Register of certified lenders and mobile traders
It is a requirement to be certified if you are a lender who loans money to consumers or a mobile trader that sells goods on credit (together, lenders). The purpose of this is to provide New Zealand consumers with confidence that lenders satisfy a high standard of personal and professional integrity.
The tables below record those lenders that have been certified or exempted from certification, and those where certification has been refused, suspended or cancelled by the Commerce Commission.
Under the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 (the CCCF Act), the Commission must certify a lender if it is satisfied that the directors and senior managers of the business, or the individual if they are a sole trader, are ‘fit and proper’ persons to hold their roles. The Commission may refuse certification where it is not satisfied that the directors and senior managers of the business, or the individual if they are a sole trader, are ‘fit and proper’ persons to hold their roles. The Commission may suspend, cancel or impose conditions to certification that was previously granted where it is no longer satisfied that the directors and senior managers of the business, or the individual if they are a sole trader, are ‘fit and proper’ persons to hold their roles. The Commission may cancel certification where the lender has been deregistered by the Registrar of Financial Services Providers. The Commission may also cancel certification at the request of a lender who ceases to carry on the business of being a consumer creditor or mobile trader providing goods and services on credit, including where the lender has sought voluntary deregistration from the Financial Services Providers Registeropen_in_new.
The ‘fit and proper’ test is forward looking and is designed to protect consumers rather than punish lenders for past behaviour. It does not mean that the Commission has never received a complaint about a lender, or that it has not undertaken enforcement action against them. When making a certification decision, the Commission takes into account any previous enforcement action against the lender or mobile trader. For more information, please see Fit and Proper Person Certification guidance ( 303 KB, PDF ).
Lenders who are not certified are not legally entitled to provide consumer credit or mobile trading services, unless they are exempt from certification under the CCCF Act or associated regulations. It is important to only deal with certified lenders (or those that are exempt from certification) when it comes to borrowing money or purchasing goods from a mobile trader. If you know of a business or an individual lending to consumers that doesn’t appear on either the list of certified lenders and mobile traders or on the list of exempt lenders and mobile traders below, then please email the Commission at certification@comcom.govt.nz.
You can still report a concern to the Commission about any lender or mobile trader who is certified or exempt.
There are penalties for lenders that provide consumer credit and mobile traders selling goods on credit without being certified, including cancellation or suspension of their certification, financial penalties and other enforcement outcomes.
Further details about lenders, including their business address, list of services they provide and the name of their independent dispute resolution scheme provider, are on the Financial Services Provider Register.
The Commission has additional resources to help borrowers know what to look out for when deciding to get a loan.
Please note – the information provided in the above tables is taken from the Financial Service Providers Register. The tables are updated at the beginning of each month by the Commission. There may be lenders that are not on any list who are going through the process of certification and may still be entitled to trade, or who have been certified within the last month but their details have not yet been entered into the tables. If you have questions about whether a lender you are dealing with is certified, you can contact the Commission at certification@comcom.govt.nz. The Commission recommends that borrowers and members of the public always make their own enquiries into lenders and make informed decisions before deciding whether to engage with a lender or mobile trader.