Sharesies co-founder and co-chief executive Brooke Roberts said the instant payment method had some advantages for people investing in shares. Photo: Sharesies / Supplied
Online share trading platform Sharesies has moved to get open banking under way by bringing instant money transfers to its clients.
It has signed an agreement with payment app BlinkPay to streamline account transfers direct from some bank accounts to subscribers' trading accounts.
Sharesies co-founder and co-chief executive Brooke Roberts said this would help establish open banking ahead of next year's start.
"We expect it to gain traction particularly now the government is pushing a bit harder on open banking," Roberts said.
The necessary consumer data rights legislation is needed before full open banking is established but the four main banks - ANZ, BNZ, ASB, and Westpac - are set to be technically ready to do it from May next year.
"Most OECD countries are in a good place with open banking now," Roberts said.
"New Zealand is one of only two in the OECD that doesn't support instant bank transfers, so there's a bit of work to do there, but it's definitely starting to move in the right direction."
Roberts said the instant payment method had some advantages for people investing in shares.
"The money is immediately through and it's for anything time sensitive," she said.
"There's quite a lot in markets that is time sensitive particularly for capital raising or if there is an opportunity in the market, so a more speedy experience is something that our customers have been asking about for some time."
She said Sharesies expects to use a number of different open banking platforms in the long term.
To begin with, Sharesies investors will be able to access BlinkPay if they are Westpac and Bank of New Zealand customers.
A flat transaction fee of one dollar is required for each instant bank transfer completed with BlinkPay.
The traditional bank transfer, while slower, remains free of charge for investors when they top up their Sharesies wallet.
