Financial transactions in Aotearoa New Zealand are set become a whole lot simpler when Dosh, the country’s first digital wallet app, launches later this year.
Kiwi-founded Dosh will allow instant payments via mobile numbers or QR codes on a smartphone, significantly reduced fees for retailers and the ability to earn rewards from stores.
Paying people instantly via smartphone is commonplace around the world; there are 45 real time payments networks globally and 13 currently in production. New Zealand is not one of them. After several years in Singapore, Kiwi co-founders Shane Marsh and James McEniery returned home to find local banking technology had not kept up with the rest of the world.
“One thing I really miss from Singapore is the ability to pay friends instantly and purchase goods at the touch of a button via the digital wallet on my smartphone,” McEniery says. “After years away, seeing how everyday Kiwis pay and receive money seems outdated, slow, inconvenient and costly.”
FintechNZ general manager James Brown says many Kiwis returning home are more aware of markets that are far more developed in fintech, AI and digital identity. “New Zealand is playing catch up. However, that might all change with companies like Dosh about to launch here later in the year.”
Marsh says the realisation of Dosh is a long-held dream. He is a payments and fintech expert with 14 years’ banking experience across the UK, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. “The easiest and fastest way to pay and be paid in other leading countries is by a mobile payment app. New Zealanders do not have this option today and we look forward to bringing this technology to Kiwi smartphones, this year. “
At the moment, to make a person-to-person payment, Kiwis must enter a 16-digit bank account number into their online banking platform, then wait for funds to clear.
Recent covid lockdowns have seen retailers revert to contactless number 8 wire payment solutions, ranging from manual bank account input to IOUs, Marsh says.
Dosh will be New Zealand’s first fully integrated, instant, and secure contactless mobile payment platform benefitting all involved parties. It will be free for consumers and offer significantly lower merchant fees. New Zealand has one of the highest merchant services fees in the developed world.
Brown says with over 50 platforms either already in use or being built, the way people pay will change forever. Dosh will make payments simple which will be very refreshing for Kiwis.
The Dosh digital wallet app not only enables instant payments via smartphone, but allows users to split a bill, pay someone back, earn rewards and redeem special offers.
With 90.2 percent penetration of smartphone users in New Zealand and a trend of early adoption to tech and digital disruption, Marsh says Dosh will deliver to everyone in everyday financial transactions.
Photo: Dosh founders James McEniery (left) and Shane Marsh.
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