Nā tō rourou, nā taku rourou ka ora ai te iwi

With your food basket and my food basket the people will thrive

Digital identity technologies are powerful tools that have the potential to underpin a burgeoning and multifaceted digital economy. However, the promises of safety, security and efficiency that come with the tools can only be delivered through relationships and networks built on trust and collaboration.

At Payments NZ, our vision is to provide world class payments for Aotearoa. We work closely with the payments industry, regulators and wider business community to focus on opportunities to modernise our payments infrastructure and improve customer outcomes, such as our delivery of open banking API standards and services through our API Centre, and leading the industry to deliver 7-day payments through our SBI retail payments system. 

Trusted relationships are at the heart of any discussion on digital identity; whether that is trust in each other as individuals and whānau, trust in communities, trust in the public and private sectors, or trust in the innovators, service providers and networks that link them together. For the payments system to remain safe, secure, efficient and interoperable, the ecosystem must build on this trust, showing we can work together to deliver infrastructure solutions that are in the best interests of the customers and communities we serve.

The 2025 DINZ Hui Taumata marks the first time the digital identity community will come together since the foundational regulatory elements of the digital identity ecosystem in Aotearoa are formally in place. 

We now have a Digital Identity Services Trust Framework, and supporting regulations are well advanced. The Trust Framework Authority is leading significant initiatives for the issuance and storage of government-issued digital identity credentials, and private sector initiatives are also emerging. These developments mean that as a nation, we now have a legal framework for providing New Zealanders with secure and trusted digital identity services, including governance and accreditation functions that are transparent and provide for both public and private sector involvement, and give formal recognition for community-led and te ao Māori approaches to identity.

Through our strategic programme, Payments Direction, we have been exploring the opportunity to leverage emerging digital identity capability to advance payments innovation. Our mahi is focussed on the intersection between identity and payments, and how digital identity can play a crucial role as a cornerstone of a secure and inclusive digital economy.

Our work explores how digital identity can help make payments safer by reducing fraud and scams, streamlining access to services, and improving privacy. Scenarios we will explore through this work include the use of government-issued digital credentials when engaging with customers, and scenarios that could have a material impact on fraud and scam prevention. 

The digital identity ecosystem in Aotearoa is complex and evolving – made up of technologists, innovators, government, industry standards bodies, financial service providers and community organisations.  advocates, and naturally, some sceptics and critics. There are those who are advocates and early adopters of change and naturally, some sceptics and critics too.

Payments NZ is investigating the role it can play in its capacity as a kaitiaki of the payments system – catalysing and enabling cross-sector innovation, using our payments ecosystem expertise to facilitate collaboration and support public education efforts, while ensuring the systems we are designing remain interoperable, secure, efficient and inclusive. Our hope is that these efforts help build the enduring consumer trust that is key to the success of our digital economy.

You can stay informed about Payments NZ’s strategic work on digital identity and next generation payments through our website. The Payments NZ team are looking forward to furthering these conversations at the Hui Taumata in August. See you there!