In addition to the Privacy Act, Harmoney has obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act (AML/CFT Act) to keep transaction records.

Under Section 49 of the AML/CFT Act we are required to keep transaction records of every transaction we enter into including the nature of the transaction, the amount of the transaction, dates on which the transactions were conducted, names of parties to the transaction, the distribution channel through which the transaction was conducted, and any other information required under the legislation.

These records must be kept for a minimum of 5 years after the transaction was completed.

In addition, Harmoney is also required under Section 50 of the AML/CFT Act to keep identification and verification records of a person that it conducts a transaction with. These records are required to be kept for a period of 5 years after the transaction was conducted even if that transaction was an occasional transaction or the end of the business relationship.

Harmoney is also required under section 51 of the AML/CFT Act to keep records that are relevant to forming a business relationship with its customers, and any other records required under the Act, including files, business correspondence and written findings pertinent to the nature and purpose of the business relationship with a customer.

These records are also required to be kept for a period of 5 years.

Once the period of 5 years has lapsed, Harmoney will have an obligation to take practicable steps to destroy or de-identify the information it holds about a particular customer as soon as practicable, unless there is a lawful reason for retaining it.

There is a natural tension between the Privacy Act and the AML/CFT Act. Whilst the Privacy Act requires personal information to be retained for as long as the Primary or Secondary purpose for which it was collected subsists, the AML/CFT Act is very clear that records must be kept at least for a period of 5 years.

Accordingly, we are unable to delete your information from our systems as that would place us in breach of our AML/CFT obligation to hold transaction records for 5 years.

Please be assure that the information is securely held and will be deleted as soon as the statutory retention period has lapsed.

If you wish to dispute this decision, Harmoney is a member of an independent dispute resolution scheme operated by Financial Services Complaints Limited (FSCL). You can refer the matter to FSCL by:

Emailing: [email protected]
Calling FSCL on 0800 34 72 57 or

Contacting: The Complaint Investigation Officer, Financial Services Complaints Limited,  Level 4, 101 Lambton Quay, Wellington 6145

Full details of how to access the FSCL scheme can be obtained on their website www.fscl.org.nz. There is no cost to you to use the services of FSCL.

In addition to the Privacy Act, Harmoney has obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Act  (AML/CTF Act) to keep transaction records.

Under Section 35F of the Act, Harmoney is required to retain records of verification requests made to a Credit Reporting Body including the personal information about you that is provided by a Credit Reporting Body, for a period of 7 years.

Under Section 107 of the Act Harmoney is required to keep transaction records of every transaction it enters into including the nature of the transaction, the amount of the transaction, dates on which the transactions were conducted, names of parties to the transaction, the distribution channel through which the transaction was conducted, and any other information required under the legislation.

These records must be kept for a minimum of 7 years after the transaction was completed.

In addition, Harmoney is also required under Section 111 of the Act to keep identification and verification records of a person that it conducts a transaction with. These records are required to be kept for a period of 7 years after the transaction was conducted even if that transaction was an occasional transaction or the end of the business relationship.

Harmoney is also required to keep any other records that are relevant to forming a business relationship with its customers, and any other records required under the Act, including files, business correspondence and written findings pertinent to the nature and purpose of the business relationship with a customer.

These records are also required to be kept for a period of 7 years

Once the period of 7 years has lapsed, Harmoney will have an obligation to take practicable steps to destroy or de-identify the information it holds about a particular customer as soon as practicable, unless there is a lawful reason for retaining it.

There is a natural tension between the Privacy Act and the AML/CFT Act. Whilst the Privacy Act requires personal information to be retained for as long as the Primary or Secondary purpose for which it was collected subsists, the AML/CFT Act is very clear that records must be kept at least for a period of 7 years.

Accordingly, we are unable to delete your information from our systems as that would place us in breach of our AML/CFT obligation to hold transaction records for 7 years.

Please be assure that the information is securely held and will be deleted as soon as the statutory retention period has lapsed.