Financial Services Provider
New Zealand FSP Registration

Atrium is one of the few international consultancy firms offering a complete range of advisory services for the establishment, licensing and operation of Investment and Forex Brokerage Firms, in New Zealand, Mauritius and major European Centres.

Our services include:

Registering Investment or Forex Brokerage Firm
Technical support for the a license application package, including Business Plan, Financial Forecasts, Internal Regulation Manual, Due Diligence documents
Provision of suitable premises for your Firm, where physical presence is legally required
Provision of qualified Office Manager for all legal matters related to the Regulators
Legal support
Regulatory compliance support
Accounting services
Audited accounts
Assistance with the selection of suitable trading and banking software

New Zealand FSP Registration for
Forex Brokerages

The requirements to obtain and maintain New Zealand FSP have strongly changed recently.
The Companies Office has placed strict criteria on who can register as an FSP as well as the local presence that is required of a New Zealand FSP. We have affirmatively stayed on top of these measures to ensure your FSP is properly registered from the very beginning. We have successfully registered, renewed and supported dozens of NZ FSPs.

Our New Zealand FSP package provides full compliance with the rules of the Companies Office and allows for a straightforward process in obtaining your New Zealand FSP Registration while providing your company with a true local operational presence in New Zealand. Our suite of services ensures successful registration as well as continued regulatory compliance on an on-going basis.

New Zealand
Understanding New Zealand FSP Registration

Main Feature

New Zealand is a highly respected jurisdiction with a modern legal framework and rated the most business friendly nation in the world by the World Bank. Banking services can be offered in and from New Zealand by different types of entities, including but not limited to Registered Banks, Finance Companies, Credit Unions and Building Societies.

Most jurisdictions actually detour and discourage establishing new banks through excessive regulation, requirements and formalities. The New Zealand Financial Services Provider is an alternative, offering modern legal framework and English banking law.

Advantages of New Zealand

New Zealand is recognized as a premium jurisdiction for the following reasons:

– It provides the all advantages of all traditional financial centres, and is recognized as a true onshore financial centre which is not blacklisted by any jurisdiction or authority in the world.
– It is not perceived by O.E.C.D. as a harmful tax jurisdiction, and has no connotations as a tax haven.
– It is a member of the O.E.C.D. and World Trade Organization.
– New Zealand is a member of the British Commonwealth, English is the main language, has a common law system, and the majority of legislation including trust law is founded on British law.
– It is not a member of the EU, and is not influenced by the EU Savings Tax Directive and any future developments (should they be extended to apply to companies or trusts).
– It is a signatory to the 1922 Hague Convention and can provide Apostilled documentation as well as Notarized documentation.
– In today’s troubled and unstable times New Zealand is considered a safe location and offers long term security. It has a Westminster style Government and together with its administration, is stable and competent.
– New Zealand has a well-developed infrastructure, including a progressive and robust economy, efficient telephone and internet services, competitive and frequent air travel, experienced reliable professionals serving global clients with trust and company requirements which include legal opinions on tax, trust and company matters, and has reliable internet global banking services.
– New Zealand repealed its entire Banking Act in 1995 and thereby facilitated free entry into the business of financial services.
– If financial services are not offered to the public in New Zealand, the requirements of prospectus, supervisory trustee and investment statements as set out in Part II of Securities Act 1978 do not apply.
-There is no minimum capital requirement.

Financial Services Provider
FSP Registration

Authorised Financial Activities

A FSP can legally engage in activities and offer services such as:
Deposit Taking
Keeping, investing and managing money, securities and investment portfolios on behalf of third parties
Providing credit under a credit contract
Operating a money or value transfer service
Issuing and managing means of payment
Giving financial guarantees
Changing foreign currency
Entering into or trading on an exchange, in an over-the-counter market or otherwise, the following on behalf of another person:
– money market instruments (including cheques, bills, certificates of deposits);
– foreign exchange (including forward foreign exchange contracts);
– derivative products including, but not limited to, futures and options;
– exchange rate and interest rate instruments, including products such as swaps and forward rule agreements;

Registration With FSPR
Most Relevant Requirements

The Financial Markets Authority and the Registrar have formed the view that “place of business” for the purpose of the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008 (“the FSP Act”) requires the company to have a physical presence at an address in New Zealand from which the financial services are provided.

The Registrar and/or the FMA need to be able to visit the business address and make enquiries of management of the company or its employees in the event that a complaint is received.

For the purposes of enforcement of the registration requirements under the FSP Act, FSPR considers it relevant to consider where a company’s business is being transacted from and by whom in this country. FSPR does not consider that mere incorporation in New Zealand, or the existence of a registered office address here (under the Companies Act 1993), is in itself evidence that a company has a place of business in New Zealand.

