Applying for certification as a lender or mobile trader
Certification of lenders and mobile traders
If your company is a provider of consumer credit (a lender), or a mobile trader selling on credit, you will need to be certified by the Commerce Commission to do so – unless already licensed by the Financial Markets Authority or Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
The certification requirement is one of a number of changes the Government has made to the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 (CCCFA) to provide greater protection to borrowers.
From 1 October 2021, if you're an entity registering to provide these services, you must apply for certification that your directors and senior managers are ‘fit and proper’ persons to perform their roles, meaning they are financially sound, honest, reputable, reliable, and competent.
If your business is unable to satisfy this requirement it will be unable to act as a creditor in consumer credit contracts.
Existing financial service providers
If you're already registered on the FSPR on 30 September, you have until your next annual confirmation to obtain certification. For example, if your annual confirmation is due in February 2022, you’ll need to be certified by the end of that month.
Allow time for certification
If you are an existing lender, you should consider applying at least 2 months before you need to be certified to ensure they you can continue trading while the certification process is completed.
If you apply less than 2 months before certification is required, it may not be possible to complete the certification process by the required date. This could result in you having to cease trading until certification has been granted.
Making an application for certification
What happens next?
Once you've selected a service that requires certification (as described above), we'll send you an email setting out how you can make the required payment and will include the application form you will need to complete.
Payment required
The payment amount is calculated based on the number of directors and senior managers requiring fit and proper person assessment.
Once you've made payment through the FSPR you will need to complete the application form (as emailed to you) for each individual director and senior manager that requires a fit and proper person assessment.
Commerce Commission Certification Application Form
This application form will ask for details about your business, including trading names and places of business, and details about your directors and senior managers (or proposed directors or senior managers), including their names, and a description of their roles. It will also ask questions relating to probity, reputation and financial integrity including whether you have been convicted of a crime or have been prohibited from acting as a director in New Zealand or overseas.
This form needs to be filled in for each individual director and senior manager and emailed according to the instructions in the application form.
The Commission will begin the assessment of the application once all the forms are received and payment has been made. If they approve your application, they will notify you and send details of your certification to the Registrar. If they intend to decline your application they will communicate that to you and you will be given an opportunity to respond before a final decision is made.
We'll also update the FSPR to show which services you're certified to provide, and send you an email to confirm this.
Need more information?
Certification Team email address: certification@comcom.govt.nz
Last updated 24 November 2021