Revolut has partnered with Akahu in New Zealand, enabling it to use the country's regulated open banking system to automate credit card lending decisions.
The deal positions Revolut to become the first credit card issuer in New Zealand to use the newly regulated framework for this purpose. It also marks a shift from the market's earlier industry-led approach to open banking.
Under the partnership, Revolut will use real-time applicant data accessed through Akahu's application programming interfaces to assess credit card applications. This will replace parts of a process that have typically relied on manual paperwork, uploaded bank statements, and longer wait times.
For applicants, the immediate change will be in how credit cards are applied for and assessed. Instead of entering information by hand or sending documents for review, customers will be able to grant access to their financial data so a lending decision can be made automatically.
That makes New Zealand a notable test case for the practical use of open banking in consumer lending. While open banking is often discussed in terms of competition and consumer control over data, its use in day-to-day underwriting has remained limited.
Revolut, which says it has more than 70 million customers globally, plans to feed the data obtained through Akahu into its own lending and credit risk system. The aim is to support faster decisions and provide a more detailed view of an applicant's financial position.
Akahu, a local open finance provider, connects financial data sources through APIs. This partnership provides a link that allows customers to consent to the sharing of information from their bank accounts for lending assessments.
Application shift
The move comes as lenders face pressure to simplify credit processes and reduce friction in digital applications. In retail banking, credit card applications have often remained document-heavy even as other parts of consumer finance have moved online.
By drawing on real-time transaction data, lenders can assess income patterns, spending behaviour, and other signals without requiring applicants to assemble paperwork. Supporters argue that this can reduce delays and errors caused by manual entry.
Revolut also said the data could support more tailored lending decisions based on a customer's financial picture. That points to a broader industry debate over whether richer data can improve both access to credit and lending discipline, particularly for applicants whose financial profiles may not be well reflected by older assessment methods.
"We've seen a lot of talk about the potential of open banking and how it will benefit everyday Kiwi consumers; our partnership with Akahu provides the definitive answer. We aren't just participating in the ecosystem; we are using it to solve a real pain point and prove that New Zealand's financial landscape is ready for a digital-first shift. By being a first mover, Revolut is setting the pace for innovation in New Zealand," said Georgia Grange, Head of Revolut New Zealand.
Lending focus
The partnership centres on credit cards, an area of the lending market where underwriting speed can influence customer take-up. Automated decision-making using real-time financial data could help providers reduce application abandonment, especially on mobile devices.
"For too long, many Kiwis have been left behind by rigid, legacy systems that rely on manual paperwork and slow approvals. We are incredibly eager to bridge that gap by bringing a truly international-level financial experience to New Zealand - providing a faster, fairer, and more innovative credit card experience that simply hasn't existed here until now. By leveraging real-time data and automated credit decisioning, we'll be able to ensure we're delivering credit that is not only faster to access but more responsibly matched to a customer's financial health," Jessica O'Hare, Head of Lending, Revolut New Zealand, said.
For Akahu, the deal shows how open finance infrastructure can extend beyond account aggregation and personal finance tools to include core banking products. It framed the partnership as an example of consumers using control over their financial data to improve how they access services.
"Revolut is setting the blueprint for what modern lending processes should look like. The credit card market has been stagnant in New Zealand for many years, so this is a welcome addition. At Akahu, our goal is to give consumers control of their financial data, so they can choose to make their data more portable and productive. This partnership is a perfect example of how open banking can remove friction and deliver a better deal for Kiwi consumers," Josh Daniell, Co-Founder, Akahu, said.