Westpac Banking NZ (NZE:WBC, ASX:WBC) is making standard Application Programming Interface (API) requests through its systems free for accredited third-party providers for at least the first 12 months in an attempt to support open banking in New Zealand, the bank said in a Friday statement.

Open banking enables customers to make payments and instruct their banks to share their financial data, such as account information and transaction data, with third-party providers like fintechs, according to Payments NZ.

"We already have agreements in place with a number of fintechs, and we've notified them of their reduced pricing, which we'll review in 12 months' time as the open banking landscape evolves. We expect to enter into agreements with a number of new fintechs in the near future," said Chief Information Officer Russell Jones.

The bank said it is on track to meet the May 30 deadline for Payments NZ's API Centre Payment Initiation implementation plan version 2.3, which will give customers increased functionality and choice for making both one-off and regular ongoing payments.

In early May, the government released guidance that bank charges for open banking must not exceed 1% per successful API call for account information and NZ$0.05 per transaction for payments, the statement added.

The bank's Kiwi and Australian shares rose about 1% each in recent Friday trade.