New Zealand regulators have unveiled plans to ban cryptocurrency ATMs and implement caps on international transfers in a bid to crack down on money laundering and illicit flows out of the country.

New Zealand is home to over 200 virtual currency Kiosks, commonly referred to as crypto ATMs.

However, authorities say these machines have become a tool for criminals, enabling them to easily convert cash into cryptocurrencies and transfer it offshore, often to fund organised crime.

To thwart misuse, New Zealand’s Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee unveiled a reform package on July 9 as part of a broader overhaul of the country’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime.

The proposed changes include a full ban on crypto ATMs and a $5,000 cap on international cash transfers, both aimed at blocking common channels exploited by criminal networks.

According to McKee, the measures are designed to “target criminals” while easing the regulatory burden on legitimate businesses.

“We want New Zealand to be one of the easiest places in the world to do legitimate business and one of the hardest for criminals to hide,” she added.

Under the updated framework, the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit will be granted expanded powers to request ongoing information from banks and other reporting entities about individuals flagged for suspicious activity.

Notably, legislative progress is already underway, with two amendment bills currently being reviewed by the Parliament.

McKee expects the bills to pass by the end of the year, which would remove “some of the most burdensome compliance requirements” for low-risk entities.

New Zealand is not a stranger to crypto ATM related crimes. Last year, a report from the New Zealand Ministerial Advisory Group on Transnational, Serious and Organised Crime claimed the bad actors were using these kiosks to quickly convert illicit cash into cryptocurrency and send it offshore to “fund drug imports or to make payments associated with scams.”

At the time, the agency recommended a nationwide ban on virtual currency ATMs, which it said was a “key laundering mechanism” and a “significant loophole in the financial system.”

Although virtual currency kiosks have been touted as a means to bolster grassroots cryptocurrency adoption by making digital assets more accessible, recurring misuse, with bad actors often targeting the elderly and vulnerable, has led to intense scrutiny from regulators worldwide.

Last year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) published its 2024 Internet Crime Report, which linked crypto ATMs to over $246 million in fraud-related losses across the United States.

Many of these cases involved scammers impersonating government officials or law enforcement, coercing victims into converting cash into crypto at kiosks and sending it to untraceable wallets overseas.

Since then, several US jurisdictions have moved to restrict or ban the machines altogether.

For instance, in June, Washington’s Spokane city became the first city in the state to enforce a full ban, citing a spike in crypto ATM-related scams.

Meanwhile, in Australia, the financial intelligence agency AUSTRAC imposed tighter controls in June 2025, mandating a 5,000 Australian dollar cap on cash transactions at crypto ATMs, along with enhanced customer checks and mandatory scam warnings.

One of the first countries to outlaw crypto ATMs was the United Kingdom, where regulators declared all such machines illegal back in 2022 as they failed to comply with local AML rules.

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