PaymentsAustralia & New Zealand
Akahu Joins Mastercard's Start Path; Boosts Open Banking Growth
New Zealand's leading Open Banking fintech Akahu has joined Mastercard's Start Path global accelerator program. Open Banking infrastructure has been foundational to loyalty advances in both the UK and Australia. Westpac New Zealand's venture capital arm Red Bird Ventures invested $900,000 in Akahu last October and $2m in 2020. Westpac is the only major New Zealand bank issuing MasterCard payment cards (ANZ, ASB Bank, Bank of New Zealand and Kiwibank all issue Visa).
