Akahu
Akahu is a New Zealand open finance platform providing OAuth 2.0-based open banking APIs, transaction enrichment, and lending workflow tools (Akahu Apply) for banks, lenders, fintechs, and credit card issuers operating in New Zealand.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersAuckland, New Zealand
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Akahu does
Akahu is a New Zealand-based open banking and open finance infrastructure provider, headquartered in Auckland and operating since 2013. The company operates an OAuth 2.0 REST API platform that enables secure, consent-based account linking between New Zealand banks and third-party applications, with coverage of 12+ banks and financial institutions including ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Westpac, Kiwibank, Heartland, SBS, TSB, Co-operative Bank, Latitude, and American Express. Its product architecture comprises the core Akahu API (api.akahu.io/v1) for account information, transaction data, enduring payments, identity verification, and payee verification, alongside the Akahu Apply API which adds lending-specific workflows including PDF document OCR, transaction categorization with NZFCC codes, income and spending analytics, and a beta referrals capability that lets brokers share applicant snapshots with lenders. Akahu Apply's insight engine produces over 60 calculated financial metrics spanning income stability gradients, recurring income variability, free cashflow, debt tracking, gambling expenditure ratios, and anomaly detection for dishonoured payments and unarranged overdrafts.
Akahu's business model is API-first and developer-led. Personal apps are free and restricted to a single user's own accounts; full production apps use usage-based pricing with a free development and testing period; subsequent application reviews following the initial free review carry a $1,000 fee. Distribution combines a self-serve developer portal with direct enterprise partnership sales to major banks. The company has secured flagship partnerships with Westpac New Zealand (June 2025, gating access to 70+ downstream services and waiving developer API fees for at least 12 months) and Kiwibank (May 2026, first bank to roll out open banking across all digital channels, six months ahead of the regulatory deadline under the Customer and Product Data Act 2025). Additional enterprise customers include Revolut (first credit card issuer on Akahu for automated lending) and early-adopter lenders Simplicity, Indi, Squirrel, and New Zealand Home Loans, alongside consumer integrations with PocketSmith, PaySauce, and Tiger Brokers. Akahu operates as a regulated intermediary under New Zealand's Customer and Product Data Act 2025 and processed NZ's first home loan applications using the newly regulated open banking system in January 2026.
The company is privately held, with 1-10 employees and a $1.4 million seed round led by Red Bird Ventures (Westpac NZ's venture capital arm) in October 2023, with participation from K1W1 and NZ7 Investments. Akahu positions itself as critical compliance and connectivity infrastructure for the NZ open banking transition, with first-mover advantages in regulated home loan processing and credit card automated decisioning.
Akahu firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Akahu
- Legal name
- Akahu
- Website
- https://akahu.nz
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Akahu is a New Zealand open finance platform providing OAuth 2.0-based open banking APIs, transaction enrichment, and lending workflow tools (Akahu Apply) for banks, lenders, fintechs, and credit card issuers operating in New Zealand.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Akahu industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Open Banking Infrastructure
- NAICS
- Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232)
- SIC
- Functions Related To Depository Banking, Nec (6099)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Open Banking APIs & Connectivity (FSAMAFAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Open Banking, Account Aggregation & Payment Initiation APIs (BPAMAFAJ), Account Verification & Ownership (AVS/AOV, micro-deposits, auth) (FSAGACAB), Risk, Compliance & Controls for Embedded Finance (KYB/KYC/AML, Fraud, Disputes) (FSAGALAK)
Keywords
Where Akahu is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Auckland
- HQ country
- New Zealand
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Akahu business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- API Usage Fees: Usage-based pricing model where developers and organizations pay based on API usage volume. Personal apps are free with limited functionality, while full production apps are charged based on usage.
- App Accreditation Fees: First application review is free, but subsequent reviews carry a $1,000 fee per review.
- Enterprise Partnership Fees: Partnership arrangements with major banks like Westpac NZ and Kiwibank for open banking infrastructure integration.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Personal App - Free tier for individual developers |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Full App - Production usage-based pricing |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Application Review - Security accreditation |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Akahu product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Akahu provides New Zealand open banking infrastructure that lets applications connect to bank accounts, credit cards and KiwiSaver data via secure OAuth APIs. It offers account aggregation, transaction enrichment (categorized using NZFCC), payment initiation, identity verification and a dedicated lending-workflow API (Akahu Apply) that automates document collection, processing and decisioning for lenders and brokers.
Product overview
Akahu is New Zealand's open finance platform providing a modular product architecture centered on the Akahu API for core account connectivity, payments, and identity verification, with Akahu Apply as a specialized API for lending workflows. The platform enables fintech developers and financial institutions to access financial account data through standardized open banking APIs, with transaction enrichment capabilities providing merchant identification and spending categorization. Akahu Apply extends the platform with document processing, financial insights calculation, and referral management for mortgage and lending use cases. The ecosystem includes developer tools, app accreditation programs, and partnerships with major New Zealand banks including Westpac and Kiwibank.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Akahu API Platform Core open banking API platform providing secure OAuth-based connectivity to NZ bank accounts, credit cards and KiwiSaver data, with capabilities for account aggregation, transaction enrichment (NZFCC), payment initiation, identity verification and balance and transactional data retrieval. Target customers are fintech developers, lenders, brokers and businesses needing regulated access to NZ financial account data.
- Akahu Apply API Dedicated lending-workflow API for lenders, brokers and applicants that automates loan application data prefilling, document collection, OCR-based document processing, and an insights engine for lending decisions. Used by NZ mortgage lenders, brokers and financial advisers to streamline origination.
