Payments processing moving to seven days a week

Published 26/5/2023
Read Time: 4 mins

Effective 26 May 2023

Customer notifications

From 26 May this year most New Zealand banks, including TSB, will be moving to the processing of payments 365 days per year.

It means that from this date payments will be processed on weekends and public holidays, rather than just on business days as they are now.

This is a positive initiative for Kiwi as it moves banks more into the digital age and enables more flexibility for individuals and businesses to pay, or be paid, any day they want.

It does of course result in a change for our personal and business banking customers - as payments that you may traditionally have made late on a Friday or over a weekend will now go through on the same day. It is important to note though that payments are not going to be made in real time, so there may still be a delay of a couple of hours before they go through.

We therefore suggest that you review any automatic payments or scheduled payments you have set up so that you are ready for this change. For example, if you have payments currently lined up to go out on a weekend knowing they won’t currently be cleared until Monday, from 26 May you will need to ensure that you have sufficient funds available on the day the payment is scheduled to go out.

For businesses, it's also an ideal time to review your payments, along with your current systems and processes. We suggest having a chat to your payment provider or business advisor if needed about the potential wider impacts to your business and cashflow.

If you want to know more, check out our list of Frequently Asked Questions below. As always, our team are also here to help if you need us.

What is the change to seven-day payments about?

TSB currently processes payments on business days like all other banks. Therefore, if you make a payment between different banks on a weekend or public holiday, the money will only be reflected in your account the following business day. (Payments between TSB accounts are processed instantly on all seven days).  

Having 365-day availability will allow Kiwi to make and receive electronic payments between bank accounts, whether they are at the same or different banks, seven days a week.

Payments New Zealand has announced that this will take effect on 26 May 2023.

Which banks are involved?

Are all payment types included?

This change is limited to domestic payments such as direct debits, direct credits, automatic payments, bill payments and online/mobile banking payments.  

High value transactions, such as house settlements, will continue to operate under the existing ‘five business days’ model and will not be affected by this move. International payments and credit card transactions will also not be impacted.

What’s the difference between seven-day payments and real time payments?

What effect will this change have on our customers?

The most noticeable difference will be the ability to make or receive electronic payments to and from your bank account to another bank account any day of the year, regardless of weekends or public holidays.

It will be beneficial for your cashflow and budgeting. For example, if a payment is always scheduled for the 20th of the month, this will happen regardless of the day.

As part of this change, we will need to review our banking terms and conditions. We will of course notify you about any amendments ahead of seven-day payments going live.

What effect will this change have for our business customers?

Seven-day payments can help improve business cashflow. It means you will no longer have to wait for transactions to be completed on business days.

For example, if you provide a service such as house cleaning or catering over weekends and public holidays, you can be paid into your bank account on the same day.

It could also provide Kiwi with more payment choices, enabling them to do things like pay for and collect goods purchased using their transactional account on non-business days.

Loan payments under a business facility will continue to be due as per the terms and conditions of your loan agreement. If you have a transactional facility on your loan account, payments will be processed seven days from 26 May.

We encourage our business customers to start thinking about what the implementation of seven-day payments may mean for your organisation, customers and internal processes. We also recommend that you talk to your business advisor or payment provider about the potential impacts to your business and how you may manage these. Your TSB business banking team is also of course available if you have any questions.