{"id":565393,"date":"2026-08-11T05:44:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T05:44:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/565393\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T05:44:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T05:44:13","slug":"westpac-says-75k-of-subscription-trap-payments-blocked-per-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/565393\/","title":{"rendered":"Westpac says $75k of ‘subscription trap’ payments blocked per day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Westpac NZ says more than $75,000 worth of “subscription trap<\/a>” payments are now being blocked a day on average as it encourages Kiwis to watch out for the deceiving e-commerce sales<\/a> practice.<\/p>\n

A subscription trap is an online sales practice in which online websites sell goods that may be legitimate, but tricks consumers into an ongoing, recurring payment plan<\/a> without clear consent, or makes it hard to cancel the payments once you’re in. <\/p>\n

Westpac NZ head of customer care operations Peter Barnes said the bank’s payment block has been in place since April 2024, and has helped save customers more than $40m in likely unwanted transactions.<\/p>\n

“Ongoing improvements had doubled the value of transactions prevented, with more than $75,000 worth of payments now being blocked a day on average,” he said. <\/p>\n

\"Westpac<\/p>\n

Westpac bank (File photo). (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n

“These types of businesses aren\u2019t necessarily acting fraudulently, because they do disclose the subscription details in their fine print, but typically they don\u2019t offer this information up front. So, in our view their money-making model is unethical,” Barnes said. <\/p>\n

He said often people only realise they\u2019ve signed up to a subscription when they see the further charges on their card, and when they contact the merchant to dispute it, it can be a difficult and time-consuming process.<\/p>\n

“In the past two years we\u2019ve seen more and more digital subscription services and e-commerce sites misleading shoppers by portraying themselves as being New Zealand-based. This makes them seem more trustworthy \u2013 when they don\u2019t actually have any presence here,” said Barnes.<\/p>\n

The bank is urging online shoppers to do due diligence before they hit “purchase”.<\/p>\n

Top tips for spotting ‘subscription traps’ and keeping safe <\/p>\n

\"Mobile<\/p>\n

Mobile banking fraud detection with credit card alert, suspicious transaction monitoring. (File image). (Source: istock.com)<\/p>\n

Barnes said while Westpac was continuously working to keep customers safe, people were encouraged to be careful when buying things online and to always read the fine print.<\/p>\n

“Everyone should also keep a close eye on their transaction history, and if you think you may be caught up in a fraud or scam, call the bank immediately. The sooner we know, the better our chances of recovering your money,” Barnes added. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd to be doubly safe, make sure you\u2019ve read the terms and conditions of any subscription service offer before proceeding.”<\/p>\n

In addition, keep an eye out for: <\/p>\n

– Too-good-to-be-true pricing advertised on social media.<\/p>\n

– The goods or services are priced substantially cheaper than other websites.<\/p>\n

– Offers of a member-only or VIP discounted price.<\/p>\n

– Pre-populated checkboxes that automatically subscribe you.<\/p>\n

The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including why power prices are unlikely to fall, and a bizarre twist in an Australian homicide investigation. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Westpac NZ says more than $75,000 worth of “subscription trap” payments are now being blocked a day on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":565394,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[138,20105,67,111,139,69,145],"class_list":["post-565393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-consumer-affairs","tag-crime-and-justice","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/565393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=565393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/565393\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/565394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=565393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=565393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=565393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}