NZClear has been operating in New Zealand since 1990 and is a real-time settlement system which participants access from their premises. It is operated and owned by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ). Running costs are met by participants. The system is charged with providing an efficient and safe process for the electronic transfer and safekeeping of securities.
We operate NZClear in New Zealand to:
- enhance the confidence of investors in the integrity of the financial system, support financial stability, by providing the depository and electronic transfer system for securities
- promote greater efficiency and soundness in New Zealand financial markets by directly participating in those markets.
We publish an annual report for NZClear.
View the annual report
NZClear currently offers depository, wholesale registry and securities transfer. Membership of NZClear is presently restricted to entities involved in securities markets.
We may add new services on request to fill unmet needs if those services are appropriate, contribute to the financial system's soundness and efficiency, and likely to be profitable.
NZClear is used primarily for settling transactions of fixed interest securities and equity securities on a delivery versus payment basis. For a transaction to be settled, both parties must enter details of the transaction into the system and relevant elements of the transaction must be ’matched’ by the system. Once a transaction is settled it cannot be revoked.
Each NZClear participant has a security account(s) on the system which records the securities they lodge with New Zealand Central Securities Depository Limited (NZCSD). NZCSD is a custodian of the securities and fully owned by the RBNZ.
NZCSD becomes the legal owner of the securities on the relevant register and holds securities on behalf of the participant, the beneficial owner.
Each participant must also have an account provided by an Exchange System Settlement System (ESAS) account holder, usually a registered New Zealand bank. The bank providing the account has real-time access to set daylight limits on that account.
Each NZClear participant can have a number of NZClear accounts for the different types of financial service they offer their respective clients. Each participant must have an account provided by an Exchange System Settlement System (ESAS) account holder, usually a registered New Zealand bank. The bank providing the account has real-time access to set liquidity limits on that account.
The NZClear system is designated as a systemically important settlement system under the Financial Market Infrastructures Act 2021 (FMI Act). The system is jointly regulated by the Financial Markets Authority and RBNZ’s Prudential Supervision Directorate. Institutional arrangements ensure that dealings between the RBNZ’s Payments Services Directorate and the Prudential Supervision Directorate occur at an arm’s length basis.
NZClear Rules determine that a User Advisory Committee, representing participant organisations must be elected every 2 years and meet 4 times a year.