Dashr unveils Open Banking dashboard for Kiwis’ cash

Dashr, a New Zealand startup, has launched a financial dashboard that aggregates balances across banks and other providers using Open Banking connections.

The company said the service presents a read-only view of accounts held with multiple banks, KiwiSaver providers, investment platforms, and crypto services. It positions the product as a way for households to see their total holdings in one place.

Dashr said many consumers now spread money across several providers. It cited internal survey results which it said show 73 percent of New Zealanders use more than three financial providers.

Dashr Founder Tom Filmer said fragmentation can make it harder for households to track their position.

"People's money is spread across more places than ever before, but the tools to see it all haven't kept up," said Tom Filmer, Founder, Dashr.

"When households are under pressure, not knowing where you stand financially can be as stressful as having less money."

Fragmented finance

Dashr's approach sits alongside a broader shift in retail finance. Banks and financial platforms commonly present only accounts and products held with that provider. Dashr argued there are limited incentives for a single provider to show competing accounts.

"No bank is rewarded for helping customers see accounts held elsewhere," said Filmer.

"That leaves everyday people stitching together their finances manually, not just for day-to-day account use, but also for financial tracking. I've seen countless spreadsheets and notebooks that people use to try and understand their position, for example, calculating net worth."

The company framed the issue as one of visibility rather than spending controls or product switching. It said some households maintain multiple current accounts, savings accounts, investments, retirement savings, and digital asset accounts. It said that mix can become difficult to track without a consolidated view.

Open Banking

Dashr said recent progress in New Zealand's Open Banking regime has shaped the product's design. It uses regulated application programming interfaces, rather than screen scraping methods that rely on sharing usernames and passwords.

"Open Banking has quietly changed what's possible," said Filmer.

"For the first time, people can safely authorise a neutral service to show their full financial picture without losing control or compromising security. Open Banking has been available in many OECD countries, but New Zealand was lagging behind."

Open Banking typically allows consumers to grant and revoke data access through a permissioned process. Providers use standardised interfaces for data sharing. Dashr said that model reduces the need for customers to provide credentials to third parties.

Product approach

Dashr said it connects to leading New Zealand banks, KiwiSaver providers, and investment platforms. It also includes connections to crypto services. The company did not list partners in its announcement.

The product works on a read-only basis by default, according to Dashr. It said it does not store user credentials. It also said users can delete their data at any time.

Dashr said it does not provide financial advice and does not recommend products. It described the service as a visibility tool. The company said the aim is a single view of balances across providers, which it said households often cannot access through existing channels.

Filmer said the company prioritises a basic question that precedes decisions about budgeting and investing.

"Before advice, before budgeting, before investment decisions, there's a more basic need," said Tom Filmer, Founder, Dashr.
"People need to be able to answer one simple question: how much money do I actually have?"

Market focus

Dashr said it is focused exclusively on the New Zealand financial ecosystem. It is opening access through a public waitlist.

Filmer said Open Banking in New Zealand has reached a stage where consumer-facing aggregation tools can be built around regulated data sharing, and he positioned Dashr as part of that emerging set of services.