Financial Legislation and MoneyHub: How New Zealand's Laws Apply to What We Publish
MoneyHub is journalism, not financial advice. This page explains the difference in plain English, sets out the legislation that draws the line, and describes the wider regulatory framework we operate within - so you know exactly what our guides are, what they are not, and how we stay on the right side of both.
Updated 4 September 2026
Summary
Summary
- MoneyHub publishes factual comparisons, costs, terms and conditions, and journalistic opinion about financial products in general. We never recommend a particular product for a particular person - that is regulated financial advice, and we do not give it.
- The line comes from the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (as amended by the Financial Services Legislation Amendment Act 2019): providing factual information and giving opinions about kinds of products in general are not financial advice.
- New Zealand's framework has changed materially since this page was first written: conduct licensing for banks and insurers began in March 2025, the Depositor Compensation Scheme went live in July 2025, and on 1 July 2026 the Financial Markets Authority became the single conduct regulator for financial markets, taking over consumer credit from the Commerce Commission.
- Nothing on MoneyHub is personalised advice.
What MoneyHub Is (and Is Not)
MoneyHub is a journalistic resource. We publish guides, comparisons, calculators, and reviews across consumer products (power, broadband, mobile plans) and financial products (insurance, bank accounts, KiwiSaver, credit cards, loans, and investment platforms), alongside resources on employment, education, home ownership, and family finances.
Our focus is always the same three things: the cost of a product or service, its terms and conditions - the fine print - and, where useful, a journalistic opinion. Opinions are formed based on fees, features, performance, and coverage, using data supplied by providers or trusted third parties.
What we never do is recommend a particular product, policy or credit contract for a particular person. Everything we publish is general in nature. Where we shortlist providers we believe offer value, we do so as opinion and as a starting point - and we encourage every reader to compare their options independently before making any decision.
Our focus is always the same three things: the cost of a product or service, its terms and conditions - the fine print - and, where useful, a journalistic opinion. Opinions are formed based on fees, features, performance, and coverage, using data supplied by providers or trusted third parties.
What we never do is recommend a particular product, policy or credit contract for a particular person. Everything we publish is general in nature. Where we shortlist providers we believe offer value, we do so as opinion and as a starting point - and we encourage every reader to compare their options independently before making any decision.
The Line Between Information and Financial Advice
The Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 draws the boundary. Schedule 5 ("Exclusions from definition of financial advice") states that a person does not give financial advice merely by doing one or more of the following:
(a) providing factual information (for example, information about the cost or terms and conditions of a financial advice product, or about the procedure for acquiring or disposing of a financial advice product)
(c) making a recommendation or giving an opinion about a kind of financial advice product in general rather than a particular financial advice product (for example, an opinion about shares generally rather than shares of a particular company)
In practice, that is a precise description of what MoneyHub does. A guide comparing the fees on every KiwiSaver fund is factual information. The view that low fees matter over 30 years is an opinion about a product type in general. Neither is a recommendation that you, personally, should buy a specific product - and the moment content crosses into "this product is right for you," it becomes regulated financial advice, which only licensed advisers may give.
Know This: The distinction protects you in both directions. It means you can read MoneyHub knowing no one is advising you into anything - and it means that when you do want personal advice, you should get it from someone licensed, obliged to know your circumstances, and accountable for the recommendation. Our guides and a good adviser are complements, not substitutes.
(a) providing factual information (for example, information about the cost or terms and conditions of a financial advice product, or about the procedure for acquiring or disposing of a financial advice product)
(c) making a recommendation or giving an opinion about a kind of financial advice product in general rather than a particular financial advice product (for example, an opinion about shares generally rather than shares of a particular company)
In practice, that is a precise description of what MoneyHub does. A guide comparing the fees on every KiwiSaver fund is factual information. The view that low fees matter over 30 years is an opinion about a product type in general. Neither is a recommendation that you, personally, should buy a specific product - and the moment content crosses into "this product is right for you," it becomes regulated financial advice, which only licensed advisers may give.
Know This: The distinction protects you in both directions. It means you can read MoneyHub knowing no one is advising you into anything - and it means that when you do want personal advice, you should get it from someone licensed, obliged to know your circumstances, and accountable for the recommendation. Our guides and a good adviser are complements, not substitutes.
The Journalist Exclusion
The Financial Services Legislation Amendment Act 2019 also sets out further exclusions from regulated financial advice, including for journalism:
Financial advice is not regulated financial advice if the person giving the advice - (a) carries on one of the following occupations: (ii) journalist; and (b) gives the advice - (i) in the ordinary course of carrying on that occupation; and (ii) as an ancillary part of carrying on the principal activity of that occupation, being an activity that is not the provision of a financial service.
