New Zealand's consumer-credit system changed on 1 July 2026, with the Financial Markets Authority taking over responsibility for the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act from the Commerce Commission. The change affects the regulatory framework covering consumer lenders, including providers of personal loans and many forms of vehicle finance. Several credit-law rules also changed at the same time. Here is what borrowers need to know.
Key takeaways
- ✓The Financial Markets Authority became New Zealand's consumer-credit regulator on 1 July 2026.
- ✓The FMA replaced the Commerce Commission as the regulator responsible for the CCCFA.
- ✓Consumer-lender certification has been replaced by an FMA market-services licensing regime.
- ✓The FMA now has additional enforcement tools for certain breaches of consumer-credit law.
- ✓Some disclosure rules and the consequences of disclosure breaches have changed.
- ✓Core borrower protections, including lender responsibilities around suitability and affordability, remain important under the new regime.
What changed on 1 July 2026?
Responsibility for regulating the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act transferred from the Commerce Commission to the Financial Markets Authority on 1 July 2026. The move makes the FMA the conduct regulator responsible for consumer credit alongside its wider financial-markets responsibilities.
If you take out consumer credit in New Zealand, the FMA is now the main regulator responsible for overseeing compliance with the CCCFA.
What types of borrowing are affected?
The CCCFA applies to consumer credit contracts. The FMA identifies personal or cash loans, mortgages, credit cards and arranged overdrafts as common examples. Vehicle finance can also fall within the consumer-credit regime where the agreement meets the requirements of a consumer credit contract.
| Type of borrowing | Potential relevance |
|---|---|
| Personal loans | Common form of consumer credit |
| Car and vehicle finance | Can be covered when structured as a consumer credit contract |
| Mortgages | Consumer credit rules can apply |
| Credit cards | Common form of consumer credit |
| Arranged overdrafts | Can be consumer credit |
Why was regulation moved to the FMA?
The change brings consumer-credit oversight together with the FMA's existing financial-markets conduct responsibilities. The FMA says the transfer is intended to create a single conduct regulator for financial markets, reduce regulatory duplication and provide a more streamlined framework.
Consumer lenders now operate under an FMA licensing regime
The previous consumer-lender certification system has been replaced by a market-services licensing regime under the Financial Markets Conduct Act. Lenders that were already certified or appropriately exempt when the changes took effect were automatically transitioned into the new licensing framework.
For borrowers, the important point is that consumer lenders are now operating within an FMA licensing and supervision framework rather than the previous Commerce Commission certification system.
How is licensing different from certification?
The FMA says licensing considers more than whether directors and senior managers are fit and proper. It can also assess the organisation's capability to provide the service effectively and whether there are signs that the provider may fail to meet its legal obligations.
| Previous certification focus | FMA licensing adds |
|---|---|
| Fitness and propriety of key individuals | Assessment of the provider as an organisation |
| Directors and senior managers | Capability to effectively provide the licensed service |
| Individual suitability | Whether the provider appears likely to comply with its obligations |
What will the FMA focus on?
When the transfer took effect, the FMA said its initial supervision priorities included lending practices, particularly suitability and affordability assessments, remuneration structures and conflicts of interest, and how lenders handle complaints.
Affordability has not disappeared from the consumer-credit regime. The FMA has specifically identified suitability and affordability assessments as an area of focus.
What does this mean for car and personal loan affordability checks?
Consumer lenders still have responsibilities when assessing borrowers. The change of regulator does not mean lenders can ignore whether lending is suitable or affordable. The FMA's own credit-provider guidance continues to identify affordability assessment and lender-responsibility principles as core obligations.
The FMA has new enforcement tools
The 2026 changes give the FMA the ability to use stop orders and direction orders in relation to certain CCCFA breaches. Credit contracts have also been brought within the fair-dealing provisions of the Financial Markets Conduct Act, giving the FMA responsibility for misleading, deceptive and unsubstantiated representations relating to credit.
| Regulatory area | What changed |
|---|---|
| CCCFA regulator | Commerce Commission replaced by FMA |
| Consumer-lender regime | Certification replaced by FMA licensing |
| Stop and direction orders | FMA can use these tools for certain breaches |
| Fair dealing | Credit contracts now sit within relevant FMC Act provisions |
| Complaints and conduct | Part of the FMA's consumer-credit supervision |
Disclosure rules have also changed
The reforms include changes to credit disclosure. Among them, lenders can satisfy part of their continuing disclosure obligations through digital access where borrowers can access up-to-date unpaid-balance information through a website. Other disclosure provisions relating to agreed changes and certain guarantors have also been amended.
What happens if a lender breaches disclosure requirements?
The consequences of some disclosure breaches have changed. Rather than borrowers automatically receiving the same statutory outcome in every case, courts can now determine appropriate relief in relevant circumstances, including whether a borrower should be relieved from paying some borrowing costs.
Borrower disclosure rights remain important, but the legal consequences of certain disclosure failures changed under the 2026 reforms.
Some lender obligations were removed or simplified
The reforms also repealed the personal due-diligence duties previously imposed on directors and senior managers for future lending and removed the requirement for lenders to submit annual CCCFA returns. These are primarily changes to how lenders are regulated rather than new actions borrowers need to take.
What has not changed for borrowers?
The change of regulator does not remove the wider consumer-credit framework. The FMA continues to provide guidance covering affordability, lender-responsibility principles, disclosure, hardship applications, fees, interest and repossession.
Who do borrowers contact about consumer-credit issues now?
Since 1 July 2026, matters relating to CCCFA regulation should generally be directed to the FMA rather than the Commerce Commission. The FMA has also taken over active CCCFA investigations and most active litigation that transferred from the Commission.
For regulatory questions or concerns about potential CCCFA breaches after the transfer, the FMA is now the relevant regulator.
Does this change your existing car or personal loan?
The regulatory transfer does not automatically change your interest rate, repayment amount or loan term. Those remain governed by your credit contract and applicable law. The reforms primarily change the regulatory framework and several legal requirements surrounding consumer credit.
What should borrowers still check before taking out a loan?
Regardless of which regulator oversees the industry, borrowers should continue to understand the complete credit agreement before signing. Compare the interest rate, fees, repayment amount, loan term, total borrowing cost and any security being provided.
| Before borrowing | Check |
|---|---|
| Interest | The rate applying to the loan |
| Fees | Establishment, administration and other applicable charges |
| Repayments | How much and how often you must pay |
| Loan term | How long the debt is scheduled to run |
| Security | Whether your car or another asset secures the debt |
| Total cost | How much the finance may cost overall |
Why the changes matter for NZ borrowers
Consumer credit covers borrowing used for major purchases and everyday financial needs, including personal loans and vehicle finance. Moving oversight to the FMA places that lending within a broader financial-conduct regulatory framework while giving the regulator additional tools to supervise the sector.
For most borrowers, the immediate experience of applying for a loan may not suddenly look different. The larger change is happening behind the scenes in how consumer lenders are licensed, supervised and enforced.
What this means for EveryLoan users
EveryLoan is not a lender and does not process loan applications or make credit decisions. Visitors are referred to Simplify Finance, where applications, lender matching, credit decisions and funding are handled by Simplify Finance and its lender partners. Borrowers should continue to read the terms and disclosure for any finance they consider.
Frequently asked questions
The Financial Markets Authority became responsible for regulating the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act on 1 July 2026, replacing the Commerce Commission.
No. The CCCFA remains in force. Regulatory responsibility moved to the FMA and a number of provisions were amended.
The previous certification regime has been replaced with an FMA market-services licensing regime for consumer lenders. Existing eligible lenders were automatically transitioned when the new regime began.
Lender responsibilities relating to affordability remain part of the consumer-credit framework. The FMA has identified suitability and affordability assessments as an initial area of supervisory focus.
The regulatory transfer itself does not automatically change the rate, repayment amount or term in an existing credit contract.
The FMA is now responsible for CCCFA regulation. Depending on the issue, a lender's dispute-resolution scheme may also be relevant.
The major regulatory transfer and associated CCCFA amendments discussed in this article took effect on 1 July 2026.