The New Zealand card payments market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.9% from 2025 to 2029, reaching NZD125.6 billion ($77.1 billion) by 2029. This growth is driven by the continued shift toward electronic payments, the increasing adoption of contactless cards, and a robust digital payments infrastructure that supports consumer spending and financial inclusion, reveals GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
GlobalData’s latest report, “New Zealand Cards and Payments – Opportunities and Risks to 2028,” reveals that card payment value in New Zealand registered a growth of 6.1% in 2023, driven by the rise in consumer spending. The value grew further to register an estimated growth of 2% in 2024 to reach NZD104 billion ($63.9 billion) in 2024.
Ravi Sharma, Lead Banking and Payments Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “New Zealand is gradually moving towards the digitalization of its payment infrastructure, supported by a 100% banked adult population, mature payment card market, and the expansion of POS infrastructure. Increasing preference for cashless payments, the growth of the ecommerce market, and the adoption of contactless payment methods also contributed to this growth.”
Debit card payments hold a significant share of the total card payments market in New Zealand accounting for 47.8% in total payment value in 2024. The government and commercial banks have taken steps to promote financial inclusion and drive debit card penetration, such as offering low-cost bank accounts and reducing merchant interchange fees.
Although credit and charge cards account for a limited proportion of cards in circulation, they account for 52.2% share in 2024. This can be attributed to the value-added benefits offered by banks, such as reward points, discounts on purchases, and annual fee waivers.
New Zealand boasts a mature payments infrastructure, with one of the strong POS terminal uptakes. Local scheme provider EFTPOS NZ is the key driver behind this with over 60,000 businesses and more than 90,000 devices are connected to its network. The uptick in payment acceptance is also driven by the availability of mobile POS solutions. For example, EFTPOS offers Android-based terminals that accept both contactless and chip and PIN-based cards, as well as mobile payments.
In New Zealand, contactless cards are becoming more popular as banks and scheme providers push this technology. All the country’s major financial institutions now offer contactless cards. The number of such payments is likely to grow as more contactless cards are issued and merchants increasingly adopt contactless POS terminals.
Paytech provider Worldline introduced Tap to Pay on iPhone for Kiwi merchants in November 2024 to accept contactless payments using only an iPhone and the Worldline iOS app, without the need for additional hardware or payment terminals. Customers can make payments using contactless credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, and other digital wallets.
To reduce the dependence on cash and promote card payments, Payments NZ has introduced various measures as part of its Payments Modernisation Plan 2030. These measures include improving financial inclusion, promoting acceptance of card payments by merchants, and supporting competition and innovation in the payments space, thereby benefiting overall card payments market.
Sharma concludes: “The outlook for card payment growth in New Zealand is positive, driven by the ongoing shift from cash to debit cards for low-value transactions and the increasing preference for contactless payments. Payment cards are primarily used at the point of sale rather than for ATM withdrawals, reflecting the broader consumer shift towards electronic payments. Additionally, anticipated economic growth and lower inflation are expected to further boost card spending.”
