Sharesies users get new instant pay wallet refill option with two big banks

Leighton Roberts (left), Sonya Williams, and Brooke Roberts are Sharesies' chief executives.

Sharesies has joined forces with a local startup to enable instant transfers from banks to the micro-trading platform.

Sharesies said it was teaming up with BlinkPay, a home-grown Māori fintech startup in the open banking arrangement.

Broadly speaking, open banking allowed third-party services to access banking transactions and data from banks.

The new system will be available to Westpac and BNZ customers.

Sharesies said its partnership with BlinkPay would give its investors a head start as the country increasingly moved towards open banking.

The new instant transfers will incur a flat transaction fee of $1.

Sharesies said people previously had to wait up to nine hours for money to go from the bank to a Sharesies wallet.

While people sending $10 to their Sharesies wallet might not benefit from the new system, the trading platform said instant transfers would suit some bigger numbers.

Costings provided show card and mobile pay fees were 18¢ plus 2.65 per cent.

Amounts exceeding $31 would be cheaper with the new BlinkPay option.

A person sending $50 would pay $1.51 if using a credit card or mobile pay option.

On a wallet top-up of $100, the new system would be $1.83 cheaper than using a credit card, Apple or Google Pay.

Topping up wallets with a traditional bank transfer, which could be delayed, was still free for all Sharesies investors.

BlinkPay co-founder and chief product officer Adrian Smith (Ngāpuhi) said open banking was gaining momentum in Aotearoa, and would “change the game” for how New Zealanders managed their finances.

“ANZ and ASB have committed to being ready for open banking payments by May 2024, and BlinkPay intends to add them as soon as they become available,” Sharesies and BlinkPay said in a statement.

Sharesies co-founder and co-chief executive Brooke Roberts said she hoped the partnership with BlinkPay would empower Sharesies’ 500,000 users to grow their long-term wealth and build a better future.

The companies said for any new Sharesies customer, the first transaction through BlinkPay will be free.