10 April 2026 – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand Te Pūtea Matua (RBNZ) Assistant Governor Money Karen Silk encourages the public to have their say about local access to withdraw cash, deposit cash and swap cash for low-denomination banknotes and coins.
There has been strong interest in the “Keeping Cash Local” consultation with more than 4000 responses so far. The deadline was extended to 31 July 2026 to allow more time for people and industry to respond, and for RBNZ to share further materials.
“As part of the consultation, we have received questions about the legal basis for the proposal we are consulting on, and we will release more information about this within two weeks. This may assist people in shaping their feedback on the consultation. We will also provide some Official Information Act responses that will be completed within that timeframe,” says Karen Silk.
RBNZ is responsible for ensuring that cash meets needs of the public.
“No decisions have been made yet on the proposals outlined in the consultation, and we want to hear a wide range of views about what the minimum services should be locally to withdraw cash, deposit cash, and swap cash free-of-charge, in every district of New Zealand. The public’s views are important and will help inform our approach,” says Karen Silk.
“Our preferred approach is to work with banks to explore how the public’s access to cash services could be improved on a voluntary basis and we welcome responses from the cash industry,” says Karen Silk.
Additionally, alternate formats of the consultation document – in NZSL, braille, easy read, audio and large print – will be made available in May to allow disabled people and their communities to have their say.
More information
About the consultation Access to cash – Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Te Pūtea Matua: https://govt.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd316aa7ee4f5679c56377819&id=411ba5af3b&e=f3c68946f8
Respond to our survey, make a submission or download consultation materials on CitizenSpace: https://govt.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd316aa7ee4f5679c56377819&id=e68c1f2e9b&e=f3c68946f8
