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Westpac NZ has rolled out an innovative new rewards feature for hotpoints® Mastercard users, offering a personalised experience that reflects the changing expectations of Kiwi consumers.
Westpac hotpoints® credit card users can now choose to receive cashback offers from popular New Zealander retailers, tailored to them based on where they shop. 26 retailers are participating from the outset, including The Warehouse, Coffee Club and Delivereasy, with more to join the programme in future.
The new feature is part of a refresh that brings rewards, card benefits and personalised cashback offers into one place within Westpac One online banking. In addition to the new cashback offers, customers will continue to earn points which can be spent over the counter anywhere like cash as hotpoints® Pay.
Westpac is contacting nearly 140,000 card customers to help them understand the new features and provide a range of “welcome” cashback offers.
Westpac NZ Managing Director of Product, Sustainability and Marketing, Sarah Hearn, says work was carried out across the bank to better understand how customers think about their card spending, and create offers that are meaningful to them.
“We know from talking to customers that their habits and desires are changing. They want a relationship with their bank and their card providers that feels more rewarding, more personal and easier to engage with day to day,” Ms Hearn says.
“With that in mind, we’re making the offers more relevant to how they spend, what they’re interested in, and what will feel useful to them. We think this sets the industry benchmark and customers are going to love it.
“This opens up opportunities for our business customers as well. Through merchant-funded offers, businesses can reach customers in a more targeted way, whether they want to attract new customers, reconnect with customers who have not shopped with them for a while, or encourage stronger engagement.
“At the same time, as customer preferences change, some rewards features have fallen in popularity, such as our merchandise store which accounted for only 7% of total points redemptions. We closed the store in late July to allow us to focus on more popular offerings.”
Ms Hearn says the bank has a focus on showing up differently for customers and offering value in different ways. A good example, especially for younger customers, is providing access to presale and preferred tickets to popular music events through our Mastercard partnership.
“Since launching last year we’ve helped customers to get early access to a whole host of big acts including Post Malone, Split Enz, Noah Kahan, Mumford & Sons and Deftones. That’s not something you’d normally expect from a bank, but the feedback from customers has been really positive.
“In the shorter term, with living costs high, we also know customers are looking for card providers who offer greater value.
“Our own research shows widespread appeal for personalised cashback offers and the ability to earn and convert points into cash that they can use for any purchase.
“That’s also supported by external research – for instance a 2025 report from payments company Shape found younger consumers consider the ability to use points towards any purchase the single most important feature in a rewards programme.
“We also heard from consumers that they want simplicity in a rewards scheme and we’ve delivered, with a platform that shows all available rewards in one place. Cashbacks are credited to customers’ accounts and they don’t need to use discount codes once they’ve activated the offer. They can opt in and out of the rewards benefits any time, depending on their needs.
“Overall we believe we offer one of the best cards propositions in the New Zealand banking market and we’re excited to bring more innovations to customers in future.”
ENDS
What customers want: Key Westpac NZ research insights
· 38% of Kiwi consumers own a rewards-earning credit card, with a further 34% open to the idea of owning one.
· 71% found the idea of personalised cashback offers appealing.
· Women (75%) were more likely than men (67%) to find personalised cashback offers appealing.
· 71% also found the idea of points that can be converted to cash to use on every spend appealing.
· In verbatim feedback, respondents most frequently cited cashback offers, simplicity and ease of use as key features in a rewards offering.
Note: insights based on a nationally-representative sample of 624 people aged 18 to 75, conducted in March 2026 by research agency fiftyfive5.
Cashback Offers are available to selected hotpoints® Mastercard customers. Conditions of Use for the applicable card and Offer Terms and Conditions apply. Participating retailers are subject to change without notice. Cashback will be credited as a statement credit and will normally be paid onto your credit card account within 14 days after the date on which the eligible purchase is processed. Statement credits will not contribute to any monthly payment applicable to your credit card account.