Business banking Products & services Accepting payments

7-day payment processing.

What you need to know about this change.

What's changing?

From 26 May 2023, we’ll be processing payments to and from other banks 365 days a year including weekends and public holidays.

This includes most domestic electronic payments and account transfers, such as Automatic Payments, Bill Payments, Direct Credits, and Direct Debits.

What does this mean for your day-to-day banking?

Currently, if you make a payment to another bank on the weekend or a public holiday, it won’t be processed until the next business day. After 26 May 2023, payments will be processed 365 days a year. For more details on the revised cut off timeframes please see cut off times.

We'll also be processing payments like home loan repayments, business loan payments, term deposit and savings account payments every day of the year, which includes the product changes described below.

We believe this will provide you with:

Greater certainty for when your scheduled electronic payments will be processed.
Earlier visibility of any payments made to or from your account.
Earlier access to incoming deposits from other bank customers.
For businesses, a range of opportunities to change your business model could result from these payment changes.

It’s important you’re aware of the day your future payments are due, to ensure funds are available to process payments on time.¹

Watch an example of what buying a car could look like from 26 May 2023.

^{1 This will also include any payment retry (where payment has failed) for Automatic Payments, Bill Payments and/or loan repayments.}

What’s changing for your Personal banking products and services.

Products & services	What’s changing
Everyday and savings accounts²	Transactions (including card purchases/withdrawals, one-off payments or Bill Payments) will be processed, and account balances will be updated, every day (including weekends and public holidays). Transactions made after the cut-off times will process the next day.
Personal loans, home loans and overdrafts	Loan repayments will be processed on the day they are due, including weekends and public holidays. Overdraft monthly interest will be charged to your account on the last day of the month.
Term deposits and term PIE investments	Existing term deposits or term PIE investments interest or returns will be paid on the scheduled date, including weekends and public holidays. However, these will still mature on the agreed date.
Westpac Bonus Saver and Westpac Bonus Saver PIE	Bonus interest/returns will be paid on the last day of the month if your balance is $20 greater than the last day of the month prior.³
Notice Saver	Monthly Notice Saver returns will be paid into your account on the last day of the month.
Sweep Over and Salary Splitter	These will operate 7 days a week.
Direct Debits	As previously communicated on our website, from 8 May 2023, all Direct Debit payments will only process on the due date (including weekends and public holidays) if you have available funds in your account by 11.30pm that night. If available funds are not held in your account by 11.30pm, we will not retry the payment on any subsequent days. This includes Direct Debits for insurance or credit card payments.
Future-dated payments (including Automatic Payments, Bill Payments and one-off payments)	Future-dated payments will be processed on the scheduled date (including Automatic Payments, Bill Payments and one-off payments).⁴

Further information is available in the FAQs below.

This communication provides notice of a change to any impacted terms and conditions that reference payment dates with effect from 26 May 2023.

^{2 Credit interest payments on savings and interest-bearing transaction accounts will be calculated on a calendar month and be paid into your account on the last calendar day of the month.}

^{3 The $20 excludes interest/returns earned on the account and/or Westpac fees charged to the account.}

^{4 If you set a future dated payment on or before 26 May 2023, and the first scheduled payment after 26 May 2023 is a weekend or public holiday, then that first payment will still process on the next business day. Any subsequent recurring payments will be processed on the scheduled date.}

What’s changing for your Business Banking products and services.

Products & services	What’s changing
Business transactional and savings accounts⁵	Transactions (including card purchases/withdrawals, one-off payments or Bill Payments) will be processed, and end-of-day account balances will be updated, every day (including weekends and public holidays). Transactions made after the cut-off times will process the next day.
Business loans and overdrafts⁶	Loan repayments will be processed on the day they are due, including weekends and public holidays). Overdraft monthly interest will be charged to your account on the last day of the month.
Term deposits and term PIE investments⁷	Existing term deposits or term PIE investments interest or returns will be paid on the scheduled date, including weekends and public holidays. However, these will still mature on the agreed date.
Direct Debits	As previously communicated on our website, from 8 May 2023, all Direct Debit payments will only process on the due date if you have available funds in your account by 11.30pm that night. If available funds are not held in your account by 11.30pm, we will not retry the payment on any subsequent days. This includes Direct Debits for insurance or credit card payments.
Future-dated payments (including Automatic Payments, Bill Payments, one-off payments)	Future dated payments will be processed on the scheduled date (including Automatic Payments, Bill Payments, one-off payments).⁸ For Corporate Online payments, please see product information below.
Credit interest⁹	Monthly credit interest payments will be calculated on a calendar month and be paid into your account on the last calendar day of the month.
Sweep Over process and two-way sweeps	These will operate 7 days a week.
Merchant settlements	Processed transactions will settle to your settlement account daily. Existing settlement timeframes will remain the same.
Electronic bank statements/transactional data feeds	Transactional data for bank accounts will be available every day. If you have selected daily frequencies for delivering transactional data, this will now be delivered daily instead of every business day.
Westpac One Business®, Westpac One® and Business	Processing of domestic electronic payments and importing/exporting of statement files will be available every day.
Corporate Online banking	Processing of domestic electronic payments and importing/exporting of statement files is available daily.¹⁰

Further information is available in the FAQs below.

This communication provides notice of a change to any impacted terms and conditions that reference payment dates with effect from 26 May 2023.

