Akahu Apply — Bank Account Enquiry
Overview
The Akahu Apply Bank Account Enquiry service is a brand-new integration in finPOWER Connect v6.00.03 that lets you collect verified bank transaction data directly from a New Zealand applicant's bank, without that applicant having to manually export statements or send PDFs by email. Akahu acts as a consented data-sharing intermediary: the applicant authenticates with their own bank, authorises the share, and Akahu returns categorised account, balance, transaction and (optionally) Insights data back to finPOWER Connect.
Inside finPOWER Connect, Akahu is registered as a Bank Account Enquiry service — a category distinct from Credit Enquiries. Each enquiry is driven by a Sharing Request Workflow: finPOWER Connect creates an Akahu application, sends the applicant a personalised link via Email and/or SMS, and then progresses the workflow as the applicant completes each stage. The Pending Services Wizard automates this in the background; users can also drive it manually from the Bank Account Enquiry Summary Page using the Get Report action.
Because the entire conversation runs over Akahu's API, you do not have to handle bank credentials, OAuth flows or PDF parsing yourself. The result is an auditable Bank Account Enquiry report stored against the Client or Account Application, downloadable as both an HTML report and an Akahu-generated application document, with the source application archived (and restorable) once it has completed.
Prerequisites
Setup & Configuration
Akahu is configured through a Cost Centre, the same way every other Bank Account Enquiry provider is. Setup is a once-per-Cost-Centre task.
Step 1 — Add the Akahu service to a Cost Centre
In Desktop, navigate to Tools, Cost Centres and open the Cost Centre you want to attach Akahu to. In Cloud, navigate to Administrator, Cost Centres and open the same Cost Centre.
On the Services page, add a new Bank Account Enquiry service and select Akahu Apply as the provider. This creates a dedicated Akahu page on the Cost Centre form.
On the Akahu, Credentials section, enter the API Key supplied by Akahu. The page exposes both a Production and a Test API Key field so you can keep your test and production credentials separate — even though Akahu does not provide a separate test environment, you can still maintain distinct keys for each.
Akahu does not currently provide a sandbox or test environment. Any data shared during testing comes from a real bank account. Plan your test cases accordingly — for example, use a low-volume internal account — and treat the Test API Key the same as Production from a security standpoint.
Step 2 — Configure the Options page
The Options page on the Akahu service controls how each Sharing Request behaves once the API Key is in place.
| Setting | Description | Default / Range |
|---|---|---|
| Requested Days | How many days of historical transactions Akahu should download once the applicant authorises the share. The further back you go, the longer the share can take to complete. | 30 to 365 days |
| Allow Manual Uploads | If enabled, applicants who cannot complete the bank-data journey (for example, their bank is not yet supported) can upload PDF statements as a fallback. If disabled, the journey requires a successful bank authorisation. | Off |
| Redirect URL | A page the applicant lands on once they have completed the bank-data journey. Must be a fully-qualified HTTPS URL (a public landing page on your website is typical). | Empty — required |
| Email Document | The Document used to email the Sharing Request link to the applicant. The Document's bookmarks have access to the Sharing Request URL so the link can be inserted into the email body. | Empty |
| SMS Document | The Document used to send the Sharing Request link by SMS. Either or both of Email and SMS may be configured. | Empty |
Step 3 — Cloud only: register the Cost Centre Edit widget
finPOWER Connect Cloud uses an HTML Widget to render the Akahu Cost Centre page. The widget is shipped built-in but, like all Cost Centre Edit widgets, it can also be overridden via Cloud configuration.
Navigate to Administrator, finPOWER Connect Cloud Configuration, Forms & Actions, Administration.
The widget id is HtmlWidget_CostCentreEdit_Akahu (Version 1.00, 20/02/2026). Cost Centres use a separate HTML Widget for each page of the form (typically one per service), so the Akahu page has its own widget independent of the rest of the Cost Centre.
Step 4 — Cloud only: register the Bank Account Enquiry service widget
To run an Akahu enquiry from Cloud, register the Akahu Apply Bank Account Enquiry service widget.
Navigate to Administrator, finPOWER Connect Cloud Configuration, Forms & Actions, Service.
The widget id is HtmlWidget_AkahuApply_BankAccountEnquiry (Version 1.00, 08/04/2026). This is the widget Cloud users launch to start, monitor and complete an Akahu enquiry.
How to Use
Once a Cost Centre is configured, every Akahu enquiry follows the same seven-stage Sharing Request Workflow. The Pending Services Wizard runs each stage automatically; you can also drive it manually by opening the Bank Account Enquiry's Summary Page and clicking Get Report. Multiple clicks may be needed depending on what stage Akahu is currently at — some stages (such as the applicant authorising the share) happen outside finPOWER Connect.
The Sharing Request Workflow
finPOWER Connect creates an Akahu application against the Client or Account Application and stores the Akahu reference for tracking.
finPOWER Connect requests a Sharing Request URL from Akahu and sends it to the applicant using the Email and/or SMS Documents configured on the Cost Centre. The applicant receives a personal link to begin the bank-data journey.
