Registration

Page last updated: 3 Oct 2019

All financial service providers in New Zealand must be registered on the Financial Service Providers Register (FSPR) to legally provide financial services. There is a requirement to also be licensed by the FMA or Reserve Bank to provide some financial services.

Financial service providers include financial advisers, brokers, building societies, credit providers, credit unions, money changers, finance companies, foreign currency exchange dealers, fund managers, insurers, investment portfolio managers, issuers and registered banks.

Who needs to register

Individuals and businesses who provide financial services must comply. The requirement to register is generally directed at entities and individuals who have a place of business in New Zealand or who live in New Zealand. However, other legislation may require overseas people to be registered on the Financial Service Providers Register.

The Financial Service Providers Register website provides guidance on the definition of financial service.

Who doesn't need to register

An employee of a company that's a registered FSP
Some QFE providers may not need to register depending on the types of services. Check here.
Businesses/individuals that provide financial services as a necessary part of their practice. For example lawyers, chartered accountants, tax agents, and real estate agents.

Exemptions

Financial Service Providers (Exemptions) Regulations 2010 has defined activities and services that don’t need to be registered on the FSPR.

Not eligible

You can't register as an FSP if you are:

an undischarged bankrupt
a banned director
subject to the Proceeds of Crime Act 1991,
convicted of Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009
convicted of dishonesty in the last 5 years

How to register

The FSPR registration process is conducted differently depending on your status.

an individual
an NZ-registered entity with the Companies office
Other entity not registered with the Companies office

As part of the registration process, all individuals and directors or senior managers of entities will be subject to a criminal history check. You will also be charged a fee.

Filing annual confirmation

You must file annual confirmation on the FSPR website confirming your details and services to remain registered as an FSP. Find how to file annual confirmation here.

Dispute regulation scheme (DRS)

A DRS manages all disputes related to a registered FSP(Financial Services Provider).

There are 4 approved dispute regulation schemes:

Banking Ombudsman (BOS) scheme applies to registered banks
Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman (IFSO)
Financial Services Complaints Ltd (FSCL)
Financial Dispute Resolution (FDR)

Some FSPs are covered by their employer’s scheme. If you change employer, details must be updated on FSPR.

Most FSPs that provide services to retails clients must join an approved DRS within 10 working days of registering as an FSP. Check more details on the FSPR website.

Monitoring and surveillance

The FMA has obligations under the Financial Service Providers Act (Registration and Dispute Resolution) to monitor financial service providers. This includes monitoring:

when businesses or individuals appear to be offering financial services but are not registered to provide those services
where financial adviser services are being provided by people who are not appropriately licensed to provide those services.
where financial service providers are engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct.

FMA has other obligations under other legislation. For example, financial advisers and brokers have obligations under the Financial Advisers Act 2008 which FMA monitors and enforces.

FAQs

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Do I need to register as an individual if my employer is registered?

The Act requires the person or entity that carries on the business to be registered. Therefore if you are an employee of a financial services provider company you don't have to be registered unless you are offering certain financial adviser services as explained below.

If you provide financial adviser services the requirement to register will depend on the types of financial adviser services you provide. If it's only class services or services to wholesale clients and your employer is a registered financial service provider, then you do not have to register individually. If you are not a QFE adviser but are providing personalised financial adviser services to retail clients then you will need to be registered. You may also need to be authorised/licensed.

Does my entity need to register if it is only servicing its outstanding loans?

The Act requires credit providers to be registered. Providing credit generally means providing a loan or having a debt due to you. The requirement covers credit provided under a credit contract, as set out in the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 (with some additional exclusions set out in the Financial Service Providers Act). This covers lending to businesses as well as to retail customers.

Your entity provides credit (and needs to be registered) until the credit is completely repaid (or forgiven). Providing credit includes having a loan due to you that was originally made by another provider. For example, you will usually need to register if you have bought or been assigned a loan.

Credit providers providing credit to retail customers will also need to belong to a dispute resolution scheme.

Should I register on a dispute resolution scheme?

Financial service providers who have retail clients must belong to either an approved dispute resolution scheme or the reserve scheme established by the government. If you are a financial adviser employee or agent (including a QFE adviser) and your employer or principal is a member of a scheme you will be covered by their membership for the services you provide on their behalf. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs administers the government's reserve scheme and has information on approved schemes.

Do I need to register if I am a one-off or occasional issuer?

Generally not. One-off or occasional instances of issuing by a business that otherwise is not a financial service provider would not normally be sufficient to constitute being in the business of providing a financial service. There are some exceptions to the general rule where the issuing of securities is closely tied to the core business of the issuer.