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Stretch your safety net securely
The app quietly works in the background, building your emergency savings automatically. Here’s what it can do for your peace of mind:
Pays you first as you earn
Rounds up spare change on every spend
Tops up any time you choose
Adapts to your spending patterns
The one-time setup, step by step
It takes just 10 minutes and a couple of approvals to get your buffer account ready and money flowing into it.
01.
Download the app.
Get Buffer builder from the App Store or Google Play. It’s free, and you don’t need payment details or anything.
02.
Create your account.
Sign up with your email, no passwords needed.
03.
Connect your bank feed.
Your bank connection is powered by Akahu, New Zealand’s leading open banking service. They’re accredited to request data on your behalf from your bank, certified, independently audited and use the latest encryption. Note that to move money from an ANZ account requires the bank's one-time approval (this typically takes a couple of business days), which the app helps you with.
04.
Choose how you save.
Set up a payday save or round-ups, or top up when you choose (you can do a combo if you like). Then let the app do its thing and watch your buffer grow.
Some common things that come up
About Akahu & security
Akahu is the New Zealand company between Buffer builder and your bank that wrangles your transaction data and manages the digital plumbing that keeps the app up to date and accurate. They're accredited so they can request data on your behalf from your bank. They're certified, use the latest encryption, backed by Westpac and are independently audited.
Akahu creates a secure, read-only connection between your bank account and the Buffer builder app, enabling you to move money between the accounts you choose. They never sell or rent your data.
You may be already using them actually. They’ve got tens of thousands of us connected and more than 130 products already rely on them to work (think Pocketsmith, Feijoa, etc). You can control all your connections at my.akahu.nz.
Here's more about open banking and your rights around your data.
No. Buffer builder never has access to your banking credentials. To move money into your buffer, you give a one-off payment approval through your bank, with limits you set. Money only ever moves into your own buffer account.
Note that to move money from an ANZ account requires the bank's one-time approval (this typically takes a couple of business days), which the app helps you with.
Disconnect anytime through the Buffer builder app settings, or at my.akahu.nz. Make sure you turn off your bank connections before deleting the app, as they will remain active.
ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Kiwibank and Westpac for the moment, with more to come.
Using the app
Buffer builder detects your pay by looking for regular deposits into your bank account. Make sure the account where your pay lands is connected. If pay comes in irregularly, detection may take a pay cycle or two to learn your pattern.
Yes. Update your payday save amount, round-up amount or buffer goal at any time in the app.
Yes. Since your savings sit in your own bank account, you'll see them in your banking app, just like any other savings account you have. You can immediately access it any time you need.
No. Moving money between your own accounts isn’t counted as income, so it doesn’t skew the picture of your incomings and outgoings that the app builds. Money you save into your buffer, of course, will count as savings.
More ways Sorted can help
Guide
How to build up your emergency savings to cover unexpected costs
Everyone needs an emergency fund. For smaller predicaments in life, we need to ‘self-insure’, that is, cover ourselves and those we’re closest to. That’s where emergency savings come in. Building up your buffer is the best place to start when you’re getting your money sorted.
Read more about How to build up your emergency savings to cover unexpected costs
Tool
Budget planner
See your full money picture: income, expenses and where there's room to save more.
Read more about Budget planner
Tool
Money personality quiz
Take Sorted's quiz to see your money habits, attitudes and behaviours, and get insights for smarter decisions.
Read more about Money personality quiz
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