The FMA has supported the position taken by the Registrar that a “place of business” in New Zealand is not established by simply being a New Zealand incorporated company and having a virtual office or using the address of a third party (such as an accountant or law firm) in New Zealand.

FSPR has been advised that the FMA is also of the view that the financial services business must be carried on in New Zealand, although the recipients of the services may be offshore.

The FMA considers this approach is consistent with the legislative purpose in section 9 of the FSP Act, in particular, to establish a compulsory public register to enable regulation of financial service providers, to prohibit certain people from being involved with financial service providers and to conform to New Zealand’s obligations under FATF.

If you wish to proceed with the application to register as an approved and licensed FSP, you will need to provide information (including supporting documentation) as to how the Company will be transacting its business from your New Zealand office and how it will be providing its financial services from such address. What staff is or will be employed by the company at such address to provide the financial services (employee contracts with job descriptions for the employees, what hours of operation will the business have, will be required as well to be shown to FSPR.

In order to obtain a FSP registration and offer financial services in New Zealand and/or internationally you need:

To register a New Zealand legal entity;
To lease your own premises (office) in New Zealand, as your place of business and management, where your company will be offering its financial services from;
To apply for membership with a government approved Dispute Resolution Scheme;
To register with FSPR for those financial activities/services you wish to carry out;
To maintain appropriate financial and corporate records in New Zealand, and complying with bookkeeping, accounting, audit and any other legal local requirements;
To hire a local resident employee as the Company’s Office Manager.

To file an annual Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 Report (AML/CFT), and to have a risk assessment and AML programme in place, from the date of registration on the FSPR.

All service fees are provided to meet the requirements of the Tax Authority, New Zealand Inland Revenue as well as the FSP Regulator, The Registrar (Companies Office) and The Financial Markets Authority.

From June 2014, legislation has also changed in terms of local resident directorship; the Companies and Limited Partnerships Amendment Bill creates the Companies Amendment Act (No 4) 2014 and the Limited Partnerships Amendment (No 2) Act 2014; the new Acts will require all New Zealand registered companies and limited partnerships to have a director or general partner who lives in New Zealand or is a director of a company in a prescribed enforcement country; the registration provisions will come into force by Order in Council, with a further six month period for existing companies to comply with the resident director requirement.

In case you may wish/need to contract these services from our Firm, please kindly advise us so that we may provide you relevant quote.

New Zealand Financial Service Provider
Registration & Licensing

New Zealand offers least onerous regulatory obligations, stipulating that providers of financial services must become “registered”. This is application does not require any specific extensive background checks or minimum qualifications.

Financial service providers that offer their services to “retail” (i.e. non-sophisticated) clients must also apply for membership with an approved dispute resolution scheme (DRS).

Ongoing Registration or Licensing Obligations

Besides all services related to the start-up of the Company, there are ongoing obligations that flow from having a New Zealand license;

Depending on the nature of the financial service, these requirements may include (a) written client agreements, (b) pre-investment disclosure documents and (c) anti-money laundering & know-your-client obligations.

There may also be New Zealand tax implications. We will provide the appropriate advice on these matters as it applies to your business.

You will find below our proposition as to this tax planning structure as highly recommended.

New Zealand Financial Service Provider
Registration Package

Registration of a Financial Services Company in New Zealand
Licensing as a New Zealand Financial Services Provider
New Zealand Dispute Resolution Scheme Membership
Establishment of a Physical presence in New Zealand with ALL Regulator’s required services, including Meeting Rooms for the Client, provided on a monthly basis
Provision of Company Manager physically present at the company’s premises in New Zealand to attend and receive any officer from Regulator’s bodies
Assisting opening Company Business Account
Introduction to Banking Software Provider

Please contact one of our consultants for prices and any other questions you may have. We shall be very pleased to assist you.

Time to Complete This Process

Expected time from 10 to 12 weeks’ time; however, and depending on the FSPR analysis of the application, it can eventually be increased.

Documents and Info Need to Initiate the Process

2 or 3 alternative names for the Company, so that we may check name availability.
Scanned copy of Shareholder and Director’s passport and recent Utility Bill, as proof of address;
If the Shareholder is a corporate entity, copy of company statutory documents, namely, certificate of Incorporation and M&AA;
Documents must have been certified by a Notary public, before you scan and emailing them to us.

Our experts are well versed in the requirements of The Companies Office and the FMA and will guide you through the process of obtaining your licensing and/or registration as a provider of financial services.

In case you may have any further matter or question to clarify, please do not hesitate to contact us before taking your decision.