve customer certainty, control and comfort.
- Support higher economic growth and improved social outcomes.
- Empower the payments ecosystem in Aotearoa to adapt to, and harness, new and emerging technologies and standards.
2. What is the timeline for delivery of a next generation ecosystem?
We've recently released our consultation paper, Consultation on payments for the next generation, which will support our conversations with stakeholders and the wider community of Aotearoa.
These conversations will help to determine the design, planning and prioritisation of capabilities delivered by a next generation payments ecosystem and provide a better understanding of the demand for these capabilities in Aotearoa.
The consultation phase is important to continue to shape and evolve the work we’ve done so far, identify priorities and preferences, including understanding impact on stakeholder internal systems and potential delivery timing, before work can move forward to the next stage.
Developing this proposed infrastructure will require coordination across the payments industry, spanning multiple organisations and legacy systems, including joint decisions about how and what to progress, and when, and funding arrangements.
There are no predetermined outcomes or timelines for a potential next gen ecosystem at this stage.
3. Would a next generation payments system replace cash?
No. We understand that while many will benefit from real-time payments, some still prefer physical cash. Our commitment to choice and financial inclusivity ensures we accommodate all customers, providing access to payment methods that suit their preferences.
4. Is the next gen platform going to be a bespoke build, use vendor solutions, or both?
It is too early to provide any clear view on this. The consultation is more focused on what stakeholder priorities and preferences are and gaining a better understanding of impacts and opportunities. This will inform what any next gen platform’s capabilities should be.
Solution procurement and/or development strategies will be considered in later phases of activities once there is a clear view of direction and commitment.
We know that any solution will need to be highly secure, flexible, make use of commodity infrastructures such as cloud computing, and likely leverage existing similar capabilities seen in other jurisdictions. Above all else, cost-effective delivery will be of paramount importance.
5. Why are you including a centralised fraud detection service in the platform?
We believe everyone is responsible for preventing fraud, and that a potential next generation ecosystem needs to support the detection, notification/reporting and ultimately, the prevention of fraud across the whole payments industry.
The scope of information next gen will have access to enables a broader view of potentially fraudulent activity. Through this, next gen could:
- Address the gap of detecting multi-institution fraud patterns, such as mule-based money laundering.
- Internally apply insights from analysis of industry wide trends, using fraud data pools and machine learning capabilities.
The consultation document prioritises the outcome of safer payments, and this has shaped the proposed capability sequencing.
6. What is the relationship between API Centre and next gen? How will you manage overlaps?
There are strong synergies between the API Centre’s capabilities and work on open banking, and a potential next gen ecosystem.
The API Centre produces API standards for open banking, including for payments initiation and account information, event notifications, a security profile, operational and performance standards, a register, customer consent requirements, and customer experience guidelines.
There is considerable material to draw on or re-use, and the API Centre is also well-suited to help expedite some parts of a potential next gen ecosystem, including the development of APIs.
7. What is the Payments Modernisation Plan?
The Payments Modernisation Plan (PMP), a discussion document produced in 2020, sets out a future view of the payments ecosystem by 2030 and identifies nine capability building blocks required to deliver that view.
The PMP was the first step in producing a strategic roadmap for payments modernisation that would determine when those capability building blocks are expected to be delivered and in what order. The Next Generation workstream seeks to further explore a number of the capability building blocks identified in the PMP.
8. Why are ‘true’ real-time payments last in the sequencing roadmap?
We have listened to clear feedback from stakeholders that we need to prioritise safer payments and enable other priority capabilities first. This provides an opportunity for delivering cost-effective safe real-time payments by ensuring our safer payments capabilities will be in place prior to introducing real-time payments. This approach also reflects lessons learned in other countries, and their experiences of faster payments without adequate fraud prevention being in place.
9. How do I access additional information regarding next gen and the next gen programme, and how do I find out about updates?
You can find out more about the work we’re doing to establish the foundations of an enduring, sustainable, safe and equitable next generation payments ecosystem by visiting this web page Next generation payments.
10. I have a question or feedback I’d like to share about the consultation paper, how do I provide this to you?
The best way to provide your feedback is to use our feedback form located here. This is monitored by the next gen team to ensure all feedback is considered.
11. I’d like to get updates for next gen, how do I do this?
If you are interested in staying informed on the progress of the next gen programme, please complete the form here.