Westpac has become the first New Zealand bank that can issue digital identification credentials.
It said its business customers would soon be able to set up digital IDs they could share with customers and other third parties, to make banking more secure.
The accreditation was issued under the government's Digital Identity Services Trust Framework.
"This means businesses don't need to download a bank statement, redact information by hand or send documents using less secure methods such as email - saving them time and reducing the risk of fraud and scams," said Westpac NZ chief data, digital and AI officer Russell Jones.
"We know trust and control are very important to New Zealanders when sharing personal information online. Digital ID provides a modern, trusted and simple way to share it while keeping you in control.
"Digital ID and its benefits have been talked about for a long time but it needs positive action to make it a reality. We've invested heavily to become the first bank and only the third organisation to reach this milestone because we're keen to help lead the rollout."
He said digital ID would be increasingly important as more aspects of life went online.
"The ability to know in a verifiable way who is who online is absolutely, super important. That is the fundamental basis for why we are doing this.
"We, along with the rest of the industry, for years have been talking about digital identity and there has been some really good work done and continues to be done building on things like RealMe."
Digital ID will give people buying from a Westpac business customer more confidence that they were paying into the correct bank account.
Jones said someone buying a car from a dealer who banked with Westpac might ask for proof of the dealer's bank account details. After downloading the Govt.nz app wallet, the dealer could log in to Westpac One Business, choose an account and generate a QR code.
The dealer would scan the Westpac QR code in the wallet, then enter a code sent by text message. They now have a Westpac Business Bank Account credential, valid for 72 hours, to show the buyer as proof of the account.
"Digital ID's potential goes well beyond banking. Imagine the convenience of having a digital version of your driver's licence or passport in your phone," Jones said.
The plan was to make the digital ID accreditation available to retail customers in future, Jones said.
Customers buying groceries could eventually find checkouts that were able to check they were over 18 with digital ID, he said.
"Wouldn't it be great if every government department would work with agreed credentials? Then you wouldn't need to have 20 logons to log on to various different things. You could just have one - you wouldn't have multiple user IDs for councils, for utilities, for all sorts of things - you could use your one credential to do that.
"Everything from proving your age to setting up utilities to travelling overseas could be simplified without compromising on security. There's an exciting future ahead, with more choice, convenience and customer control.
"At the same time, digital ID will only succeed if there's large scale adoption of credential verification. That means a wide range of sectors including banking, hospitality and telecommunications working with local and central government to make digital ID part of the everyday customer experience.
"As we continue to invest in our rollout, we're keen to share our experiences with organisations who are at the start of their digital ID journey."