The applicant clicks the link, selects their bank, authenticates with that bank, and authorises Akahu to share data for the requested period. If Allow Manual Uploads is enabled and the applicant cannot complete the bank-data journey, they can upload PDF statements instead.
Once the applicant finishes the bank-data journey, Akahu redirects their browser to the Redirect URL configured on the Cost Centre.
finPOWER Connect requests Akahu to generate the report, then pulls back the Data Sources, Accounts, Transactions and (if Akahu has Insights enabled on your account) Insights data.
finPOWER Connect downloads the Akahu HTML Report and any Application documents generated by Akahu, attaching them to the enquiry log so they can be opened from the Summary Page.
The Akahu application is marked Complete and then Archived. Archived applications remain accessible during your organisation's retention period (default 90 days) before they are permanently deleted by Akahu. Within that window, an archived application can be restored if needed.
Reviewing the result
The Bank Account Enquiry log carries its own Summary Page — SummaryPage2_BankAccountEnquiryReport_Akahu (Version 1.00, 18/03/2026). Open the log to see the Akahu summary blocks, drill into Data Sources, Accounts, Transactions and Insights, and download the HTML Report or any associated Akahu documents.
Platform Differences
The Akahu service runs in the business layer, so the underlying behaviour is identical on Desktop and Cloud. The differences are entirely in how each platform exposes the configuration and the enquiry surface.
| Aspect | Desktop | Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Cost Centre configuration | Native Cost Centres form — the Akahu page appears under the Bank Account Enquiry service. | HtmlWidget_CostCentreEdit_Akahu — renders the same fields as a Cloud HTML Widget, registered via Cloud Configuration, Forms & Actions, Administration. |
| Running an enquiry | Native Bank Account Enquiry forms launched from the Client or Account Application. | HtmlWidget_AkahuApply_BankAccountEnquiry — registered via Cloud Configuration, Forms & Actions, Service. |
| Workflow automation | Pending Services Wizard advances each Sharing Request stage automatically; manual progression via Get Report on the Summary Page. | Identical — same Pending Services Wizard and Summary Page actions, just rendered through the Cloud UI. |
| Report viewing | Summary Page renders inside the Desktop Bank Account Enquiry log. | Same Summary Page script renders inside the Cloud log view. |
Permission Keys
The Akahu Apply service does not introduce any provider-specific permission keys. Access is governed by the standard finPOWER Connect permissions that already control Cost Centre configuration and Bank Account Enquiry usage.
| Permission area | Description |
|---|---|
| Cost Centre maintenance | Required to add Akahu to a Cost Centre, enter the API Key, and configure the Options page. This is the same permission set used to maintain any other Cost Centre service. |
| Bank Account Enquiry | Required to run an Akahu enquiry against a Client or Account Application, and to view the resulting log and Summary Page. This is the same permission set used by every Bank Account Enquiry provider. |
Settings
All Akahu-specific settings live on the Cost Centre — there are no Global, User or Role settings introduced by this feature.
| Setting | Location | Description |
|---|---|---|
| API Key (Production) | Cost Centre, Akahu, Credentials | The Akahu API Key used when the Cost Centre is operating in Production mode. |
| API Key (Test) | Cost Centre, Akahu, Credentials | The Akahu API Key used when the Cost Centre is operating in Test mode. Even though Akahu does not host a separate test environment, this lets you keep testing credentials distinct from production. |
| Requested Days | Cost Centre, Akahu, Options | Transaction download window, 30 to 365 days. |
| Allow Manual Uploads | Cost Centre, Akahu, Options | Lets applicants submit PDF statements as a fallback to the bank-data journey. |
| Redirect URL | Cost Centre, Akahu, Options | Fully-qualified HTTPS URL the applicant returns to after completing the bank-data journey. |
| Email Document | Cost Centre, Akahu, Options | Document used to email the Sharing Request link to the applicant. |
| SMS Document | Cost Centre, Akahu, Options | Document used to SMS the Sharing Request link to the applicant. |
Tips & Best Practices
Longer windows produce richer Insights but also larger payloads and longer share times. If your underwriting only ever looks back 90 days, request 90 days — not 365.
Sharing Request links are time-sensitive. Configuring both Email and SMS Documents materially improves completion rates because applicants can pick whichever channel they will see first.
Any enquiry you run during configuration testing pulls real bank data. Use an internal staff account to validate the end-to-end workflow before exposing the service to applicants.
Stage 5 of the workflow only retrieves Insights data if Akahu has explicitly enabled the Insights product on your account. If you expect Insights and they are missing from the report, contact Akahu to confirm the entitlement.
Akahu archives applications after they complete and permanently deletes them once the retention period expires (default 90 days). Restore an archived application within that window if a reviewer needs to come back to the source data — once it is deleted, you must run a new enquiry.
The Pending Services Wizard handles the seven stages automatically, but you can always click Get Report on the Bank Account Enquiry Summary Page to advance the workflow on demand. You may need to click it more than once depending on which stage Akahu is currently processing.
Knowledge Base References
Browse the live KB listings for v6.00.03 on the Intersoft support site:
The Knowledge Base articles consolidated into this release notes page: