Dosh - New Zealand’s First Digital Wallet | Kiwi-owned Company Launches Instant Payment App

At last, New Zealand has its first digital wallet: Dosh.

Launching today, Dosh allows Kiwis to pay each other instantly using a smartphone app.

Available on Apple and Android, Dosh is easy, safe, and free to download for anyone over age 13 with a New Zealand Passport or Drivers Licence..

“Dosh is the breakthrough in banking that consumers and small business owners have been asking for,” says Shane Marsh, co-founder of Dosh. Despite huge popularity overseas, digital wallets and instant payment apps have not been available to New Zealanders.

“That changes today,” says Marsh.

Dosh allows users to instantly pay or be paid for transactions under $500. Users can upload up to $1000 onto their dosh wallet, pay and receive cash instantly, and transfer it back to their bank account whenever they like. A 1% fee is charged when money is returned to the user’s bank account.

Dosh works with all the major banks including BNZ, ASB, Westpac, ANZ and Kiwibank, and is a registered Financial Services provider, overseen by the Department of Internal Affairs.

“Dosh removes a whole world of pain from banking,” says co-founder James McEniery. “Payments are instant - so no more waiting a day or two to see if your funds have cleared. It’s easy - no more fussing with long strings of numbers or mobile numbers. And it’s safe - you see the money in your account instantly and can transfer it back to your bank account whenever you like.”

McEniery says early testing shows that young people, especially, love using Dosh. “They already do most of their shopping and chat through phones and expect instant response. Banking has not kept up. Dosh is the way young people pay.”

Dosh also appeals to small business owners, especially those on the go such as food delivery, tradespeople and stallholders.

It’s also cheaper. “Merchant fees are a major source of frustration for business owners. Dosh slashes the cost of digital payments and provides secure, instant results for hardworking Kiwi entrepreneurs,” says Marsh.

Dosh is the creation of friends Shane Marsh and James McEniery, returning ex-pat Kiwis who had grown used to using overseas payment apps like Venmo or Paylah. Returning to New Zealand in 2020 they saw that no such apps existed so took the opportunity to launch Dosh. James has a background in retail marketing and Shane was a digital payments expert for a large Australian-owned bank.

You can dowload Dosh on Google Play or from the App store.

Visit www.dosh.nz for more information.

Dosh Q&A

What is Dosh

Dosh is New Zealand’s first true digital wallet. It allows users to pay each other instantly using an app. It’s like paying each other with cash but instead uses a digital wallet that is stored on your smartphone. As soon as you receive or send a payment, it’s there.

How does it work?

Each user has an account - a Dosh wallet. You can load money into your Dosh wallet directly from your own bank account and transfer money from Dosh back into your bank account. Once set up on the app (which takes less than five minutes) you can pay or get paid instantly by any other Dosh user via their mobile number or by creating/scanning a QR code within the app. Dosh works with all New Zealand’s major banks including BNZ, ASB, Westpac, ANZ and Kiwibank.

How easy is it to set up?

Set up takes less than five minutes and once it’s done, you’re sorted. Simply download the app, add your identification (see below for details), top up using your bank account (with your access number and password), and you’re done. Its easy to invite friends in the app, so your Dosh network can grow quickly.

Who is it for?

Dosh is for anyone aged 13 or over who wants to instantly pay or receive money from their friends or family and pay businesses for goods and services. All you need is New Zealand ID, a smartphone, and a bank account with any of the five major banks.

Around the world, digital wallets like Dosh are common. Dosh will be popular with young people who want to pay each other instantly without the hassle of swapping bank account numbers or waiting days for the funds to clear.

Dosh will also suit independent small-business owners such as mobile tradespeople, food delivery or market stall-holders and small independent retailers, saving them time and money. Effectively, Dosh will transform your mobile device (smartphone or tablet) into a payment terminal, without the hardware rental fees - plus it’s very simple to use. Dosh payments are contactless, so offers an alternative option to safely accept payments during covid times.

What kind of ID do I need to use the Dosh app and how do I know it’s safe?

Dosh is super safe. It has multiple safety measures to protect user’s privacy and their money. You can use a New Zealand drivers licence or passport to set it up, and it has all the safety features you would expect including PIN and biometric access. The funds are held in a trust account at a major New Zealand bank.

Dosh has selected New Zealand's most established payment gateway provider Windcave to move money from your bank to your wallet. Neither Dosh or Windcave will retain your banking username and password. With no ongoing link to your bank account, there is no risk of your bank account being accessed by an outsider.

Dosh is a registered financial services provider in New Zealand and regulated by the Department of Internal Affairs.

Where and how can I use Dosh?

