• Change Financial wins new client, HealthNow and together they aim to revolutionise workplace wellness in New Zealand
• HealthNow’s Employer Aid sets a new standard for workplace wellness, empowering employers in supporting employee wellness and health improvement
• Employer Aid aims to provide New Zealanders with a seamless payment experience through a one-card approach
• Employer Aid will integrate with Change Financial’s Vertexon payments platform, leveraging Change’s Mastercard issuing capability in New Zealand, ensuring a robust and reliable payment infrastructure for HealthNow’s clients

Auckland, 24 August 2023: Change Financial Limited (Change), a leading ASX-listed (CCA) Australian payments fintech, is thrilled to announce New Zealand health services pioneer, HealthNow, has chosen Change’s Vertexon platform to power their Employer Aid prepaid card program. Employer Aid is set to revolutionise how New Zealand employers support and promote the health and wellness of their employees.

Employer Aid, powered by Change’s Vertexon platform and leveraging its Mastercard issuing capability in New Zealand, is HealthNow’s solution to the growing need for proactive health solutions in the workplace. ¹ According to the 2023 Global Survey by Virgin Pulse and YouGov,
76% of workers believe their company should be doing more to support the mental health of their workforce.

The program works closely with employers to educate staff on how to use their health allowances effectively, ensuring they remain healthy and well. The one-card approach eliminates barriers, offering a smooth payment experience and acting as a constant reminder for employees to prioritise their healthcare.

Tony Sheehan, Change Financial Chief Executive Officer, said, “It’s exciting to have HealthNow as a new client and to enable them to achieve their vision of launching Employer Aid. This collaboration is a testament to our shared commitment to providing innovative financial
solutions tailored to the needs of New Zealanders.”

Steven Zinsli Founder & CEO of HealthNow highlighted the program’s innate ability to adapt to the different needs of each employee.
“Employer Aid allows employers to acknowledge the diverse health needs of their employees, recognising for example that the ideal employee benefit for a 25-year-old differs from that of a 50-year-old. “Our program provides an effective alternative to traditional health insurance, shifting the focus to
preventative healthcare. By allowing employers to select their contribution value, we ensure that Employer Aid fits seamlessly into any budget,” Mr Zinsli commented.

With Employer Aid, HealthNow is offering both a payment solution and championing a shift in how employers view and support employee health. By focusing on preventative rather than reactive healthcare, HealthNow is setting a new standard for workplace wellness in New Zealand.

New Zealanders can anticipate the launch of the Employer Aid prepaid card program towards the end of 2023, marking a significant step forward in health-focused financial solutions.

HealthNow and Change Financial are exploring expanding their partnership into the Australian and US markets in the coming months.

¹ 2023 Global Survey of workplace wellbeing priorities, by Virgin Pulse and YouGov, May 2023

Change Financial (CCA) has announced it has been granted a Mastercard Principal Issuer licence for Prepaid and Debit cards in New Zealand.

Being a Mastercard Principal Issuer allows Change to deliver card programs to banks, credit unions, fintechs and other businesses, looking to offer digital and physical card payments to their customers.

In March 2022, Change announced an exclusive agreement to partner with Mastercard to issue prepaid and debit card products in Australia and New Zealand. 

Change CEO, Alastair Wilkie commented, “We are excited to be a Mastercard Principal Issuer in New Zealand for Prepaid and Debit cards. To be granted our licence less than 6 months after our Mastercard partnership announcement is a wonderful result for both parties.” 

Wilkie continued, “Our business has a long New Zealand heritage and it’s a proud moment for our business, especially our Auckland based team members. Our new capability will allow us to lower the barrier of entry for New Zealand banks, credit unions, fintechs and business to deliver innovative card solutions to their customers.”

Change also recently announced they would be issuing Mastercard debit cards for First Credit Union, Nelson Building Society, Police and Families Credit Union and Westforce Credit Union.

• Exclusive six-year direct issuing partnership with Mastercard for prepaid and debit cards in Australia and New Zealand.
• New agreement strengthens Change Financial and Mastercard’s long-standing relationship in the US market.
• Change Financial provides mid-sized banks and fintechs with a faster path to market for prepaid and debit card products.

Australian based global fintech and payments as a service (PaaS) provider, Change Financial (Change), today announced an exclusive six-year direct issuing partnership agreement with Mastercard in Australia and New Zealand. Under the agreement Change will begin issuing prepaid and debit cards in both countries from Q4 FY22.

Change CEO Alastair Wilkie said, “This agreement strengthens our long-standing relationship with Mastercard in the US, and transaction processing for existing clients.

“Our partnership with Mastercard will deliver direct issuing capabilities for our Australian and New Zealand clients, giving them a faster path to market for innovative prepaid and debit card products.”

Change uses innovative and scalable technology solutions to provide tailored payment solutions, card issuing and testing to banks and fintechs. The company manages and processes more than 16 million virtual, credit, debit and prepaid cards worldwide. Change’s payments technology and management services are used by over 147 clients in 41 countries. Clients include BDO Unibank, ME Bank and eftpos Australia.

Dan Martin, Vice President, Digital Partnerships, Australasia, Mastercard said, “There’s a significant opportunity to provide Australian and New Zealand’s mid-sized banks and fintechs with the tools and services to best meet the changing expectations of a more digital world. This partnership brings the best of our respective strengths, including Mastercard’s global payment network and technology, to enable Change’s customers to create and launch prepaid and debit card programs seamlessly, safely and securely.”

This agreement follows Change’s recent launch of Vertexon, a payments platform with host multitenancy and dedicated PaaS platform for Australian and New Zealand clients. Vertexon seamlessly integrates with a businesses’ core systems enabling them to easily deliver physical and digital card solutions to their customers as well as offering other features such as Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), transaction processing and integrated loyalty programmes.

Change is currently being onboarded on to the Mastercard Network to complete testing to onboard customers onto their PaaS platform from Q4 2022.