Financial advice is not regulated financial advice if it is given only as an ancillary part of a business whose principal activity is not the provision of a financial service.
Financial advice is not regulated financial advice if it is given only as an ancillary part of a business whose principal activity is not the provision of a financial service.
Our position on this has not changed since we first published it: MoneyHub's publications are not financial advice in any form. We include the legislation above for relevance and completeness - we are not relying on these provisions to exempt our resources from any current New Zealand law.
Financial advice is not regulated financial advice if the person giving the advice - (a) carries on one of the following occupations: (ii) journalist; and (b) gives the advice - (i) in the ordinary course of carrying on that occupation; and (ii) as an ancillary part of carrying on the principal activity of that occupation, being an activity that is not the provision of a financial service.
Financial advice is not regulated financial advice if it is given only as an ancillary part of a business whose principal activity is not the provision of a financial service.
Financial advice is not regulated financial advice if it is given only as an ancillary part of a business whose principal activity is not the provision of a financial service.
Our position on this has not changed since we first published it: MoneyHub's publications are not financial advice in any form. We include the legislation above for relevance and completeness - we are not relying on these provisions to exempt our resources from any current New Zealand law.
What the Law Means by a "Financial Service"
Section 5 of the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008 defines the activities that make an organisation a financial service provider. In summary, the definition covers: giving regulated financial advice or broking services; being a registered bank or licensed deposit taker; lending under credit contracts; keeping, investing or managing money or investment portfolios on behalf of others; operating money transfer or payment services; changing foreign currency or trading financial products for others; acting as an insurer; and issuing or managing financial products under a regulated offer.
MoneyHub provides none of these services. We do not hold client money, arrange transactions, broker products, lend, insure, or manage investments. We publish journalism about the organisations that do.
MoneyHub provides none of these services. We do not hold client money, arrange transactions, broker products, lend, insure, or manage investments. We publish journalism about the organisations that do.
The Wider Framework We Operate Within
The legislation above defines what MoneyHub is not. A broader set of laws shapes what we publish and how the providers we cover must behave - and this framework has moved substantially in the past two years:
Regulation continues to evolve - further reform of financial services legislation is before Parliament - and we update this page as the framework changes.
- The Fair Trading Act 1986 prohibits misleading and deceptive conduct in trade, and it applies to publishers as much as providers. It is the reason every fact on MoneyHub is checked against primary sources, every commercial relationship is disclosed, and paid placements are never dressed up as independent selection. The Commerce Commission enforces it.
- A single conduct regulator since 1 July 2026. The Financial Markets Authority now regulates the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003, taking over from the Commerce Commission and becoming the single conduct regulator for financial markets, including consumer credit. Lender certification has been replaced by licensing under the Financial Markets Conduct Act. For readers, complaints and concerns about lenders now sit with the FMA.
- Conduct licensing for banks and insurers. Since 31 March 2025, the Conduct of Financial Institutions (CoFI) regime has required banks, insurers and non-bank deposit takers to hold conduct licences and treat consumers fairly - a standard the FMA supervises, and one we factor into how we cover those institutions.
- The Deposit Takers Act 2023 and the Depositor Compensation Scheme. Since 1 July 2025, eligible deposits have been protected up to $100,000 per depositor, per licensed deposit taker. Our Depositor Compensation Scheme guide explains the details.
- Advertising standards. MoneyHub carries advertising and commercial partnerships, disclosed under our Advertising Policy, and our advertising practices are guided by the Fair Trading Act and the Advertising Standards Authority's codes.
- The Privacy Act 2020 governs how we handle any personal information readers share with us - covered in our Privacy Policy.
Regulation continues to evolve - further reform of financial services legislation is before Parliament - and we update this page as the framework changes.
What This Means for You
Use MoneyHub the way it is intended: as an independent, journalistic starting point. Compare the options, read the fine print we surface, run the calculators - and then make your own decision.
If you ever believe any MoneyHub guide or resource crosses into financial advice of any kind, we want to know immediately - contact our research team.
If you ever believe any MoneyHub guide or resource crosses into financial advice of any kind, we want to know immediately - contact our research team.
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Concluding comments from MoneyHub founder, Christopher Walsh:
"Financial regulation in New Zealand has changed more in the past two years than in the previous ten - a single conduct regulator, conduct licensing for the institutions we review, and deposit protection that finally exists. Through it all, our approach stays the same: present the marketplace fairly, disclose every commercial relationship, and never tell any individual what to buy. We have engaged with the Financial Markets Authority since our launch in 2018 and continue to follow all guidance as it is issued. Thousands of New Zealanders rely on MoneyHub every day precisely because we are not advisers - we are journalists, and we intend to keep the line exactly where the law draws it". |
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