MBIE announces banking services panel

The 3 confirmed panel providers (taking effect from 1 July 2023) are:

• ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited (ANZ)
• Citibank N.A., New Zealand Branch (Citibank); and
• Westpac New Zealand Limited (Westpac).

NZGP is also progressing with a fourth provider, ASB Bank Limited (ASB). NZGP anticipates concluding contract negotiations with ASB shortly and finalising a new generation 2 (gen 2) banking services agreement with ASB which will become effective after 1 July 2023.

Providers will offer services across a range of banking sub-categories. Westpac will continue as the provider of core Crown transactional banking services following a direct source procurement process conducted with them. This will address the operational needs and day-to-day transactions of the Crown and 39 core agencies.

“The new panel – or gen 2 arrangements – offer government agencies a range of benefits, including value for money, flexible service and pricing models, robust and transparent commercial contracts, clear, consistent service levels, and high-quality support,” said Laurence Pidcock, General Manager, New Zealand Government Procurement, MBIE.

“We are delighted that gen 2 offers transactional banking services to non-core agencies. This means non-core agencies, including schools, will be able to take advantage of the benefits of these new AOG banking arrangements. Some schools may currently be using banking services with a bank that is a part of the new AoG panel. These schools still stand to gain from switching from their standard banking services contract to the AoG contract, even if they remain with the same bank.” said Laurence Pidcock.

The following banking services will be offered under the new gen 2 arrangements:

• Core Crown transactional banking services (provided by Westpac for core agencies)
• Non-core transactional banking services (for non-core agencies)
• Foreign exchange services
• Payment services
• Card services.

The new 4-year contracts will have one right of renewal of up to 2 years that can be used for any one or more of the sub-categories of banking services.

Background

New Zealand Government Procurement, a branch within MBIE, manages 20 All-of-Government (AoG) contracts with banking services being one of them. AoG contracts are designed to:

• save agencies money by leveraging the collective purchasing power of government
• improve engagement with suppliers
• standardise procurement engagement with government
• improve overall service quality for both government and suppliers.

Banking services(external link) — NZGP