New Zealand Financial Service Provider License

Following the protocols formalized by the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act of 2008, New Zealand legislation enables the registration of NZ companies as Financial Service Providers (FSP) with the Financial Markets Authority (FMA).

Key Features

The FMA issues FSP license wither to individuals (Authorised Financial Advisers) or entities (Qualifying Financial Entities). An FSP license allows for the following services:

• Deposit taking & lending
• Debit and credit card services
• Issuing of financial guarantees and instruments
• Cash management services
• Current accounts
• Cheque (Checking) accounts
• Wire transfer services
• Payment processing services
• Custodial services
• Forex trading
• Financial adviser service
• Keeping, investing, administering, or managing money, securities, or investment portfolios on behalf of other persons
• Operating a money or value transfer service

A NZ financial service company can offer banking and other financial services to both private individuals and corporations worldwide, with no limitations on the number of customers, amounts on deposit or number of currencies.

There are no restrictions on public solicitations and web sites being open to the general public. Directors and shareholders can be of any nationality and reside anywhere except all NZ companies are now required to have at least one local director appointed.

Legal Requirements

Requirements	Description
General
Corporate  vehicle permitted	NZ Company or Limited Partnership
Application fee	USD 1,150 (Authorised Financial Adviser) USD 3,800 (Qualifying Financial Entity)
Annual license fee	USD 1,150 (Authorised Financial Adviser) USD 3,800 (Qualifying Financial Entity)
Local physical office required	Yes
Share capital or equivalent
·         Minimum paid up capital	None
Directors
Minimum number	2
Corporate directorship allowed	Yes
Local director required	Yes
Shareholders
Minimum number	2
Corporate shareholders allowed	Yes
Local  shareholders required	No
Service Providers Required
Company Secretary	No

Tax Treatment

All income derived outside New Zealand is tax exempt.

Duration to Set Up

Around 5 months

Distinctive Benefits of Licence

Finely tuned regulatory regime that provides confidence in the quality of supervision while ensuring that the demands of the investment community can be met.

The Valsen Advantage

• End to end comprehensive service
• Speedy and efficient service
• Expert advice on structuring options
• Dedicated ongoing compliance support
• Extensive network pool of service providers