Preparing to register as a financial service provider

What you should know before you apply

Before you register as a financial service provider (FSP), you’ll need to have decided how you wish to run your business, and what financial services you intend to provide. If you're yet to make these important decisions, you may wish to seek professional advice.

On this page:

Who needs to register

Under the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008, an FSP is required to register on the FSPR if any of the following applies:

  • It provides financial services to persons in New Zealand above a minimum business threshold.
  • It is a reporting entity under the Anti Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (AML/CFT Act) that provides financial services.
  • It is licensed to provide a financial service, or required by another Act to be licensed or registered in relation to a specific financial service.

If you provide financial services without a current registration, you could be fined or sent to prison.

Section 11, Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008 New Zealand Legislation website

Read our related help guides

Confirming the financial services you'll provide

When you register as a financial service provider, you must declare the services you’ll be offering. Once registered, you’ll need to keep this information up to date.

Some of the most common services are these financial advice services:

  • Financial adviser
  • Financial advice provider - licensee
  • Financial advice provider – licensed - authorised body.

The full list of financial services is contained in Section 5 of the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008.

Section 5, Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008 New Zealand Legislation website

Services that require licensing or certification

Providing certain financial services requires you to be licensed by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) or the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ). In addition, to offer some financial services you may need to be certified by the Commerce Commission.

Financial Markets Authority (FMA) licensing

You need to be licensed by the FMA before you can provide any of the following financial services:

  • Manager of a registered scheme – licensed
  • Independent trustee of a restricted scheme – licensed
  • Discretionary investment management service (DIMS) provider – licensed
  • Derivatives issuer – licensed
  • Provider of prescribed intermediary services – licensed (this includes crowd funding and peer-to-peer lending services)
  • Financial advice service as a financial advice provider (FAP)
  • Operating a financial product market
  • Supervisor under an FMC offer
  • Administrator of a financial benchmark - licensed.

Applying to provide licensed market services

Financial Markets Authority

Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) registration and licensing

You need to apply to the RBNZ to be:

  • a registered bank
  • an insurer
  • a non-bank deposit taker (NBDT).

Reserve Bank of New Zealand

Commerce Commission certification

Lenders providing consumer credit, and mobile traders selling on credit, need to obtain ‘fit and proper person’ certification from the Commerce Commission – unless they're already licensed by the Financial Markets Authority or Reserve Bank of New Zealand.

Applying for certification as a lender or mobile trader

Fit and Proper Person certification Commerce Commission website

Who needs to join a dispute resolution scheme

If you're offering financial services to retail clients, you will in most cases be required to belong to an approved dispute resolution scheme (DRS), and submit your DRS membership details within 10 working days of registering or becoming engaged by a financial advice provider (FAP).

Choosing a dispute resolution scheme

Financial advisers must be engaged by a financial advice provider

If you’re registering as a financial adviser, you’ll need to be engaged by a financial advice provider within 3 months of registration.

Requirements for financial advice providers and financial advisers

Information you’ll need to provide

When you apply to register as a financial service provider, you’ll need to have gathered all the necessary information about yourself and your business.

Applying as an individual

Contact and business details

You'll need to provide us with:

  • your full legal name and any other names you're known by or have been known by previously.
  • your date of birth and gender (will not be publicly available).
  • previous FSP numbers (if you have previously been registered as an FSP).
  • your residential address (will not be publicly available).
  • your business address — the physical address that you provide financial services from.
  • any trading names you use.
  • an address we can use for communication, along with your business and personal email addresses. We use these addresses to contact the FSP – they are not made publicly available.

Financial services

  • What financial services you'll be providing. Some services may require you to be licensed by the relevant licensing authority.
  • Whether you’ll be providing financial services to retail clients or only to wholesale clients.

Reporting entity status

Filing month

  • The month you'll file your annual confirmation. Your first annual confirmation will be due next year in the month you choose. You can agree to the month that you are assigned as a default, or change it to any month other than December or January.