Quantifiable outcome
- Six months ahead of regulatory deadline for Kiwibank open banking rollout
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Akahu
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Akahu technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration16 records
AI capability7 records
Feature8 records
Akahu partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- KiwibankcoreKiwibank partnered with Akahu (alongside Wych and Volley) to become the first bank in New Zealand to fully roll out open banking across all digital channels for both individual and business customers, six months ahead of the regulatory deadline.
- WychcorePartnered with Kiwibank and Akahu for the open banking rollout, providing technology services for the first full open banking implementation in New Zealand.
- VolleycorePartnered with Kiwibank and Akahu for the open banking rollout, one of three local fintech firms enabling the rollout six months ahead of regulatory deadlines.
- RevolutcoreRevolut partnered with Akahu to become the first credit card issuer in New Zealand to use its regulated open banking system for automated lending decisions. Akahu provides real-time applicant financial data through APIs to assess credit card applications, replacing manual paperwork.
- SimplicitycoreEarly-adopter lender using Akahu's regulated open banking system for New Zealand's first home loan applications under the new open banking regulations.
- IndicoreEarly-adopter lender enabling customers to link bank accounts through Akahu for home loan applications using regulated open banking.
- SquirrelcoreEarly-adopter lender processing home loans using Akahu's regulated open banking system, replacing legacy screenscraping methods.
- New Zealand Home LoanscoreEarly adopter enabling customers to link bank accounts through Akahu for home loan applications, part of the first phased rollout of New Zealand's open banking regulations.
- Westpac New ZealandcoreWestpac NZ partnered with Akahu to give customers access to over 70 government, corporate, and fintech services through secure account linking. Westpac waived API request fees for at least 12 months to encourage fintech developers, positioning Westpac as an early mover in New Zealand's open banking transition.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Akahu competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Akoya: US open banking data-sharing network backed by major banks, providing consented account data access through APIs. Comparable regulated intermediary model serving banks and fintechs.
- Plaid: Global open banking and account connectivity platform offering OAuth-based data aggregation, payment initiation, and identity verification. The category-defining direct competitor to Akahu in the open banking connectivity layer.
- TrueLayer: Open banking platform providing account data, payments, and identity verification APIs across the UK and Europe. Closely comparable business model to Akahu with developer-first APIs and PSD2-aligned regulated status.
- Yapily: Open banking infrastructure provider in Europe offering account information and payment initiation APIs to banks, lenders, and fintechs. Similar developer-first, API-led GTM motion.
- MX: US-based open finance platform providing account connectivity, data enhancement, and financial insights for lenders and fintechs. Akahu Apply's lending-focused insights mirror MX's analytics capabilities.
- Flinks: Canadian open banking and account connectivity platform serving lenders, banks, and fintechs with data aggregation and verification. Comparable mid-market infrastructure play in a single regulated market.
- Tink: European open banking platform (owned by Visa) offering account aggregation, payment initiation, and transaction enrichment. Comparable in product breadth — including enrichment and lending workflows — though at much larger scale.
Broad incumbents
- Finicity (Mastercard Open Banking): Mastercard-owned open banking connectivity and financial data insights platform serving large banks and lenders globally. Represents the broad-incumbent threat — large balance sheet, established bank relationships, and global reach.
Regional players
- Basiq: Australian open banking aggregator providing CDR-compliant data connectivity, enrichment, and lending insights. Highly comparable to Akahu as a regional open banking infrastructure provider under a similar regulatory regime (Consumer Data Right).
- Volt: Australian open banking payment initiation and account connectivity platform. Comparable in regulated-account-to-account payment focus though more payments-centric than Akahu's broader data-and-lending orientation.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Akahu social profiles
Digital presenceAkahu compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Akahu financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Akahu leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Akahu funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Akahu M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Akahu
What does Akahu do?
Akahu provides New Zealand open banking infrastructure that lets applications connect to bank accounts, credit cards and KiwiSaver data via secure OAuth APIs. It offers account aggregation, transaction enrichment (categorized using NZFCC), payment initiation, identity verification and a dedicated lending-workflow API (Akahu Apply) that automates document collection, processing and decisioning for lenders and brokers.
Is Akahu a public or private company?
Akahu is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Akahu founded?
Akahu was founded in 2013. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Akahu based?
Akahu is headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand, in the Oceania region.
How does Akahu make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. API Usage Fees are the primary driver. The others are app Accreditation Fees and enterprise Partnership Fees.
Who are Akahu's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Akoya, Plaid, TrueLayer, Yapily, MX, Flinks and Tink. Finicity (Mastercard Open Banking) is listed as a broad incumbent. Regional players are Basiq and Volt.
Does Akahu have an API?
Yes. Akahu provides a public REST API enabling developers to access financial account data, payment initiation, identity verification, and the Akahu Apply API for lending workflows. The main Akahu API (api.akahu.io/v1) provides account connectivity, transaction enrichment, enduring payments, and identity verification. The Akahu Apply API (api.apply.akahu.nz/v1) enables financial assessment workflows including document processing, report generation, insights calculation, and referral management for lending use cases. Authentication uses OAuth2 with App ID tokens and User Access tokens. Developer documentation is at developers.akahu.nz.
What industry is Akahu in?
Akahu's product category is Open Banking Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAMAFAA, Open Banking APIs & Connectivity, with a secondary code of BPAMAFAJ, Open Banking, Account Aggregation & Payment Initiation APIs. Its NAICS code is 52232 and its SIC code is 6099.