How Smoothy uses Open Banking

Smoothy uses Akahu to securely connect to your bank accounts. Akahu is New Zealand’s leading Open Banking platform – they’re used by over 100 government, corporate, and fintech organisations across New Zealand, including major players like Xero, MYOB, Simplicity and Sharesies, and Westpac (who actually part-owns them). If you’ve ever connected your bank to a financial app in NZ, chances are you’ve already used Akahu.

Is it safe?

Yes. Here’s why:

• Government accreditation
  Akahu was one of the first Open Banking services to receive official accreditation under New Zealand’s Consumer Data Right legislation when NZ Open Banking launched in December 2025. This means they’re a regulated participant in NZ’s official Open Banking system, which is governed by strict security and privacy standards.

• Direct bank authentication
  For the big four banks (ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Westpac), you grant Smoothy access to your transaction information directly through your normal banking app. You will not be asked to provide your internet banking login and password.

• Bank-grade security
  Akahu use 256-bit encryption (the same level banks use) and are ISO 27001 certified for information security.

• You’re in control
  You can revoke Smoothy’s access to your accounts at any time from within Smoothy settings or through my.akahu.nz.

How does it actually work?

When you’re ready to connect your bank accounts to Smoothy, you’ll be redirected to Akahu’s secure Open Banking connection flow to connect your bank accounts.

1. You connect your accounts through your internet banking app (Smoothy and Akahu never see your login details)
2. Your banking app asks which accounts you want to share
3. Your bank creates a secure token for ongoing access — no password storage needed
4. Akahu sends your transaction data to us, encrypted and categorised

You can disconnect from Smoothy in a single click either from inside Smoothy or from your internet banking app. All of your transaction data is deleted and can no longer be accessed by Smoothy.

What data does Smoothy use?

We receive ‘read-only’ information so that we can predict your upcoming expenses. We cannot take or move money from your accounts.

• Transaction history from the last 12 months for the accounts you’ve selected to connect
• Account balances
• Account names and numbers

We don’t get:

• Your bank login credentials
• The ability to move money (we don’t currently request payment capabilities, though we may add this in future — if we do, we’ll update our terms and conditions and let you know)
• Access to anything you haven’t explicitly shared

Still have questions?

Read more about Akahu’s security at akahu.nz/safety
Read more about Open Banking and Consumer Data Rights in NZ.

Need help?
Drop us a line at info@smoothyhq.com.