Regulators named in full: a broker regulated by ASIC is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission; by FCA, the Financial Conduct Authority; by DFSA, the Dubai Financial Services Authority.
New Zealand licence: Plus500
- Legal entity
- Plus500AU Pty Ltd
- Licence category
- Derivatives issuers
- Licence status
- Active
- Financial service provider number
- FSP486026
- Date granted
- 30 September 2016
- Date we checked
- 2026-09-19
The Financial Markets Authority lists Plus500AU Pty Ltd as a licensed derivatives issuer in New Zealand, and Plus500AU Pty Ltd is registered on the Financial Service Providers Register as FSP486026. The registration is not the licence.
| Broker | External dispute scheme | Before it can be escalated, as the disclosure statement puts it |
|---|---|---|
| Axi | the external dispute resolution scheme is the Financial Dispute Resolution Service (FDRS), and it charges a complainant no fee | Axi seeks to resolve a complaint within 21 calendar days, and if it cannot resolve one within 2 months it must give reasons, updates and an expected decision date |
| BlackBull Markets | Financial Services Complaints Limited (FSCL), an approved scheme under the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008 | 30 working days is the firm's own target before FSCL |
| CMC Markets | Financial Services Complaints Limited (FSCL), an independent scheme approved by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs | 20 business days to respond before the complaint may go to FSCL |
| IG Group | Financial Services Complaints Limited (FSCL), IG's New Zealand external scheme | 40 working days must elapse after the complaint is made before it may go to FSCL |
| Plus500 this review | Financial Services Complaints Limited (FSCL), approved under the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008 | 20 working days before the complaint may go to FSCL |
| ThinkMarkets | the Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme (IFSO), not FSCL | 21 days from the initial complaint is the firm's own target |
Visit Plus500We may be paid if you open an account through this link. It does not change what this review says.
Is Plus500 licensed in New Zealand?
Yes, the company behind the brand in this market holds a derivatives issuer licence from the Financial Markets Authority. The licence belongs to Plus500AU Pty Ltd, whose registration on the Financial Service Providers Register is FSP486026, and its status on that register is active.
The FMA requires anyone offering contracts linked to an exchange rate in New Zealand to hold a derivatives issuer licence, and it recommends New Zealanders avoid overseas forex services it has not licensed, even where an overseas regulator appears to cover them. A licensed derivatives provider must give a client a product disclosure statement before they trade, and the statement is that document for this entity.
Plus500 is one of a small number of derivatives issuers licensed in New Zealand, and we also rate four others, including other FMA licensed brokers we rate.
Plus500AU Pty Ltd on the FMA register
Plus500AU Pty Ltd is licensed in the derivatives issuers category, and the status of that licence is active. It was granted on 30 September 2016.
The FSP number is the registration on the Financial Service Providers Register that identifies who holds the licence; it is not itself a licence and is not evidence of regulation. The derivatives issuer licence is the regulatory permission, and the FSP number identifies the company that holds it.
Who a New Zealand client contracts with
The statement states on page 32 that Plus500AU Pty Ltd is both the product issuer and the sole distributor, acting for nobody else. That means the counterparty to every trade is this Australian company, not a New Zealand subsidiary.
The same page gives the issuer’s postal address as P.O. Box H339, Australia Square, Sydney NSW 1215, Australia, and the PDS carries no New Zealand street address for the issuer. The broker advertises 24/7 customer support on its New Zealand website.
Where a New Zealand client’s money is held
The statement states on page 31 that client money is held on trust in a designated client money trust account with an eligible deposit-taking institution, separate from the firm’s own money. It also states that all client money is pooled in one designated account, so a client’s money is not held separately from money belonging to other clients.
On interest, the statement says on page 29 that Plus500AU is entitled to keep any interest, calculated daily, on positive balances in the designated client money account, and on page 31 that using the service relinquishes the client’s right to any interest on funds deposited in the trust accounts. The FMA names insolvency of the provider as a risk to read a PDS for, noting that a client may be an unsecured creditor and have difficulty getting their money back.
What happens when a position moves against you
The statement states on page 7 that forced liquidation begins without notice once account equity falls below the margin close-out amount, with the firm starting to close open positions as soon as market conditions allow. On page 9 it states that where a trading account balance falls below zero, the balance is restored to zero, so recourse is limited to the money in the trading account.
A guaranteed stop order closes at exactly the specified price, and the statement says on page 29 that the guaranteed stop premium is deducted from the account when the order is placed and is non-refundable once executed. The premium is calculated by multiplying the guaranteed stop percentage by the applicable spread and rounding up to the nearest two decimal places.
The leveraged products being closed out here are contracts for difference, and what a contract for difference is under New Zealand law is explained on our New Zealand CFD trading page.
What Plus500 charges a New Zealand account
The statement states on page 27 that the spread is the firm’s principal revenue, incorporated into the quoted prices on its own platform software and not separately payable, and that Plus500AU does not charge dealing commissions. Overnight funding is calculated at the end of each trading day and either added to or subtracted from the balance, so it can be positive or negative.
On page 30 the statement sets out the account-level charges. A fee of up to USD 10 a month may be payable after three months with no login, capped at the remaining balance, and it continues monthly while there is no login. A currency conversion fee of up to 0.7 per cent of a transaction’s realised net profit and loss applies to any conversion from NZD. There is no fee for accepting a credit card payment.
Funding and withdrawing in New Zealand dollars
The statement states on page 30 that a New Zealand resident’s account balance is denominated in NZD, because the account currency follows residency. The minimum withdrawal is the lesser of USD 50 or its equivalent in the base currency, or the available balance.
Because the account is denominated in NZD, any conversion out of that currency attracts the currency conversion fee described above. A withdrawal request below the minimum withdrawal amount incurs a processing fee, which the statement also sets out on page 30.
How to complain, and who hears it
The statement states on page 32 that unresolved disputes may be referred to Financial Services Complaints Limited, a dispute resolution scheme approved under the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008. FSCL can be reached at Level 4, 101 Lambton Quay, Wellington 6011, or by phone on 0800 347 257.
The statement also sets the window: if the firm cannot resolve a matter within 20 working days, the client may refer it to FSCL. FSCL will not charge a fee to any complainant to investigate or resolve a complaint.
How Plus500 scores against every broker we rate
The broker scores 58.8 against every broker we rate, and this is the global published score, scored on the broker’s global offering. There is no New Zealand score, because no New Zealand test was carried out.
The global review at /reviews/plus-500-review/ carries the detail behind that score, including the regulators recorded for the brand: ASIC, the FCA in the United Kingdom, CySEC, MAS, CIRO in Canada, the CFTC, the FMA in New Zealand, the DFSA in Dubai, EFSA, the JFSA, the CMA, the FSCA in South Africa, the FSA in Seychelles, the SCB and Bappebti in Indonesia.
Plus500 in New Zealand, in one line
In New Zealand, this brand means contracting with Plus500AU Pty Ltd, an Australian issuer with an active FMA derivatives issuer licence and a pooled client money trust account, with the full detail in the global review.
Visit Plus500We may be paid if you open an account through this link. It does not change what this review says.
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About the author
Justin Grossbard is the CEO & Co-Founder of CompareForexBrokers established in 2014, along with Noam Korbl and works as Strategic Head Of Research.
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