Warning
Due to new banking regulations in New Zealand, we will be retiring our Akahu integration on 10 April 2026. The transition to the new regulated open banking system in New Zealand does not currently support the "pay-anyone consent" functionality that our Akahu connection relies on. While we explored several workarounds to maintain this service, the regulatory timeline does not allow us to transition to a compliant alternative before the integration is decommissioned.
To ensure that your next pay run goes smoothly after the cutoff, please ensure you have set up a bank payment file which can downloaded and uploaded to your bank after each pay run has been finalised. We understand this adds a manual step to your process, and we are committed to exploring new automated payment solutions as the New Zealand regulatory landscape matures.
This simple guide explains how the Akahu payment system works with Employment Hero and addresses the most common connection and payment issues caused by rules set by New Zealand banks.
Which Banks Can Connect
Most major New Zealand banks are supported for ongoing payment connections through Akahu.
Supported Banks (You CAN Connect):
- ANZ.
- ASB.
- BNZ.
- Westpac.
- Kiwibank.
- TSB.
- The Co-operative Bank.
- Heartland.
- SBS.
- NZHL (New Zealand Home Loans).
Unsupported Banks:
- Any bank not listed above cannot currently be used for payment initiation via the Akahu system.
You are likely hitting a restriction related to the type of account or the way you access it. Support for business accounts is currently variable and incomplete across all banks.
The table below lists the limitations and requirements for each bank, and for multi-signatory accounts, when connecting a business bank account through Akahu.
Bank |
Limitation and Requirement |
Multi-Signatory Accounts |
Accounts that require more than one person to approve a payment (multi-signatory) are not supported for sending payments. |
ANZ |
Only business accounts accessible via the ANZ goMoney mobile app are supported. You must have the goMoney app installed and be signed in. |
ASB |
Business accounts must be connected via a personal ASB customer account. You may need to call ASB to link your business account to your personal login first. |
BNZ |
Business accounts must be connected via a personal BNZ customer account. You may need to call BNZ to link your business account to your personal login first. |
Westpac |
Only business accounts accessible via Westpac One (web or mobile app) are supported. |
Payments Not Going Through
All New Zealand banks have limits on how much money you can send in one payment or in one day. If your total payment goes over these limits, the bank will automatically REJECT the entire payment.
- Fix: You must break the total payroll payment into smaller parts that fit under the limits below.
The table below lists the default payment limits for each bank, showing the total you can send before a payroll payment is rejected.
Bank |
Total You Can Send (Default Limits) |
| ANZ | $10,000 maximum for one payment. |
| ASB | $100,000 total across all your banking channels in one day. |
| BNZ | $50,000 total in one day. |
| TSB | $50,000 maximum for one payment. |
| The Co-operative Bank | $50,000 total in one day. |
| SBS Bank | $10,000 total in one day. |
| Heartland Bank | $5,000 total in one day. |
| Westpac | Limits vary greatly, but new or large payments often require manual approval (see below). |
| Kiwibank | Often up to $1,000,000 per day, but you should check your specific limit with the bank. |
| NZHL | Functionality is usually restricted to home loan payments; check your account details. |
This status means your bank has paused the payment because they need extra security confirmation from you (common for large payments or payments going to a new person).
- Action: You will get a notification or email from Akahu (or your bank) telling you to confirm the payment. You must quickly complete the security steps (like entering a code or approving it in your mobile app).
- Deadline: If you don't approve the payment, the bank will automatically cancel it after 48 hours.
Missing Account Details
- Loan Information: We can see that the account is a loan, but we cannot see detailed information like the interest rate, payment schedule, or when the loan ends. This detail is not shared through the payment system.
- Joint Accounts: If the account is shared, we can only see the name of the person who originally set up the connection. We cannot see the names of the other account holders.