CECS (Consumer Electronic Clearing System)The rules framework governing EFTPOS and mobile payments in New Zealand. CECS, not a card scheme in the Visa sense, defines local EFTPOS.Payments NZ
Global registry · Asia-Pacific · Oceania
New Zealand Payment systems
12 systems listed.
CurrencyNew Zealand dollar (NZD)
Domestic schemeEFTPOS
RegulatorReserve Bank of New Zealand / Commerce Commission
Leading payment methods
Cards (EFTPOS)WalletsA2A / open bankingBNPL
E-commerce shares
Cards · 55%Wallets · 25%Account-to-account · 10%Buy now, pay later · 8%Other · 2%
EFTPOS. The domestic debit network, with no merchant fees, adopted as early as the 1980s: New Zealand was one of the first countries in the world to bring card payments to every point of sale. It is losing ground to contactless on the international schemes, which costs more but is more convenient.
EFTPOSuniversal since the 1980s, no merchant fees
Interchange capssince 2022 (Retail Payment System Act)
The regulator, the Commerce Commission, caps interchange and is pushing open banking to restore the competition lost as EFTPOS declined.
Learn about this market. The guides and courses that cover it.
Payments in New ZealandPayments in Oceania and CanadaPayments in Central AsiaPayments in South Asia outside IndiaPayments in Southeast AsiaPayments in Japan and KoreaAccepting payments in Australia and New ZealandAccepting payments in Indonesia and ThailandAccepting payments in Japan and South KoreaAccepting payments in Southeast AsiaPayments in Asia: super-apps, public rails, and cross-border QROpening a new market: the payments playbook
Card schemes
Instant payments
ESAS (Exchange Settlement Account System)New Zealand’s RTGS system, where interbank payments are cleared and settled; the final link behind HVCS, BECS, and CECS.Reserve Bank of New Zealand
HVCS (High Value Clearing System)Rulebook for irrevocable high-value payments (notably property settlements). Payments NZ sets the rules but does not own the infrastructure.Payments NZ
Clearing and settlement
BECS (Bulk Electronic Clearing System) · NZNew Zealand’s ACH (direct debits, automatic payments, bill payments). It shares its name with Australia’s BECS but is an entirely separate system, a classic documentation trap.Payments NZ
SBI (Settlement Before Interchange)SWIFT mechanism through which BECS and CECS settle BEFORE exchanging transaction files, a New Zealand feature that eliminates settlement risk between participants.Payments NZ
Settlement Before Interchange (SBI)New Zealand has no interbank instant payment rail: it relies on several exchanges a day with settlement first, and a next-generation program is under way. It is one of the few developed countries still without instant credit transfers.Payments NZ · since 2012
Buy now, pay later
ZipAustralia’s second-largest installment payment provider after Afterpay, built on a point-of-sale credit model. Market overviews that still describe it as a Middle East player through Spotii are out of date: Zip now reports only Australia, New Zealand, and the US.Zip Co Limited (listed Australian company; its US operations are built on the business it acquired, which traded as Quadpay.) · since 2013
Acquiring and processing
EFTPOS New Zealand (ENZ)The second CECS switch operator alongside Worldline: New Zealand is one of the few markets where two competing switches coexist under a single rulebook.EFTPOS New Zealand Ltd (Verifone’s New Zealand subsidiary, bought from ANZ Bank New Zealand (deal announced in December 2012 and completed in 2013))
Worldline NZ (formerly Paymark)New Zealand’s incumbent EFTPOS switch, serving all the major banks. Its acquisition by Australia’s Cuscal puts critical New Zealand infrastructure under foreign control.Cuscal Ltd (acquisition of Worldline New Zealand announced in 2025) · since 1989More than 1.5 billion transactions a year; the switch rebuild is estimated at about A$21 million, with completion targeted for 2030 (interest.co.nz / Worldline, 2025).
Other
Interchange framework: Mastercard and Visa Interchange Fee Network Standard 2025 (New Zealand)Along with Australia, one of the first jurisdictions to cap interchange on foreign-issued cards by regulation, an important signal for any merchant exposed to inbound tourism. The institutional model is worth knowing: a dedicated retail payment system act empowers the competition authority to issue binding “network standards” without going back to lawmakers for every fee schedule revision.Commerce Commission, under the Retail Payment System Act 2022 · since 2022Final decision on July 17, 2025, consolidated standard on August 14, 2025; in force from December 1, 2025, with the caps on foreign-issued cards applying from May 1, 2026. Estimated merchant savings of about NZ$90 million to NZ$100 million a year (Commerce Commission, 2025).
PCS (Paper Clearing System)DiscontinuedNew Zealand’s check clearing system, now permanently closed: checks no longer exist in New Zealand, unlike in Australia, where they survive until 2029.Payments NZDecommissioned on August 31, 2021 (Payments NZ).
API CentreNew Zealand's open banking framework, industry-led rather than mandated by law. It publishes API standards for payment initiation, account information, and event notification, plus operating rules and third-party accreditation. New Zealand has no instant retail credit transfer rail, so API-based payment initiation stands in for immediate payments. That is the key to understanding the market.Payments NZ Limited · since 20196 registered API providers (ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Heartland, Kiwibank, Westpac) and more than 20 registered third parties (Payments NZ, API Centre, 2026).