POLi Payments
POLi Payments is a New Zealand online debit payment service (operated by Merco Ltd.) that lets consumers pay merchants directly from their internet banking without a card, integrated with all major NZ banks and serving SMBs and enterprises across retail, travel, government, and other verticals.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2007
- HeadquartersMelbourne, Australia
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What POLi Payments does
POLi Payments is a New Zealand online debit payment service operated by Merco Ltd. (the Master Distributor and acquirer of the asset from Australia Post in September 2023) that enables customers to pay merchants directly from their internet banking account without entering credit or debit card details. The core technology establishes a session between the consumer and their bank's own internet-banking screen, with POLi pre-populating payment details and verifying bank SSL certificates and thumbprints to ensure a direct, authenticated connection; POLi does not capture usernames, passwords, or card numbers. The product is supported by bank coverage across all eight major New Zealand banks (ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Kiwibank, TSB, The Cooperative Bank, Westpac, Heartland), pre-built integrations into Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, Xero, Wix, PrestaShop, OpenCart, CS-Cart and Gravity Forms, plus a documented developer API.
POLi serves both New Zealand SMBs (via self-serve signup with 24-hour onboarding) and enterprises (Air New Zealand, Jetstar, Bunnings, Spark, 2degrees, Mighty Ape, Wise, WorldRemit, NZ Transport Agency, Civil Aviation Authority, PB Tech, InterCity), and explicitly markets to retailers, financial services, professional services, sports clubs, charities/NFPs, schools, equestrian events, hospitality/entertainment, and travel. Approximately 1.6 million Kiwis have used the service recently and 1,500+ businesses are transacting through the Shopify integration alone.
The business model is transaction-fee based, with POLi advertising "some of the lowest transaction fees in New Zealand" (exact rates are quote-based and not publicly disclosed). Distribution is self-serve through polipay.co.nz, with a self-serve/PLG motion that converts via platform plugins rather than field sales. Operations are now confined to New Zealand following Australia Post's September 2023 shutdown of POLi in Australia, with Merco committing to introduce new services to the NZ market under 100% NZ-focused ownership.
POLi Payments firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- POLi Payments
- Legal name
- Merco Ltd.
- Website
- https://polipayments.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2007
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- POLi Payments is a New Zealand online debit payment service (operated by Merco Ltd.) that lets consumers pay merchants directly from their internet banking without a card, integrated with all major NZ banks and serving SMBs and enterprises across retail, travel, government, and other verticals.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
POLi Payments industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online Payment Processing
- akta.pro primary industry
- A2A Payment Initiation Service Providers (PISPs) (FSAMAFAB)
Keywords
Where POLi Payments is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Melbourne
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
POLi Payments business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Transaction Fees: POLi charges merchants transaction fees for each payment processed. The company advertises having some of the lowest transaction fees in New Zealand, making it a cost-effective alternative to credit card payments.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Standard merchant pricing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels4 records
POLi Payments product offering
Product offeringCore offering
POLi is an online real-time debit payment service that enables customers to pay merchants directly and securely from their internet banking accounts without disclosing credit or debit card information. The platform integrates directly with all major New Zealand banks and offers pre-built plugins for major e-commerce platforms, a Xero accounting integration, and a documented API for custom integrations. Following Australia Post's exit from POLi in Australia on 30 September 2023, the New Zealand business is operated by Merco Ltd. and serves Kiwi merchants across retail, travel, financial services, government, education, and charity verticals.
Product overview
POLi Payments is a single unified product offering online debit payment services for New Zealand merchants. The core product, POLi Online Debit Payments, enables customers to pay directly using their online banking. This is supported by pre-integrated shopping cart plugins (WooCommerce, Magento, PrestaShop, OpenCart, CS-Cart, Shopify), POLi Buttons/Links/Forms for custom payment creation, Xero invoice integration for accounting workflows, and a Developer API for programmatic integration. The service was acquired by Merco Ltd. in 2023 and serves multiple industry verticals including retail, financial services, charities, schools, and travel.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- POLi Online Debit Payments Core online payment service that allows customers to pay New Zealand merchants directly and securely from their internet banking account without credit or debit card information. Pre-populates payment details into the bank's internet banking screen and verifies bank SSL certificates to ensure direct, secure connection.
- POLi Shopping Cart Integrations Pre-built plugin integrations for popular e-commerce platforms including WooCommerce, Magento, PrestaShop, OpenCart, CS-Cart, Shopify, and Wix, enabling merchants to add POLi as a payment option to their online stores.
- POLi Buttons, Links & Forms POLi payment buttons, links and forms that allow merchants to create custom payment collection options on their websites without complex technical setup.
- POLi Xero Integration Integration with Xero accounting software that adds Pay Now buttons and forms to Xero invoices, allowing customers to pay invoices directly via POLi and enabling automatic reconciliation for merchants.
- POLi API Developer REST API that enables programmatic integration of POLi payment functionality into merchant websites and applications, including payment form creation, links, Pay Now buttons, and automated processing, with documentation at docs.polipay.co.nz.
Quantifiable outcome
- Up and running in as little as 24 hours
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use POLi Payments
Customer profileNamed customers21 records
Segments9 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
POLi Payments technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration19 records
Feature5 records
POLi Payments partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- Merco Ltd.coreMerco Ltd., the Master Distributor of POLi in New Zealand, acquired local ownership of POLi from Australia Post in September 2023. Australia Post shut down POLi in Australia on 30 September 2023, at which point Merco took control of operations in New Zealand. Merco retained POLi's experienced development team to ensure no disruption to service. The acquisition allows Merco to dedicate 100% of POLi's resources to New Zealanders.