^{5 Excluding Foreign Currency Accounts.}

^{6 These changes only apply to Business Overdrafts, Business Term Loans, Business Finance Lines, Business Revolve Accounts, Agri line Accounts, Business Property Packages, Equipment Finance Loans and Business Support Loans.}

^{7 Excluding Wholesale Notice Deposits and Wholesale Term Deposits.}

^{8 If you set a future dated payment on or before 26 May 2023, and the first scheduled payment after 26 May 2023 is a weekend or public holiday, then that first payment will still process on the next business day. Any subsequent recurring payments will be processed on the scheduled date.}

^{9 This change does not apply to Foreign Currency Accounts, Wholesale Notice Deposits or Wholesale Term Deposits.}

^{10 Existing recurring payments business day rules will continue to apply for the first payment processed after 17 July 2023, if that payment is a weekend or public holiday. Any subsequent recurring payments will be processed on the scheduled date.}

How can Personal customers prepare for this change?

It’s important for you to check the date any future payment will be processed. This will help you plan to have available funds in your account. If available funds are not in your account by the end of the processing day, the payment may not be processed.
Existing electronic payment dates (apart from Direct Debits) can be viewed on Westpac One®, alternatively please contact us if you are unsure. Check payment dates for any Direct Debits on your bill statements as these could come out on weekends and public holidays.
Be aware that when you use your Debit Mastercard for contactless transactions a hold may be placed on the amount in your account for up to 3 business days or may have preauthorised amounts which are higher than the amount of the actual online purchase you have made. This may affect the available balance of your account.
Direct Debit payments will only process on the due date if you have available funds in your account by 11.30pm. Incoming funds you may have relied on in the past to cover your Direct Debits, such as account sweeps and regular incoming payments from other banks, may be processed after 11.30pm and won’t be included in your available balance.
If you are unsure of whether your regular Direct Debits are scheduled to be processed on weekends or public holidays, check with the company that has established the Direct Debit with you.
A few upcoming dates where regular payments often occur on are the 1st and 20th of the month. This year 1 July, 1 October and 20 August fall on either a Saturday or Sunday.
A really good way to keep an eye on your account balances and payments is to set up alerts.
See our other budgeting resources and calculators.

How can businesses prepare for this change?

It’s important to review and plan for what 7-day payments could mean for your business. We recommend you talk to your business advisor or payment provider about the potential impacts to your business. Some impacts may include:

Making sure your budgets incorporate 7-day payments especially as most outgoing electronic payments (including Direct Debits) will only be processed on the day the payment is scheduled if there are available funds in your account
While you will have your own key dates, we have identified a few common business dates where payments are made and will fall on weekends and public holidays this year including 1 and 15 of July, 20 August, 30 September, 1 and 15 October and 31 December
Your internal business systems that interface with receiving, reconciling, or sending payments
Internal policies and processes that relate to receiving, making and reconciling payments
Informing and preparing your people to support your customers and business with any changes they need to be aware of
Customer or supplier payment terms relating to contracts and any supporting marketing documents. Communicating with your customers about any applicable changes or other impacts may help reduce any payment issues, queries, or complaints
If you intend to process payments on weekends and public holidays, please be aware our current operating hours will remain unchanged for both our helpdesks and your relationship team.

FAQs.

What is a domestic electronic payment?

An NZD payment made by credit or debit card, automatic payment, bill payment, direct debit or direct credit.

Will Westpac’s operating hours change?

No, there won’t be any changes to our existing hours.

What’s not changing?

KiwiSaver and investment fund contributions and withdrawals.
International payments and Foreign Currency Accounts.
Same-day cleared payments.

If I deposit money through an ATM (or a red bag deposit drop off) on a weekend or public holiday, will the money be cleared the same day?

Yes, for cash deposits only via smart ATMS. Red bag business deposit processing remains the same.

Is 7-day payment processing the same as real-time payments?

No. Currently, payments are settled between banks, on business days over a 16-hour period. 7-day payment processing extends this to include weekends and public holidays.

Although we will process card payments on a 7-day basis, card payments will still show as pending until they have been confirmed, which will usually not be on the same day.

Things you should know.

Terms, conditions, fees and charges apply to Westpac products and services and will reflect the above changes by 26 May 2023.

Westpac Bonus Saver PIE is offered under the Westpac Cash PIE Fund and Notice Saver is offered under the Westpac Notice Saver PIE Fund. Investments made in the Westpac Cash PIE Fund, Westpac Notice Saver PIE Fund and Westpac Term PIE Fund (collectively the “Funds”) do not represent bank deposits or other liabilities of Westpac Banking Corporation ABN 33 007 457 141, Westpac New Zealand Limited (“Westpac NZ”) or other members of the Westpac group of companies.

They are subject to investment and other risks, including possible delays in payment of withdrawal amounts in some circumstances, and loss of investment value, including principal invested. None of BT Funds Management (NZ) Limited (as manager), any member of the Westpac group of companies, Trustees Executors Limited (as trustee), or any director or nominee of any of those entities guarantees the Fund’s performance, returns or repayment of capital.

Any rates of return are subject to change without notice. You can get more information and free copies of the Disclosure Statement for Westpac NZ and the term sheet for the Funds from any Westpac branch or online.

Foreign Currency Accounts are provided by Westpac New Zealand Limited. International payments are provided by Westpac Banking Corporation (acting through its New Zealand branch) ABN 33007457141, incorporated in Australia.

The material on this webpage is provided for information purposes only and is not a recommendation or opinion in relation to any of the products mentioned above.