Helping Kiwis live on Bitcoin 🇳🇿⚡️

We sat down with Rob Clarkson, Co-founder and CTO of Lightning Pay, to talk about how their team has built the best set of tools for stacking, saving, and spending Bitcoin across New Zealand.

Lightning Pay started with a simple goal: increase Bitcoin adoption across Aotearoa. What began as a way to help merchants accept BTC quickly grew into a platform where anyone can buy, sell, and spend Bitcoin directly from their bank — with full self-custody.

Rooted in New Zealand’s “number 8 wire” spirit of innovation, Rob explains how Lightning Pay is helping Kiwis protect their wealth: Bitcoin only, no distractions. Their agile team is bringing together all the financial tools Kiwis need to stack, save, and spend in one place.

When it came to adding Lightning, Lightning Pay went nodeless with the Breez SDK, calling it a developer’s dream. It removed the complexity of running nodes, managing channels, and handling liquidity, allowing the team to focus on building the best user experience and growing adoption across New Zealand.

Here’s Rob’s story 🎧