Threshold declaration

  • Confirmation that you expect to provide financial services to persons in New Zealand above the minimum annual business threshold, being:
    • 10 New Zealand resident financial services clients; and
    • $10,000 of financial services transactions in total with its New Zealand resident clients.

In the first 6 months after registration, the provider must have achieved half of the threshold, that is, 5 New Zealand clients and $5000 of transactions with New Zealand resident clients.

Applying as an entity

Contacts and business details

If your business is already on a Companies Office register

You'll need your entity's name, the number assigned to it on the Companies Office register, or its New Zealand Business Number (NZBN). You can find these by searching the relevant Companies Office register.

You’ll also need to provide:

  • any trading names you use
  • if you have previously been registered as an FSP, those FSP numbers
  • your business address – the physical address that you provide financial services from
  • an address we can use for communication, including an email address.
    We use these addresses to contact the FSP – they are not made publicly available.
If your entity is not on any Companies Office register

If you’re not registered on any Companies Office register, you’ll need to provide the following details:

  • The name the FSP is to be registered under, or the entity’s registered name overseas.
  • Country where incorporated.
  • Incorporation or registration number
  • Any trading names you use
  • Your business address — the physical address that you provide financial services from
  • An address we can use for communications, including an email address. These addresses are used to contact the FSP, they are not publicly available.

Your directors and other personnel

For every individual who is listed as a director, controlling owner or senior manager of your entity, you must provide:

  • their full legal name, including middle name if the individual has one
  • any other names they're known by or have been known by previously
  • their date of birth and gender
  • their residential address.
Directors

If your entity is a company on the New Zealand Companies Register, the names and addresses of the directors will be copied from that register into this application. You’ll need to check those details are correct and add:

  • any other names they're known by or have been known by previously
  • date of birth and gender.

For other entities you’ll need to provide all details.

When completing the director details section for entity types, a director may be an individual or an entity, as defined here:

  • in relation to a partnership (other than a limited partnership), any partner
  • in relation to a limited partnership, any general partner
  • in relation to a body corporate or unincorporated, other than a company, partnership, or limited partnership, any person occupying a position in the body that is comparable with that of a director of a company
  • in relation to any other person, that person.
Controlling owners

A controlling owner of an FSP is the person, company or other entity who beneficially owns 50 per cent or more of the FSP. The controlling or beneficial owner is not always the registered owner.

Senior managers

A senior manager of an FSP – for example, a chief executive or chief financial officer – holds a position that allows them to exercise significant influence over the management or administration of the FSP. A senior manager cannot be a director.

Financial services

When applying to register as an entity, you’ll also need to provide, or confirm, the following information:

  • What financial services you'll be providing. Some services may require you to be licensed by the relevant authority.
  • Whether you’ll be providing financial services to retail clients or only to wholesale clients.

Applying to provide licensed services

Reporting entity status

Filing month

  • The month you'll file your annual confirmation. This will default to the month of your entity’s annual filing obligation in its home register, for example, company annual return month. You can keep this month or change it to any month other than December or January.

Threshold declaration

  • Confirmation that your FSP expects to provide financial services to persons in New Zealand above the minimum annual business threshold, being:
    • 10 New Zealand resident financial services clients; and
    • $10,000 of financial services transactions in total with its New Zealand resident clients.

In the first 6 months after registration, the provider must have achieved half of the threshold, for example, 5 New Zealand clients and $5000 of transactions with New Zealand resident clients.

How to apply

When you've gathered all the information you need, you can begin your application.

Before you can apply online, you’ll need to have:

  • a RealMe® login
  • an online services account with the FSPR.

RealMe logins and setting up your online services account

To find out how to apply, please refer to our help guides for individuals and entities:

Applying to register as an FSP (individual)

Applying to register as an FSP (entity)

Other guides in
Registering a financial service provider (FSP)

Other help topics

Getting started on the register

Dispute resolution schemes (DRSs)

Providing licensed or certified services

Filing an annual confirmation

Managing your registration as a financial service provider (FSP)

Deregistration and reregistration

Paying fees and levies

Managing your online services account

View all topics