He was named chairman of its advisory group in March last year.
Key said the push to go digital was only going to get more aggressive.
“New Zealand was one of the first countries in the world to get rid of cheques. We just said to everybody, you’ve got to go electronic.
“The Reserve Bank Governor [Anna Breman] can do whatever she likes and force banks … but I cannot understand why over the next five, 10 or 15 years, New Zealanders are going to be more addicted to cash and less addicted to digital services in the banking space.”
Key added: “If you look at the bit of the economy that’s untaxed in New Zealand, it’s the cash system. If you want to get to the point where, as a Government, you’re sure everything’s taxed, the only way to do that is get rid of cash”.
“So if I was the Reserve Bank Governor, what I’d be saying is: ‘Show me how you can have far better services of the likes that are provided by Bolt or any other financial institution in New Zealand, at sharp prices and digitally provided.’”
Key said the Reserve Bank (RBNZ) also had to accept that “crypto and stablecoins” (digital currency pegged to a fiat currency) were going to be part of the future payments system.
A fintech for fintechs
Key told the Herald he was attracted to Bolt because it combined his experience in banking with his tech experience on the boards of Oritain and Palo Alto Networks.
New Zealand country manager James Woodward said Bolt is launching as a B2B (business-to-business) venture in New Zealand, offering BaaS (banking as a service) for anyone with a fintech app, or any company in any sector that wants to add card programmes, multi-currency wallets or cross-border payment processing.
D2C soon
But by the end of this year, Bolt’s direct-to-consumer product will be launched in New Zealand too.
Card issuing and acquiring services and savings accounts are on the way through partners Mastercard and Westpac.
Woodward and Key spoke to an audience that included Stonewood Group co-founder John Chow, Toroa Group founder, NewMoney director and stablecoin advocate Ryan Johnson-Hunt and various people from the financial services industry.
Like its immediate competitors, Bolt does not have a banking licence but is on the Financial Service Providers Register (FSPR).
Bolt (no relation to the rideshare firm of the same name) was founded in Australia in 2020, where it was initially known as “Bano”.
It now has operations in New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, China, Singapore and the US, working with financial institutions, fintech companies and global payment networks, Woodward says.
Like its peers, Bolt promises to be faster, cheaper and easier than traditional banks for services like foreign exchange.
Key quipped at the launch: “Yesterday, me and James had a bit of a competition where I looked at the chairman’s rate I would get when I was at ANZ and wanted to sell $100 and buy US$100 [he left the bank’s board in early 2024]. I was convinced that on that rate I would be able to beat Bolt and the answer was I couldn’t.”
Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald’s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.