At the moment, you can use Dosh like an electronic form of cash; this means you can send and receive money from other Dosh users or pay anyone with the Dosh app. Here’s a few examples:

• Your mate still owes you $20 from last summer’s holiday but it’s a bit awkward bringing it up. Dosh makes it easy to collect small debts – just send your mate a request for payment and avoid the embarrassment of asking.
• You’ve just finished your Sunday job – mowing the lawns for the neighbours. They usually pay you by bank transfer but you need the money today. No problem – ask them to download the Dosh app and send them a payment request.
• You’ve just had pizza with your mates and you want to split the bill. Buy the pizza using Dosh and send your mates an instant payment request for their portion. no Dosh, no eat!

It’s as instant as cash, without the need to divert to the nearest ATM, and in today’s increasingly contactless environment, much safer.

Can I use Dosh to pay retailers?

As we roll out Dosh to Kiwis, we’ll be onboarding retailers who will offer Dosh as a payment option. We’ll keep you updated as Dosh gathers momentum.

Can a business offer Dosh as a payment option?

Yes! A business can register with ‘Dosh for Business’ at Dosh.nz and be paid by customers instantly via a QR code (into their Dosh for Business account). For the merchant’s customers the front end of the app works just the same as any Dosh transaction but the backend provides merchants with additional features such as offering tailored promotions and discounts for Dosh users, management tools such as daily balances and custom reports and the option to the promote their business within the Dosh consumer network.

Who started Dosh? Who is it owned by?

Dosh was started by two Kiwi entrepreneurs, James McEniery, and Shane Marsh. Both have lived overseas, latterly in Singapore, where they became prolific users of digital wallet apps like Venmo and Paylah. When they came back to New Zealand in 2021, they saw that no such apps existed so took the opportunity to launch Dosh.

James has a background in FMCG sales, hospitality and marketing and Shane was a digital payments expert for a large bank.

Dosh is owned by a New Zealand company called MCA Investments of which Shane and James are the main shareholders.

Okay, so I’m a banking nerd. Tell me in more detail exactly how it works.

Dosh enables instant payments, 24/7 by creating a closed payments ecosystem. Moving money within the system means Dosh does not rely on the traditional banking rails to move the money. This is how Dosh avoids the payment delays and account numbers normally associated with bank payments.

But Dosh is for everyone – not just banking nerds. Digital wallets are used every day by millions of people around the globe. Dosh is bringing this technology to Kiwis for the first time, facilitating instant peer-to-peer payments by removing the hassle of setting up an online banking payee and waiting for two days for money to show up in your account. Dosh is instant, easy to use and secure. It will transform the way Kiwis pay and receive money.

Instant payment apps are popular overseas – why hasn’t this been done here before?

Perhaps due to New Zealand’s location, traditional payment methods have rarely been challenged. We have seen a pattern with big players in the global digital wallet landscape, where they may enter the Australian market, but venture no further.

There are also significant barriers to entry in a payments environment like New Zealand's. However, as a couple of recently returned Kiwis (and big users of digital wallets abroad), we saw no reason that digital wallet technology should not be available to all New Zealanders. We’ve worked incredibly hard, had the incredible support of friends and family, and overcome some sizeable hurdles to get to this point and we’re very excited for Kiwis to see how Dosh will transform peer to peer payments.

How long does money sit in the Dosh wallet?

As long as you like – that is, until you transfer it to your bank account or pay someone with your Dosh app. Your money is held in a trust account.

Is there a limit on the amount you can store in a Dosh wallet?

Yes, $1000 is the total amount you can have at any one time in your Dosh wallet. Transactions are limited to $500 per day.

Is there a charge on transactions?

No, there is no charge on transactions between Dosh users. A 1% fee is charged when money is transferred back into a user’s bank account.

Will Dosh use the ‘trust’ money to invest or trade in, say, foreign exchange markets?

No. The users’ money is held in trust – it does not belong to Dosh. It sits in a BNZ bank account that Dosh has no authority to use for anything other than fulfilling the transactions of Dosh users.

Will you need to pay tax, such as GST on cash payments?

No, except when a Dosh user is buying something from a GST-registered merchant. In that case the retail price will already have the GST amount included (as is required by law).

What do New Zealand banks think of Dosh? Supportive or opposed?

The banks support innovation in the payments space. Dosh has contractual relationships with many of the major trading banks to provide secure connection between users’ Dosh wallets and their own bank accounts.

What are Dosh’s ambitions? How many users do you expect to add?

We think the market opportunity is big so we’re very ambitious. But first we need to earn people’s trust and show that Dosh works for them. Let's see!

How many merchants will adopt Dosh in the first year?

Again, we hope many will but we’re not committing to a number just yet.

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