Help & Support

To open a non-personal account for a trust, we’ll need to know more about your trust and the key people that are involved and/or associated with your trust.

Open an account

Documents required

• A fully executed trust deed.
• Deed of amendment or variation (if applicable).
• Deed of retirement (if applicable).
• Deed of appointment (if applicable).
• Proof of physical address of the trust.
  • If there’s no documentation in the trust’s name, you can use one of the trustee’s addresses.
• Independently verified source of wealth or funds of the trust (see examples).
  
  • If the trust isn’t receiving any income, we’ll need verification of the settlor’s source of wealth.

The trust deed and any amendments or variations must be originals (or copies of), and dated, signed, and witnessed.

If your ownership consists of any other organisations (such as trusts, companies, partnerships, or overseas registered entities) holding shares of 25% or more in the aggregate in the trust property, we’ll need foundation evidence for those organisations too. More about non-personal organisations

ID and proof of address

We’ll need ID for the key people involved in the trust. They can prove their ID using one of three ID combinations.

Key people include:

• trustees
• settlors
• appointers
• protectors (if applicable)
• beneficiaries (if any are allocated 25% or more of the distribution or are likely to receive 25% or more of the trust distribution)
• Professional Trustee Company directors (if applicable).

Each key person’s ID needs to be verified. Ways to verify ID include:

• face-to-face in a BNZ branch
• certified in writing by an approved trusted referee
• online through RealMe or with photos of your ID.

Countries of tax residence

If you, your trust, or any key people are tax residents in another country or countries, we’ll need tax numbers or an equivalent for those countries.

Find out more about confirming your tax residency.

For more information, please talk to your tax adviser or visit the Inland Revenue website.

Examples of source of wealth or funds

Individual trustee income or employment income

• Pay slips
• Bank statements indicating credits of wages or income (minimum 3 months).

Pay slips and statements must be dated within the last 12 months. 

Business proceeds, disposal of business or assets

• Copies of latest audited company accounts (within the last 24 months).
• Confirmation letters or emails from solicitors or accountants confirming statement of position (within the last 12 months).

Ownership of land, sale or purchase of land, or rental income

• Rental or lease agreements.
• Sale and purchase agreements.
• Loan agreements and other supporting type documents.

Adding, changing, or removing an authorised person

We’ll need to collect and verify identification information for any new authorised person, and they may also need to fill out additional forms.

Call us on 0800 275 269 to make changes to your account.