- ANZ BankcoreANZ is one of POLi's supported banks, allowing ANZ customers to make direct online payments through POLi.
- ASB BankcoreASB is one of POLi's supported banks, allowing ASB customers to make direct online payments through POLi.
- BNZ (Bank of New Zealand)coreBNZ is one of POLi's supported banks, allowing BNZ customers to make direct online payments through POLi.
- KiwibankcoreKiwibank is one of POLi's supported banks, allowing Kiwibank customers to make direct online payments through POLi.
- TSB BankcoreTSB is one of POLi's supported banks, allowing TSB customers to make direct online payments through POLi.
- The Cooperative BankcoreThe Cooperative Bank is one of POLi's supported banks, allowing its customers to make direct online payments through POLi.
- WestpaccoreWestpac is one of POLi's supported banks, allowing Westpac customers to make direct online payments through POLi.
- Heartland BankcoreHeartland Bank (SBS Bank) is one of POLi's supported banks, allowing Heartland/SBS customers to make direct online payments through POLi.
- ShopifyflagshipPOLi is pre-integrated into Shopify with over 1500 businesses using the integration. Shopify merchants can add POLi as a payment option with one click.
- WooCommerceflagshipPOLi is pre-integrated into WooCommerce as a payment gateway option.
- MagentoflagshipPOLi is pre-integrated into Magento for enterprise e-commerce merchants.
- XeroflagshipPOLi enables Pay Now buttons and forms to be added to Xero invoices, allowing faster payment collection and automatic reconciliation.
- WixcorePOLi is available as a payment option for Wix-hosted websites.
- PrestaShopcorePOLi is pre-integrated into PrestaShop as a payment gateway option.
- OpenCartcorePOLi is pre-integrated into OpenCart as a payment gateway option.
- Gravity FormscorePOLi buttons and links can be integrated with Gravity Forms for payment collection.
- CS-CartcorePOLi is pre-integrated into CS-Cart as a payment gateway option.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
POLi Payments competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Laybuy: New Zealand-founded Buy Now Pay Later provider competing for the same NZ merchant checkout slot as POLi with an alternative consumer payment model rather than A2A bank transfer.
- GoCardless: UK-based fintech specializing in direct debit and A2A bank payments for recurring and one-off transactions. Comparable to POLi in leveraging bank account-based payment initiation, with a stronger focus on recurring billing.
Broad incumbents
- Stripe: Global payments platform supporting cards, wallets and emerging A2A methods. Competes with POLi indirectly by providing NZ merchants a comprehensive online payment stack that includes A2A options.
- Adyen: Global payments processor serving enterprise merchants with unified online and in-person payment processing. Competes with POLi for NZ enterprise payment volume through its broad payment-method coverage.
- Afterpay: BNPL provider owned by Block that competes with POLi for the same NZ merchant checkout slot. Different underlying mechanism (short-term instalments vs. A2A), but addresses the same 'alternative to credit card' pain point POLi targets.
Others
- Plaid: Account-linking and bank-data infrastructure provider underpinning many A2A and Open Banking experiences globally. Conceptually adjacent to POLi's bank-integration stack and a potential partner or competitor depending on NZ expansion plans.
Direct peers
- Windcave (formerly Payment Express): New Zealand-headquartered payment processor offering card and online payment gateway services to NZ merchants. Competes with POLi for the same NZ merchant checkout slot and provides the most direct domestic comparable.
- Trustly: European A2A payment initiation service provider that lets consumers pay merchants directly from their bank accounts. Closest functional analog to POLi, operating at much larger scale across multiple European markets.
- Sofort (Klarna Pay Now): Bank-redirect A2A payment product within Klarna that lets consumers pay directly from their bank account in real time. Closest A2A peer to POLi in continental Europe, now embedded inside Klarna's broader payments offering.
Regional players
- iDEAL: Dutch A2A payment scheme owned by the country's major banks that routes online banking payments to merchants. Same product category as POLi (bank-redirect A2A at checkout) but focused exclusively on the Netherlands.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
POLi Payments social profiles
Digital presencePOLi Payments financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
POLi Payments leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
POLi Payments funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
POLi Payments 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 POLi Payments
What does POLi Payments do?
POLi is an online real-time debit payment service that enables customers to pay merchants directly and securely from their internet banking accounts without disclosing credit or debit card information. The platform integrates directly with all major New Zealand banks and offers pre-built plugins for major e-commerce platforms, a Xero accounting integration, and a documented API for custom integrations. Following Australia Post's exit from POLi in Australia on 30 September 2023, the New Zealand business is operated by Merco Ltd. and serves Kiwi merchants across retail, travel, financial services, government, education, and charity verticals.
Is POLi Payments a public or private company?
POLi Payments is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was POLi Payments founded?
POLi Payments was founded in 2007. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is POLi Payments based?
POLi Payments is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does POLi Payments make money?
One revenue line is on record: transaction Fees.
Who are POLi Payments's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Laybuy and GoCardless. Broad incumbents are Stripe, Adyen and Afterpay. Plaid is listed as an others. Direct peers are Windcave (formerly Payment Express), Trustly and Sofort (Klarna Pay Now). iDEAL is listed as a regional player.
Does POLi Payments have an API?
Yes. POLi offers API integration for merchants to add direct online payment functionality to their websites. The API enables automated processing, payment form creation, links, and Pay Now button integration. Developer documentation is at docs.polipay.co.nz.
What industry is POLi Payments in?
POLi Payments's product category is Online Payment Processing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAMAFAB, A2A Payment Initiation Service Providers (PISPs).