Sunday, 4 October 2026

[UPDATE] Heartland shareholders back $620m TSB deal; Reserve Bank approval still needed

Heartland shareholders approved the merger at a 30 September special meeting, with 94.8% of votes cast in favour, following the Toi Foundation's earlier approval for TSB. The deal still needs regulatory approval before it can complete.

Why it matters — Completion would create a larger challenger to the big four and Kiwibank; the regulatory sign-off is now the remaining gate and the key date to watch.

Fed opens GENIUS Act stablecoin rulemaking with reserve, capital and application proposals

The Federal Reserve issued two proposals for Board-supervised payment stablecoin issuers: one setting full high-quality-liquid-asset reserve backing, capital and risk-management standards, and one setting the application process for supervised banks seeking authorisation. A 60-day comment period follows Federal Register publication.

Why it matters — US rules will shape the reserve and redemption norms that offshore stablecoins, and any NZ-facing products using them, are measured against; they are also a template for how NZ policymakers may frame digital-asset oversight.

Australia's ban on card surcharges takes effect alongside lower interchange caps

From 1 October merchants can no longer surcharge eftpos, Mastercard, Visa, Amex or UnionPay transactions, enforced through scheme rules via payment providers. Interchange caps on Australian-issued cards were cut the same day, with caps on foreign-issued cards to follow from 1 April 2027.

Why it matters — Shifts card-acceptance cost from consumers to merchants and issuers, squeezing issuer interchange income at the Australian parents of NZ banks and giving NZ merchants and policymakers a live reference case.